[Guest]

I recently purchased an outdoor kennel for the dogs. It's not massive but a decent size at 10' x 10' square and 6' high. Of course it has a full sized door I can open and enter. I purchased it secondhand for $200 but it's virtually brand new. Still had the tag on it from the manufacturer. I've added a tarp to cover it which is silver one side and a dark brown almost black on the other. Silver side it up to reflect the sun's rays and the dark side down to absorb anything coming up by reflection. Tarp is well secured with heavy duty rubber bungies all around. Obviously there is a water bowl for them. Right now just a grass floor.

The dogs will not ever be left alone in this. It's only so they can get some safe outside time while we're indoors (loose dogs occasionally come by) and so DW can get a break when she needs it from them after the baby is born. They'll never be in it for hours and hours. It's only meant as a "break area" really. Any suggestions for it? I've never had an outdoor kennel before actually. Never saw the need for one but with the baby due it seemed like a good idea and the price was right. Dad had a big outdoor kennel of course when he was breeding GSDs and that was quite elaborate with special housing areas etc. This is of course quite different so I'd appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Chris Wild]

Sounds nice, but I'd redo the flooring with concrete, patio brick or pea gravel to make clean up easier and keep the dogs cleaner. A grass floor is going to quickly become a mud floor... probably mud mixed with urine and feces if they go potty in it... and that makes for really yucky dogs.

 

[WiscTiger]

I have larger pens that are grass. In my biggest pen that DeeDee and Lakota run and play in, I put down some limestone screenings (like gravel only no real stones, just chips and sand) in the corners where they want to potty all the time anyway, makes it easy to clean up and when they are running they stay away from those areas.

 

[Guest]

Yeah I was considering what to do about the floor. What works best for heat? I don't want them to be toasting their tootsies of course.

So far they haven't even pee'd in it. They aren't in it all that long. So far the longest has been a couple hours. I doubt they'll even be in it more than four hours at a time.

 

[marylou]

We have an outside kennel (works great when DH is mowing the lawn). I think it's 12 x 12; full door and we put a tarp on top. I put down straw on the floor; it is under a huge tree so stays shady (and would be a mud pit if nothing was on the floor). They also have a dogloo in it if one of them wants to "get away" from the other.
The only time they have pottied in it was when Chaos had a stomach issue (but only in one corner); then I was mucking it out like a horse stall.

 

[marylou]

well...I was looking for a picture; this is the closest I can come up with (you can see the kennel door looking in behind Chaos and part of the floor) Oh, forgot - we also have a tire in there that thay love to bite on ...

 

[hvaclu]

We also have a 12x12 with a pitched roof over it. I have never put the dogs out there because there is no floor in it. I was thinking about doing the concrete but its kind of expensive right now and also thought about the pea gravel but worried that Greta would eat the small rocks. I think I am going to try your idea with the straw. Thats something that I can change out if it gets gross. Never ever would of thought of that. That would of been to easy. LOL. Going to run in by DH this weekend and pick up some straw. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I guess this got lost with the replies that came afterwards so I'll ask it again:

Originally Posted By: GSDadYeah I was considering what to do about the floor. What works best for heat? I don't want them to be toasting their tootsies of course.

So far they haven't even pee'd in it. They aren't in it all that long. So far the longest has been a couple hours. I doubt they'll even be in it more than four hours at a time.

 

[Liesje]

If it were mine I'd use pea gravel or river rock. A breeder told me river rock has helped her dogs have nice tight feet. Either one is good for drainage. If it's hot, you can hose it down so it's damp. There is pea gravel in all the runs at the shelter where I volunteered. If the dog poops, it's very easy to clean up b/c it's like giant cat litter. If the poo is runny, just get the whole shovel full, gravel and all.

The Malamute I dog sat for had concrete pavers, but over time they sunk in or shifted. Then if it ever rained or when I hosed out the kennel, water would pool. That's when I vowed to use some sort of small rock or gravel, unless I had large concrete slabs with some sort of drain.

