outdoor kennel flooring rubber mat or plastic panels - Page 1

I have a pen that I filled 21 feet by 19 feet with pea gravel to prevent the dogs from digging and to end the mud problems.  I would like to cover the gravel with either heavy-duty rubber mats, or with the kennel deck flooring which is plastic panels that click together and allow air flow below the panels.  Does anyone use the plastic panels or the rubber mats for their pens?  It gets very cold here in the winter, so I don't want the dogs to be too cold or too hot in the summer.  Part of the kennel will remain grassy area.

I use horse mats....nice and thick and seems to hold up to the weather....

the only down side I have found to the stall mats is urine drainage. other than that, a very good heavy duty flooring, that is easy on the dogs.

I think the next run I build, I'm going to try decking boards. haven't decided on wood or synthetic yet.

Don't have any experience with the plastic kennel decking, but see that it is 2" thick, so should be heavy duty enough.

I used horse stall matts for years and they worked great.  My dogs do not potty in their kennels though.  On the rare occaision we had a poo accident it was a bit difficult to clean because it got in the grain on the matt.  Had to use a scrub brush.  They do get hot in direct sun, but are ok if you have a shade on top of kennel. Now we have since re done our kennels and I have a beautiful paver patio.  It is fabulous.  My dogs in only in kennel while I am at work so I don't worry about the concrete being too hard on them.  They have individual dog houses for shelter and a kurunda bed in run to keep them off the hard concrete if they choose to lay outside.

Lyn

Having worked in many kennel situations (vets, rescue, boarding/daycare, breeders, trainers) plus having had my own kennels I've had a lot of experience with kennel materials.  

When using gravel, be prepared to refill the gravel periodically.  Put a barrier at least 8 inches tall if not taller at the outside base of their kennel, to help keep the gravel inside their kennel.  As long as the gravel is well maintained then it makes a very satisfactory kennel surface.  
 
Rubber mats do not necessarily prevent mud problems and they can actually be more troublesome when the get covered in mud or pooped and peed on, just imagine one big sloppy mess.  Rubber mats can be awfully slippery when wet, so they shouldn't be placed where the dogs like to run.  (Stall mats work very well for horse stables because normally they are covered in absorbent bedding and picked clean daily (or at least should be) before they have a chance of getting sopping wet.  Plus, most horses don't run in their stalls)
I like rubber mats inside the doghouse or on top of a sturdy pallet where the dog can lay on them but discourage them from running on the rubber mats (or pooping/peeing on them)

I've dealt with cleaning kennels that were lined with plastic deck floors and I ended up hating them, they trap so much smell underneath them and can be a major gross hassle to pick them up and clean properly underneath.  One or two decks are ok for dog beds, but not so many of them that you risk the dogs going potty on them. 

The best thing for cold winters is well insulated barn/building or dog houses and wind block.  Apart from having an air-conditioned building that the dogs can get into, the best thing for hot days is water, shade and possibly a hole dug in the ground.  

I tried the wood decking and it holds the urine and poo smells. I tried all the different stains/coatings and it did not make any difference. No cleaner out  there gets rid of the smells either. I will never do that again.