# Outdoor kennel questions.



## Chrissie_r_nc (Apr 19, 2009)

We built an outdoor kennel for our pups last weekend and it looks great. Now I am having trouble keeping the flies away. I also want to know if anyone has ideas on what to put on the ground. They are already wearing out the grass because it has been raining so much. Instead of going in the shelter they stay right in front of the gate and churn up the ground. We live in the foothills of NC and if you live there you know a lot of rain and red clay don't mix very well. So if anyone has any ideas we would be very grateful. They look miserable and I want to make them as comfortable as possible. I have thought about straw but don't know if that will create more mess and attract more bugs.


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## GoldenMom (Jan 2, 2005)

I used to have an outdoor kennel at my previous house (didn't bother to put one in here). If I had stayed there or if I had put one in here, I was going to use pea gravel. It will drain, doesn't become muddy, and is softer on paws than concrete (although I wouldn't totally discount using concrete-maybe with stall mats on top?).


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## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

What size of pups?


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## lmnde (Sep 25, 2006)

Large chip mulch will also work well, if it doesn't get washed off, and it is easy to pick up poop out of it. Unless you have a real big run, the grass will eventually go if the dogs are in it all the time, that is simply a given. I used to do cedar and pine chips/shavings in ours, but they need constantly replenishing too [cedar bedding will cut down somewhat on flies].

Frequent poop pick-ups + raking, lime [when wet and getting fragrant], and a bug granular application every 2-3 weeks works for us [that keeps the flies pretty much covered, also spiders, ants and fleas under control]. Another thing to help with the flies would be DE in the food [also good for internal parasites].

Gravel or crushed rock will work, but poop pick-up + cleaning can be a pain, and it does need frequent "deep" hosing off to reduce odor build up [more than a same size concrete run]. Concrete makes coats gummy and sticky - not much fun to play with or cuddle a dog kept on concrete. Would also require daily pick-up and hosing off to keep clean, the bonus - you can wash off once a week with bleach and virtually don't get fleas.

I like having mine in as large a run I can afford space wise and fencing wise - the larger the run, the less odor and the less raking and clean up required. They get to run around, dig holes, chew up bones, toys and pretty much keep themselves entertained when left alone, vs having a small run where they just stand around and wait for someone to come for them. Good quality food will also produce smaller, firmer and less messy/smelly BMs that faster disintegrate by themselves. There will always be muddy/churned or loose dust/dirt near gates and the sides closest to where the house [or the action] is, I had good results with putting pavers down, or putting a small concrete area right by the gate [also avoids digging and escapes, when they get lonely and want to join you at the big house, LOL].


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## fordson major (Jul 12, 2003)

over the years we have gone from dirt runs to pea stone and the last 34 years concrete. can't keep any of the others even remotely clean even with twice a day pickup. even patio stones work well though the cracks are problematic. a weak solution of javex and pine oil can keep the run smelling fresh.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

I have my dog on concrete, but I set something up using buildings I already had.

For the flies, I got one of those automatic spray things. I have two in the shop, one in the barn (dog and cats) and one outside in the horse run in shed. It "squirts" every fo often. Bottle lasts about a month and batteries usually last a season. The flies haven't gotten bad here yet so I have not turned them back on. I don't know how it would work for real "out in the open" as I'm doing it in areas that have a roof and three sides. The horses love to go hang out in the cool shed under the sprayer. I ordered it from Jeffers Supply. The only precaution with animals is not to have it spraying within 12' of the food supply.

Before I did this, we would get overrun with flies by late summer. 

Cathy


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## Nette (Aug 17, 2003)

You could try coarse sand--I think it's called "screenings"? I have three pens that have dirt bottoms, and one with concrete. In my dirt pens, it's just one dog per pen, and the pens are fairly big, so it's not so bad. Of course, over the years, with different dogs, at different stages, and different degrees of escapability rolleyes, my pens have required a great deal of patching to the fencing, and they sure don't look so hot. Thankfully, they're in an area with shrubs and trees around it, so it's not such an eyesore. I haven't had trouble with flies at the dog pens, but we sure do have trouble with them at our calf barn. We use a granular-looking fly bait, and it works well. Maybe you could put some in a bird-feeder or something, and hang it off the ground--outside the kennels, of course. Somewhere so the dogs couldn't get to it?


