Outdoor Kennels

by **furever_pit** » July 1st, 2009, 9:07 pm

Does anyone here have outdoor kennels for their dogs? If so, how are they constructed? I am looking at moving back to my farm and I am going to renovate one of the barns to have a few runs in it but I need to figure out what I am going to use for flooring. I also want to put a few runs up outside the barn but I want to make sure it is well put together. Don't worry there will be dog houses and water bowls that cannot be tipped in every run. I will provide shade for the runs that are not in the barn. Just trying to go ahead and do my research and start planning how I am going to do this.

All suggestion are appreciated.

by **katiek0417** » July 1st, 2009, 9:18 pm

We have Priefert kennels here, but they're being used as a barrier rather than as runs.

However, we also have a breeding hutch here, and I love how we set it up, and we'd do the same for runs...it's concrete flooring that angles towards a drain...we set up the drain to go through the concrete and run into a doggie dooley...I mean, we still scoop big pile of poop...but we can then rinse it down with bleach, and it goes into the dooley...

by **furever_pit** » July 1st, 2009, 11:17 pm

hmm...okay, I will have to look into the Dooley. Never seen one before. How have the Preifert kennels held up for you? I want to get something that is gonna last a while and I want to make sure it is strong. What do you think for shade for the runs not in the barn? I was thinking of maybe getting a carport and putting two to three runs underneath that.

Thanks for your help.

ETA:

I like the drain idea. Makes the kennels a lot easier to clean.

by **katiek0417** » July 1st, 2009, 11:40 pm

Definitely check into the doggie dooley...it makes things so much easier...and it doesn't smell at all!

I love the prieferts! I think they hold up well...they're expensive, but well worth it!

With a carport I'd be worried that if you had a big storm with a lot of strong wind, it might blow over...for the same amount of money, you may want to invest in one of those steel-type pole buildings...and those you can air condition...

by **Malli** » July 2nd, 2009, 3:16 am

I'm interested in this, too.

I always wondered about building a secure yet easy to clean and sanitize outdoor kennel...

by **iluvk9** » July 2nd, 2009, 5:54 am

My suggestion would be to visit a few boarding kennels and get some ideas on how they are set up. Then maybe you could adapt it to your size and needs.

I know when I was looking at kennels for boarding, I learned a lot that I never thought about. While it might not apply to your situation things like: the slope of the flooring, the fencing between kennels was a double wall (to prevent fence fighting), the material for the flooring inside the kennel, and the products used to keep everything sanitized.

by **pocketpit** » July 2nd, 2009, 1:27 pm

We have outdoor enclosures made of seperate kennel pannels, your typical 6ft high ones of different lengths. We reinforce any weak points (such as the bottom of the panesl) wth extra ties and clamps and keep clips on all of the doors. The doors are not easy to open normally but we are not takng any chances. On the back side of each enclosure we have one of those cheap pre-fab kennels that came with a roof. I bought them cheap or got them free on craigslist. We only rolled chainlink over three sides of the kennel and then attached the other kennel panels to it. So we have a "tip out" of sorts along one side that provides shade or rain cover.

by **katiek0417** » July 2nd, 2009, 1:47 pm

pocketpit wrote:We have outdoor enclosures made of seperate kennel pannels, your typical 6ft high ones of different lengths. We reinforce any weak points (such as the bottom of the panesl) wth extra ties and clamps and keep clips on all of the doors. The doors are not easy to open normally but we are not takng any chances. On the back side of each enclosure we have one of those cheap pre-fab kennels that came with a roof. I bought them cheap or got them free on craigslist. We only rolled chainlink over three sides of the kennel and then attached the other kennel panels to it. So we have a "tip out" of sorts along one side that provides shade or rain cover.

That sounds very cool...can you take a picture and post?

by **pocketpit** » July 2nd, 2009, 9:53 pm

That sounds very cool...can you take a picture and post?

I will try.

by **Jenn** » July 2nd, 2009, 10:19 pm

I used landscape timbers, and 8 foot tall horse panels. Otherwise, just grass on the bottom...

by **pocketpit** » July 3rd, 2009, 8:59 pm

Okay so obviously I did something wrong when resizing this photo because it's now blurry but it will give you the idea anyway. It's nothing fancy but it seems to be working well for us and solved the "How do I provide shade and plenty of room at the same time?" issue that we had. This enclosure is set up around trees that provide plenty of shade as well but in the event we had none then we purchased shade cloth to hang on the sides of the "tip out" kennel.

by **Malli** » July 3rd, 2009, 10:02 pm

cool! looks great!

I'm jelous - I want property like you!

by **furever_pit** » July 4th, 2009, 9:22 am

Thanks for the ideas y'all. I think I'm gonna go with the pre-fab kennels. That or I might just build a few more lean-to type buildings like we have put in the pastures for our horses. Next time I get up to the farm I will take some pictures of the area where I am planning to put the kennels.

Outdoor Kennels

Who is online