My New Setup

[furever_pit]

I haven't been totally happy with the 5x10 kennels that I was using to keep the dogs outside for the last several months. At first, I thought they were awesome and then I started to feel like it just wasn't quite enough room for them. Additionally, I have one Houdini who refused to be left in the kennel so I wanted to find something different for him anyway.

So I have moved on to Plan B. I put in two chain spots today and will be putting at least one, if not two more over the next week or so. Gigz absolutely loves the new setup. I was expecting some barking and whining and general carrying on, but he just laid down and chilled out as soon as I walked away. He's enjoying the sunshine and definitely seems to like having more room to move around and stretch his legs. So that makes me happy.

I thought I would share a few pics of the new setup so people can see how I did it in case they want to try the same thing.

The view from afar:


You can see a little bit more how I put it together in this pic.


So happy.


Gigz is such a ham.


I hope that is helpful to anyone who might be considering a chain setup. I know pics of other people's setups really helped me figure out how I wanted to put this all together.

[iluvk9]

That is one heck of a thick chain. Doesn't something like that hurt their necks?

[pitbullmamaliz]

Gotta be honest that I'm not a big fan of chain spots (unless they're just for occasional use?), but I do have to admit that looks like a nice one. It's got a lot of nice shade and grass.

[furever_pit]

Thanks Liz. The spot gets a good portion of shade throughout the entire day. With the summers here I was not about to put the dogs somewhere they couldn't get to shade during some time of the day.

The chain spot will be used just like I use dog crates and kennels. This just has more room.

That is one heck of a thick chain. Doesn't something like that hurt their necks?

No, it is not heavy like you think.

[SisMorphine]

More room is nice. How long are the chains? I know I could never do any sort of chain set ups since we often have loose dogs in the yard . . . wouldn't be pretty!!

That last pic of Gigz is just ridiculous. LOL! What a goob!

[mnp13]

That chain looks pretty big, but it's necessary for that kind of set up. They actually wear through from dragging and the dog isn't supporting the full weight of it.

I'm not anti-kenneling, if the setup is safe and secure. However, my concern with chaining is how you're keeping other animals away from them. One of the more bizarre moments that happened after we moved was when the neighbor's dog was clawing at our front door trying to get in to the house.

[furever_pit]

The chains definitely do wear down over time. I'll be checking the links and everything for signs of degradation and will replace parts when it becomes necessary.

I agree that other animals can be a concern with chain setups. However, I have not seen a single loose dog in this area. We have had other animals living outside for several years and have not had an issue either.

[furever_pit]

More room is nice. How long are the chains? I know I could never do any sort of chain set ups since we often have loose dogs in the yard . . . wouldn't be pretty!!

That last pic of Gigz is just ridiculous. LOL! What a goob!

The chains are 10', so that's a 20' diameter per chain spot. Gigz's is a little bit bigger because the guy mis-measured and gave me an extra 8.5".

[plebayo]

I think that's cool that you gave them more space.

In the first pic Gigz looks really wide!

I hope it works out. Do you get worried at all that they will tangle themselves up? That would be my only concern that the dog would wind itself up around something and entirely defeat the purpose of having more space.

[furever_pit]

I'm not worried about the dogs getting tangled up. When I set up the spots I measured everything and they are not able to get to trees or other things that they could get their chains wound around. If you notice, even the water bucket and dog house are placed at the ends of the chains so that the dogs can reach them but not go around them.

Here is Dylan on the other chain spot:

[Ino]

You have some handsome boys!! I miss the woods- looks like they have a nice area to chill in!!

[plebayo]

If you notice, even the water bucket and dog house are placed at the ends of the chains so that the dogs can reach them but not go around them.

I actually didn't at first

I think it looks like a pretty sweet setup. I do agree I might worry about stray dogs/other animals but hopefully if that ever did happen you would be around. A lot of people keep their dogs tied out in the yard and never have problems

[mnp13]

A lot of people keep their dogs tied out in the yard and never have problems

Very true.

Ruby I wouldn't worry about (in theory), but the boys - well, Riggs was so excited when he was on the run at camp and a neighbor dog ran up to him... thank God we got to him at the same time the other dog did because he had that "I'm so happy I'm going to eat you" look on his face. You know, the same one that he had in the "Inara Video"