Building a Kennel

[Omega]

Hello All,
I've thought it over and I want to build a kennel for my little girl who is approx 8 weeks away.

DISCLAIMER:
I have no intention of leaving her in the kennel for extended periods of time. I intend to have the her with me as much as possible, just like we did our beloved Onyx.

With our last girl Onyx, we enclosed our back patio and put a crate in there for her (with the door latched open) and she had access to the back yard. It was warm in the winter, cool in the summer and she could move around at her leisure.

However, I want to be a responsible Rottweiler owner and I know there are several situations that this is not the best possible solution.

Several times a year we have family get together at our house and there are many small children 3-10 who come over and like to play in the backyard, and in the past I had to have Onyx with me (supervised) or put her in a bedroom. Also if I can’t take her to work with me for some reason and must leave her home during the day, and somebody jumps my fence into my yard and she bites them I still get sued and the breed gets another black eye. I figure crating her is not a solution in these situations because with a kennel she could move around a lot better, have access to water and a place to go potty.

How big should a kennel for (1) Rotty be???

I was thinking approx 15’ long, 5’ wide, & 6’ tall(so I can easily enter it to clean it). I was also thinking of making it the first 6’ or so concrete and the remaining back portion grass. I personally don’t like the idea of them going potty on concrete if they don’t have to.

I was thinking something like this.
http://www.swtdc.com/kennelsmall.jpg
My CAD package doesn’t do chain link very well but I think you get the idea.

Now I live in San Diego, and while it is a city with fairly mild weather it can get warm (100+) on summer days and cool (near freezing) on winter nights. I cannot foresee a situation where she would be outside at night in the winter, if I had to leave she’d be in the patio room, but I’d like to take as much into consideration now in the planning stage as possible.

So how can I build this modularly to best protect her from the elements?

I definitely want to cover it in some way to create shade; I also want to maximize ventilation. Maybe some of that green house sun shade cloth, or a raised plywood roof that can also act as a wind block on one side in the winter months?
I was also considering building a dog house, but I think it would need to be elevated so as to not take up precious ground space.

I’m looking for ideas so please let me know what you think.

[Burnsway]

I usually just put my dogs up in rooms when we have too many people over or I'm uncomfortable with having them out around some company. When we leave they are put in separate rooms from one another.

In one of my old homes I partitioned a section of the yard off behind our detached Garage. Don't think I have a picture but it worked well. It was about 15 by 20 feet and there was a dog door that went into half the garage that was set up safely for them with an old couch and mattress with blankets water and yes even a TV......... It also had air fans and a heater.........

[Soulworx]

Originally Posted by Burnsway

an old couch and mattress with blankets water and yes even a TV......... It also had air fans and a heater.........

Lucky Dog!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Burnsway]

Originally Posted by Soulworx

Lucky Dog!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, whenever my first hubby and I would get into it I had no problem being the one to go to "THE DOG HOUSE".........

[Shaw_2112]

This idea came from a man who kept his hunting dogs in a kennel year round. Concrete pad for the dog house and the rest of the pen was dug in approx 1 1/2 feet deep. 1 foot of sand over 6 inches of gravel. Great for drainage and easy to keep clean plus you don't have to mow inside the kennel. 6 ft covered chain link fence. I would find someplace that has plenty of shade or cover it somehow. Size of the pen is entirely up to you but I think 15x5 is adequate, they can stay in smaller places (crates) for long periods with no problems.

[rottsnroses]

Although we don't kennel our dogs outdoors where we live now, we did during the day when we lived in Colorado.

We initially had grass, which was a bad choice as it wore down pretty quickly and turned to mud when it rained. Also, with dogs pottying in the same small area, it made for some pretty stinky odors. We fostered a rescue that was a digger and I was always worried that she was going to dig her way out, so we installed a smooth concrete slab, poured wider and longer than the runs, and set anchors in the concrete. The slab was nice and cool for the dogs in the summer, and we used wood shavings in the potty/poop zone which did a nice job of absorbing urine. It was easy to keep clean, plus easy to disinfect and deodorize.

The roof section was over the dog houses and was sloped away from the kennels. It was set on posts wider and longer than the runs so that rain didn't drain back into the runs. Over the top of the runs we installed chain link fencing, with shade cloth over that. We found that this worked particularly good in the winter and kept most of the snow out of the runs. After a snow, we would just brush off the snow with a push broom. We planted deciduous shade trees around the kennels to provide shade from the hot summer sun. In the winter, the trees didn't have foliage, so the runs were warmed by the sun. All in all, it made some very nice, secure and comfortable runs.

[Vivianne]

Another option to consider before you decide on what size to make the kennel is what you'll be using to offer the dog shade. If you don't already have a shady spot in the yard you might want to build the kennel according to what size tarp you can purchase at your local home center.

They come with reinforced corners and gromets already to go. You can either buy one that will overlap the kennel and tie it down to the chain link portion of the fence or if you buy one slightly smaller then lacing a rope through the gromets and the upper bar of the fence is another way to secure the tarp over the kennel.

There are other options like ordering a custom canvas cover, but I've found that over the years the more economical solution are the tarps.

I'll also share one other word of advice from one kennel owner to another. Consider burrying chicken wire under the kennel that will be dirt. In case your girl becomes a digger like mine was the chicken wire will deter her from digging further once she reaches it with her nails.

One more item I added to my kennel in the summer was a plastic wading pool (child size). I filled it half way up and it offered my girl some relief from the hot Florida summers.

Good luck to you.

[damp]

I have had dogs surviving here for more than 25 years in temp. from – 4 to 86 degrees 6 – 8 hours a day.

http://home1.stofanet.dk/manse/html/hundegard_0.html
(click at the small pic. to the right to browse)

I should add the kennel has been renovated to the better a few times… new doghouse, roof and last month a wall to the side of the neighbour and new wire netting.

As far as pooping and cleaning… it’s my experience that a “kennel trained” dog never poops or pee in the kennel.It's his "crate". If the dog is taking for walks, it will not even poop in it’s own garden. I never have something to pick up (on my own property ) but I admit he marks on my newly planted spring flowers. (There are more than one reason I gave up my vegetable garden years ago )

[K9-man]

Originally Posted by damp

As far as pooping and cleaning… it’s my experience that a “kennel trained” dog never poops or pee in the kennel.

I've found this to be true with most of my dogs.