 

[WiscTiger]

Concrete in the shade will be fairly cool, concrete in the sun will be HOT. Take you shoes off, find some concrete that part is in the shade and part in the sun... in the sun stuff is HOT.

I have one 10 x 20 ft kennel run that is concrete. I don't use it much in the summer unless we have had a lot of rain. It is more for one of my dogs to be able to go out in the fall, winter and if it is really wet, at those time she will run, roll and sit in the mud. I got tied of hosing her off at least once a day when it was wet outside.

 

[Guest]

Well, I'm thinking patio stones. The kennel is indeed well shaded both from a tarp and from a large pine tree standing near it. Just wondering if one kind of stone is better in the summer than another? Pouring concrete is a bit more than I want to get into if I can avoid it. I'll consider gravel though.

 

[WiscTiger]

If you do patio stones, I would stay with the lighter colors, not the red or browns.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the help folks! I looked at patio stones and not only were they just too expensive but I realized they wouldn't work so well on the uneven ground the kennel sits on without some serious leveling done which again was more than I wanted to put into something the dogs will only use as a break area and not a fulltime place to live. So I went looking for pea gravel and found something I assume is similar. It's called "Vermont River Pebble" and is exactly what you would expect it to look like and has stones about .5" in size. Took about 22 bags of it to cover the floor to the depth I think sufficient. Comes from my hometown too so I can feel good about supporting the home folks.

Now to figure out some kind of pad big enough for the two of them to stick in the shadiest corner they usually lie down in. It should be weatherproof of course. Any thoughts?

 

[WiscTiger]

How about some thing like this:

http://kuranda.com/catalog/poly_resin_bed.php

 

[Guest]

That looks great! Thanks! $130.00 for the size I'd need. It may be the best answer though. I'd like to hear any other suggestions before I decide.

 

[wicked1996]

We just finished building outdoor kennels for Cayman and Carlo. We converted half of our shed to be the indoor part which is 4 ft wide by 6 ft long in each kennel. The outdoor space is 10 ft wide by 18 ft long. The roof we built is 11 ft wide by 8 ft long on Caymans side and 10 ft wide by 12 ft long on Carlo's side. Inside, for the flooring we used horse stall mats. For the outdoor kennel we used 2" of 1 inch stone, then we put 4" of pea stone on top of that as the "flooring". The kennels have GREAT drainage. We put landscape timbers around the kennels to help keep the stones in and not all over the lawn and mulch. For Carlo's side, because he's a digger and actually dug under the kennel panels in the old kennels so we put down welded wire fencing on the ground before putting the stone in to deter him from being able to dig. For something to lay on, we bought 2 Kuranda beds for each kennel. One for inside, one for outside. They are awesome beds and all of my dogs LOVE them. We've had 2 for over a year now and they are "Carlo proof"!! LOL He couldn't chew them at all! The best price I found for these beds was from this place:
Sportmans Outlet

The cost for a large bed is $67.50. It was the cheapest place I could find to buy the beds. I like them because they are weather proof.

Here's a picture of Caymans kennel

Here's Carlos

And here's a shot of both kennels inside...
Caymans side

Carlos side

 

[Guest]

Hey! Thanks for the link! That's a much better price. Heck I could get one for each dog and still not spend as much. Not exactly sure why they think a Golden Retriever would need a larger bed than a GSD, but I'll be sure to check them out.

 

[wicked1996]

Originally Posted By: GSDadHey! Thanks for the link! That's a much better price. Heck I could get one for each dog and still not spend as much. Not exactly sure why they think a Golden Retriever would need a larger bed than a GSD, but I'll be sure to check them out.

You're very welcome! My Bismarch, who is an over sized GSD at 110 lbs, fits fine on the large bed but I did buy him an x-large so he'd be more comfortable. Both Cayman and Carlo weigh 85 lbs and they are fine on the large beds that are outdoors. However, I did buy the x-lg size for the inside kennels for them. Sportsman Outlet shipped the beds pretty quickly as well. I had them within a week of ordering them.

Good luck with your decision!