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## Chrissie_r_nc (Apr 19, 2009)

Thank you so much for all of your ideas. I will most likely be trying a combination of suggestions you have given me. To answer tailwaggin they are smallish right now. They are 5 months old and there are 5 of them. The mom is a skipperki and the dad is a golden retriever. We refer to the collectively as the brat pack.Oh and the size of the pen is 25x25 I think.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

For now, get some concrete pavers and place them where the wear is the worst, in front of the gate and under the gate.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> *Large chip mulch* will also work well, if it doesn't get washed off, and it is easy to pick up poop out of it


That was my first thought, AFTER concrete, and pine bark mulch is easy to find in NC


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## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

Chrissie_r_nc said:


> Thank you so much for all of your ideas. I will most likely be trying a combination of suggestions you have given me. To answer tailwaggin they are smallish right now. They are 5 months old and there are 5 of them. The mom is a skipperki and the dad is a golden retriever. We refer to the collectively as the brat pack.Oh and the size of the pen is 25x25 I think.


I use weed mat then sand trap sand but my dogs are small toys. A friend uses screening and likes it. she has both small and larger breeds. both of us are on SC red Clay.


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## DW (May 10, 2002)

We had 2 lab sisters that could DIG & cranky neighbor. Our pen has cement foundation and cement on both ends but the middle is dirt (sandy). We also have trees around it for shade. It was very easy to keep clean b/c they would go on the back slab. Easy to shovel & wash. NOW they are both gone and here we are w/another lab mut...nothing to clean...she is rarely in the pen (neighbor is gone), I usually weed the sand part. We still use the pen...I think it is important for safety reasons. If we all leave, she stays in the pen. It also has an insulated house that can be heated. She does stay out sometimes...like after visiting with the black & white "kitty"...until I get to the bath. Our challenge for this summer is get her to stay on a chain (new ones aren't chain) so we can take her camping...she is young and quite fun!!


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

I use river rock (pea gravel too small- ground sucks it up fast and it does not stay put well) and concrete pavers/ stepping stones/ patio blocks. I use the patio blocks under the gate to prevent dig outs. I use stepping stones or concrete pavers along the path they run the most. I surround all the exposed perimeter of the pen with real railroad ties to help keep gravel inside and to prevent dogs from nosing under fence or digging out. Works well for me. In the begginning I had to refresh the rocks yearly, but after a few years it went to every other year and longer. For my 8ft by 20ft pens I used a pickup truck load intially then would use a half a load to refresh. The only thing is it does take maintence of raking the gravel from time to time as it gets out of the pen by the gates and gets moved around in the pens. When I had to pooper scoop (before I fed raw) the river rock was easy to scoop out of and not much clung to the feces. I hate concrete- hard on joints and no drainage, so paws get pee on them when the dogs urinate and if they step in thier poo, it is all in the feet, where with river rock, urine drains immediately and the poo gets sunk in gravel enough to prevent dogs from wearing it.
I tried pine mulch when I had 40 ft square pens for groups of dogs...it gets scattered too and does not last long and is never where it needs to be to keep the mud out. Plus it absorbs urine...I would rather have it drain. Now my potty pen by the house, I do not use anything except for straw in the wet areas when we are in rainy season. The pen stays well grassed. But this pen is only used for a few hours a day tops- not full time containment as it is for the dogs that are on house time.


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

Oh for flies- I use the purple bottle from TSC (think it is Bugs Off or something like that)- it is residual, so I spray the ears for a few days and then after that every 2-3 weeks- unless I have a dog that likes to play in rain, then that dog gets respritzed after his ears dry  I only use it on ear tips as that is the only place my dogs get bothered by the flies. I do not have a big fly issue, but bad enough as the neighbor has a horse and manure plie that sits uncovered about 100 ft away from my kennels. I had to start storing my bottle in the kennel building as it started dissappearing after I used some on the neighbors horse one time when she said no fly sprays worked on her horse. I used to just hang it at the top of my 6 ft perimeter fence. Guess that one worked great on her horse- so well she felt the need to take the bottle.


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