[mikaK9]

Do any of you use the heavy cow/stall mats for your kennel floors? I'm thinking about getting some for our kennel (6 x 10'), but I'm still undecided. We're in an area that can get very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. So I'm weighing out how hot the mats will get in summer (I'll have a roof on the kennel for at least part shading), versus how cold it would be with just a cement floor.

I'm also concerned about joint issues with a cement only floor, as my dog is young and is an outside dog. Most of his downtime/non working day would be laying on the cement floor if we don't have a mat.

Using a kuranda (sp?) bed or any other type of platform is out of the question. Any kind of flooring we use must cover the entire kennel floor so that he can't eat it. I'm just happy he hasn't been biting the metal kennel links since he's been at my house. He'll bite on just about anything else though - doesn't matter if wood, metal or other material. If I go with the stall mats, I would have them cut to extend beyond the walls of the kennel, so that he can't get to the corners.

So my only real options I can see are: plain cement floor; composite decking over cement (seems hard to clean poop out of the grooves), or the cow mat over cement.

Any thoughts?

 

[big_dog7777]

I use cow mats in crates and they're great. Chewed up elbows on dogs that live on cement are sad. If they get dirty you just pressure wash them.

 

[mikaK9]

Thanks for the input! Those joint issues and skin problems from cement are kind of my priority right now. So far they're outweighing the possible detriments of using the mats....

 

[Cooper&me]

I have heard from someone that used cow mats that the only negative was the urin can get traped under.
We put wood (plywood maybe) then I got on the internet and found for the shade top and bottom a black tarp like material. It is porous and supposedly anti bacterial ect... My dogs like the kennel so much they will not relieve themselves in there.