Outdoor Kennel

[prosperia]

Im considering getting Jen and Buddy an outdoor kennel to stay in during the mornings while im at work during the warmer months. Ive never kept a dog in a kennel before and I was wondering if anyone had any advice. Our backyard is well shaded, and they would only stay in it while we are away from home. In other words, I dont want anyone to think im just tossing them out back. I just think they might enjoy being outside rather than cooped up in the house.

[Sue R]

Maria - I'm probably a worry-wart, but I just keep my dogs loose in the house or crated when I work. I'd be too fearful that they'd be vulnerable to thieves, biting insects, snakes, storms, getting loose somehow, etc., if they were kenneled outside. I'm not convinced that kenneling outside would provide any alternative to boredom)other than barking and digging) that you wouldn't have inside.

 

Mine seem quite used to chilling out when we are not home, and we try to provide some chewies and other "recreational" stuff when we aren't here.

 

That said, many fine folks have outdoor kennels and their dogs seem to come to no harm and do just fine. An alternative is that many folks crate their dogs while they are not home, and the dogs seem to adapt very well to that.

 

If I were to kennel, protection from the sun and rain would be important. Also, I would want the kennel securely covered so that the dogs had protection from the weather and couldn't climb out, and keep the gate locked so they couldn't accidentally get out (a lock won't prevent someone with a bolt-cutter from getting into the kennel).

 

I'd also be concerned about noise, or whether my dogs were doing a lot of barking while in the kennel. There are neighbors that don't take kindly to noisy dogs.

 

If I were to get a kennel, I'd like the Priefert kennel best or a good-quality chain link - it seems much better made than your common feed store variety of chain link, which seems rather flimsy. Karen is a Priefert dealer and you might check with her to see what's available and the cost. She's used other types, I believe, as well and could give you good advice. I think Border Springs also carries dog kennels (Priefert, maybe).

 

Now that I've been a real pessimist, best wishes in figuring things out. I've spent some time considering (and wanting) an outdoor kennel for the very reason you do, and I've just decided it wouldn't work for me but it surely might work for you.

[prosperia]

Thanks Sue

When we're at home and I have the house opened up, I've noticed that they perfer to sit on the screened back porch and bird watch, etc.

Ive looked into the Priefert kennels and they are way to pricey for us. I think the 10x10 was something like $750.

I do worry about them getting out, and Buddy does have an extremely high pitched bark .. . .

[prosperia]

I was told that if you put stakes in the ground around the outside edges of the kennel, it would prevent them from digging out, which is what im mainly worried about. I cant see either of them climbing out, but I wouldnt put anything past Jen.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

You can set paving stones down - they won't stop a determined digger but most dogs will never learn to dig if discouraged in this way from the start. This also gives a mudfree surface to hang out on. Then lay foam or rubber matting over that to give them a comfortable and cool place to lay.

 

Likewise you can get rigid wire panels and put them down, then lay gravel over that. They probably won't dig through the gravel after the first time they hit the wire.

 

I've used kennels. I like being able to give the dogs some privacy and a space they can call their own when I'm not around. I don't use ten by tens - I think they encourage nervous behavior. I loved our old kennels - they were modeled after equine box stalls with two thirds high solid walls, built under a roof on the lee side of a building. They had wooden decking, which worked fine because they were usually let out on a schedule that allowed them to do their business in the yard. Actually, I didn't use them much except during allergy season when I subbed them in the rotation instead of some of "in the house" time.

 

I also liked the kennels to provide a secure, clean, and shady place to feed large pieces of raw meat.

 

Finally, kennels are great when you offer to transport a rescue dog. You have the flexibility to keep the dog overnight if you need to, if you've got a seperate area to keep him or her.

[MaggieDog]

My parents' just installed two indoor/outdoor kennels for my dog and one of theirs during trips instead of boarding. They have dog doors leading into the detached garage; both halves of the kennels are 10 by 5ft. The indoor portion is concrete w/ indoor/outdoor carpeting and a dogloo for each dog. Outdoors the flooring is plasticized chicken wire under about 4 inches of pea gravel. Both outside runs are covered in field fence wired down every 6 inches or so - Maggie is a determined jumper and Gryffin is a determined digger.

 

The dogs were in those kennels for about 22 hours a day while we were out of town for 4 days and seemed to do ok, though Maggie did bark a lot the first day and was thrilled to see me when I got home - her kennel inside was muddy from running in and out. She has some separation issues in kennels in general so I don't think her reactions are very different from normal boarding for what it's worth.

 

We built the two adjacent kennels for about $350 but that included using several panels, pea gravel, carpet, and dogloos we already had.

 

After heavy rains we are going to add more gravel since what we had sunk and settled into the mud.

