Dog Kennels

[Josh]

I was wondering what everyone used as flooring/bedding in your outside dog kennels. I am looking into difference things. I know people who use concrete, gravel, straw, and shavings. What do you think about these? Also what are your experiences with these? If there is something that is not listed I would love to hear about it. I have been doing internet searches for the pros and cons to each one but can't find much. Thanks in advance.

Josh

 

[billiethekid40]

I think if I were going to have an outdoor kennel I would do concrete with rubber matting and some straw in places for comfort. Gravel I would think would be hard on their feet and body to lie on, shavings or sawdust would run too high a risk of irritating the skin and eyes, and plain dirt is unsuitable if there is any concern of a digger. Concrete alone would be acceptable for a large run, with a rubber matt at just one side if you could not afford to matt the whole length, but concrete can also be hard on the joints of a dog who plays hard. All this said, I don't have an outdoor kennel, our whole yard is fenced for the dogs and we have been fortunate to be blessed with 3 wonderful dogs who have never shown much interest in digging...certaintly never to dig their way out. But if I ever did build an ourdoor kennel it would be concrete and rubber, with a partial roof for shade and protection from the weather, and if needed a mesh roof on the rest to contain any jumpers/climbers.

 

[Reble]

I train my puppies in the house with recycled paper pellets.

Less smell and last longer than other things, I have tryed.

: :saludando:

 

[Neil]

I was wondering what everyone used as flooring/bedding in your outside dog kennels. I am looking into difference things. I know people who use concrete, gravel, straw, and shavings. What do you think about these? Also what are your experiences with these? If there is something that is not listed I would love to hear about it. I have been doing internet searches for the pros and cons to each one but can't find much. Thanks in advance.

Josh

I currently have about 1/3 cement and 2/3 pea gravel.

I would never use anything but these two unless it is grass with no dirt showing.

The cement must be hosed atleast once a day and better several times a day to keep it clean. And, you need good drainage. It also needs to have a brush finish to be sure the dogs don't slip on it.

The pea gravel is just that, small round smooth stones the size of a pea. Never use larger or anything with sharp edges. Sharp is rough on the dogs feet and larger is a killer to clean.

As for straw or shavings, I would personally never use either. If it is outside and it rains at all where you live or the wind ever blows you would have a constant mess. Not to mention that you wouldn't want to put coated show dogs on either. I shudder at what they would do to their coats.

I personally think that a thick layer of pea gravel is the best. Make sure that it is thick and no dirt shows at all. This is very easy for cleaning up after the dogs and when hosed dries very quickly and clean.

Now having said all of this my dogs preference is a plush carpeting, a pillow on a sofa or chair or on a pillow on a plush bed. Or, cool ceramic tile on the hot summer days. We had over 30 consecutive days of over 100 degree weather last summer.

Sundowner Kerry Blue, Norwich and Norfolk Terriers for almost 40 years.

 

[whitney]

My Yorkies have an outside run. Which is packed dirt with stall mats over the top. This is very easy to power wash.

That said I need the stall mats in the barn, so I will be cementing the run and painting it with a rubberized paint I saw at the Michigan State University Vet Clinic, it provided traction and cleaned much easier than cement which tends to "retain" the urine odor no matter WHAT you wash it with.

 

[keeperofthehorses]

Plush carpet and a feather bed. :lol:

The outdoor part of our kennels (not that they are ever used anymore) has a 5' concrete pad and a 15' grass & clover strip. The grass is great, the clover is fantastic when it's not blooming (bees). Can't put diggers in it; this is for my own dogs only. If I was to go back to boarding and training the whole thing would be concrete.

We used straw for bedding the inside part (also a concrete pad), which was quite messy, but warm and cozy.

I've worked at several kennels that had pea gravel and I hated it. Hard to scoop poop and sterilize and it has to be raked at least once a week, more if you've got fence runners.

 

[EAD Minis]

At Baden we use Concrete, they have over 200 dogs so thats alot of concrete.Each dog has a box with concrete underneath and straw/shavings over it.

 

[mountain_waif]

....

 

[Josh]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to all of you who have responded. I am looking into all of these options. I appreicate your input. Thanks

Josh

Also if any if you have pictures of your kennels showing the flooring and just layout design. I would love to see them. Thanks!

 

[waconda valley]

Josh

 

[waconda valley]

Josh,

As a kennel owner with over 20 years of experience and currently house 150 dogs, the first thing I will tell you is different breeds of dogs have different flooring needs. Are you talking about toy breeds, long coated breeds, diggers, pacers?

My most universal pens are as already suggested, part pea gravel and part cement. Be sure to have proper drainage and seal the cement before you put any dogs on it. I put the dog house and feeder on the cement part as this encourages the dogs to use the gravel to eliminate on.

We stip the pea gravel as needed and put barn lime on the dirt to freshen the soil and then put new pea gravel down. I also have a solid sunshade above my pens to keep the rain and snow out of the pens.

We also surround the outside area of the pens with rock, this helps to keep the fleas and ticks away from the dogs.

My AKC inspector, state inspector and vet all think this is the best flooring for my breed of dogs. This type of set up does cost a little more to set up but will hold up for years.

The proper type of fencing to use is also a concen. Over the years I have gotten away from using chain link and have gone to using horse panels (2"x 4" holes) even my Chihuahuas can not get through the holes and my biggest breeds cannot destroy them. Hope my info helps :bgrin

 

[Josh]

Waconda Valley thanks so much for the information. That sounds like a good set up to have!! I am going to check more into that. Thanks again!!!!

Josh