 

BTW, I highly recommend lining the outside edges with a 2 by 10 board to keep the gravel in if that's what you decide to use for flooring. The board is the only thing that kept the gravel from washing out during 7 days of heavy rain.

[SincereArtisan]

Placing a 'ground cover' of chain link fence on top of the grass will also prevent them from digging out. Or, maybe only a 12 inch border of link fence going around the inside of the kennel, laying over the edge so they can't dig there but they can enjoy digging and laying elsewhere in the kennel. Another member here suggested laying those big, thick rubber stall mats down, and they can't dig past that either. Both of those sounded like good ideas to me...

 

You say you have a screened porch? Would they be able to stay out there, if you kind of erected a 'fence' along the interior, so they can't get to the screen and break out? Or are you worried about being gone so long they may have to go potty, and would do better going potty outside?

[RaisingRiver]

Originally posted by prosperia:

I cant see either of them climbing out, but I wouldnt put anything past Jen.

Isn't Jen the dog whose photos were posted of her climbing vertically up your trees?!?!

 

Just a thought....

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

That's MY Jen. Half dog half squirrel.

[Heppers]

Daisy has an outside kennel for when we are at work all day. I do worry a bit but we have chains on the gate to stop people getting in. She did dig one time and cut all her paw open on glass that was burried deep in the soil, probably from the orevious owner of the house. That caused us a nightmare and we havent really kept her outside since. She tends to go to my mams all day when we are at work now.

 

Come the summer months here in England I am planning to leave her outside again only this time I will be doing a thorough search for glass and other objects !!

[FishinBC]

We have a large fenced dog yard at the new place, now that we have extended it out to meet up with the side garage entrance. I put in two dog doors, one into the garage from the yard and one from the garage into the house.

 

The dogs are free to come and go from the house to the yard as they please. But mostly when we aren't home they just chill out and nap. We leave the toy box out and come home to them spread all over the house.

 

Briar is my outside sun soaker. She loves to lay in the yard and watch the goings on. Rob will run out to potty then he's right back in and Buddy seems to be following his lead. Poor old man spent his whole life outside, he is kinda diggin' this inside stuff.

[prosperia]

So you think they would do better with two smaller seperate kennels? Maggie Dog, how severe are Maggie's seperation issues? Jenna has some real problems with a crate. Im hoping that a kennel outside could be different if introduced in the right way. But I do fear that she might eat straight through the chain link.

Cheri,

I'd love to fence in the entire back yard. I've been talking about it for a couple of years now, but its just not in the budget right now.

[jrid]

I leave my dogs in runs whenever I am not at home.

The 2 little dogs stay in a 10x 10 that is attached to the shed their dog houses are in. One border collie stays in 10x20 alone with his house, and the other two stay together in a

10x30 with 2 houses in it. I am going to have to

separate the two dogs. I have the additional kennel that is needed, so it just needs to be erected. I put pavers on the inside edges of the runs and use horse shavings instead of gravel. I can buy the shavings bagged so they are easy for me to use.

[MaggieDog]

Maggie used to be incredibly anxious while crated or kenneled when we were out of town, but now in the crate she just tends to shred any blankets inside and drool w/o really trying to escape. In the kennel she will bark, pace, and jump on the door for a while before quieting down as far as I know - she didn't seem to be horribly stressed when I got home after our short trip while she was in the backyard kennels.

 

I guess on a scale of 1 to 10 with one being totally cool/calm while kenneled, and ten being highly stressed/never calm/escaping or causing injury I would put Maggie at a 5 or 6.

[AK dog doc]

My dogs LOVE being outside, but I personally don't leave them out while I'm gone. Too much temptation for them. When I'm home, they know I'm in the house, so they're more inclined to try to get IN than get OUT, if they get bored (they're not usually out long enough to get bored, though). I have a single fenced area so they can all race around together; I plan to expand that this summer. Obviously in the winter they're not out as long and in the summer they stay out longer. I also think (am nearly certain) my dogs would bark if I wasn't home; a neighbor dog comes over a lot to visit/fence-fight, and if a moose or something comes over they go totally ballistic. I'm sure that would annoy my neighbors. Luckily, it has never occurred to Ali that he could jump my 6-foot fence, which would be no stretch for him.

 

That said, though, I LOVE having a fence. Totally love it. In the morning I can just open the back door and let them all race out, and if something happens and the door gets jostled off the latch or something, they can get into the yard, but not OUT of the yard (unless I've also forgotten to latch the gate, which hasn't yet happened... cross fingers.) Luckily my dogs aren't diggers.

 

I think the outdoor kennel is a great thing, but I really think it depends on the dogs, the setting and the circumstances whether or not leaving them out while you are gone is a good thing.

 

Just my 2 cents.