What to use for outdoor kennel flooring? - Page 1

For those of  you who use horse stall mats, do you just put the mats right on the dirt?

I am considering pavers, wooden deck, stall mats.

Any other suggestions?

I have rock eaters and diggers.

I am wondering if concrete or pavers would be too hard on their joints.
Would wooden deck be a softer surface?  None of my dogs go potty in their kennels, however
I do have one that is stiff and limping after she gets up.

I currently use stall mats. I plan to redo the kennels this spring, because I did put the mats right on top of the dirt. Ohio has had an extremely wet year, and very little freezing over the winter. Because of this, the area under the mats has been very wet around the edges, and the dirt (mud) is squishing out from underneath. I plan to make a raised area using landscape timbers that extends about a foot beyond the kennel and fill with gravel for drainage, then place the mats on top of this. A friend of mine has also used the large 2x2 flat patio stones for her kennel with success, they are heavy and can not be hooked and lifted by determined dogs. However, her dog is in and out and does not live predominately in the kennel.

One thing to keep in mind. Stall mats are BLACK. If they are not in a shaded area, when the sun hits them they can get VERY HOT!! And while your dogs may enjoy this in the winter, it is less than appreciated in the heat of summer. They work best if on the north side of a building. Made sure you shade the west side also with a tarp or vinyl privacy fence (mine chewed up the tarp so they could have a better view!)

-Sue

You need to watch the wooden decks. They can become very slippery when wet (rain will blow in even if covered). The man who owned the sire of my Rottie had him slip and take a hard fall dislocating his hip! Another thought for diggers, and I have not tried this, is you can buy Hog/Cattle panels at Tractor Supply. They are about 4' by 16' panels. you could put them down and cover with sand or dirt (pea gravel?) for the floor. As they are made of galvanized rod about the diameter of a pencil (you need bolt cutter to cut them) they will not tear them up.

-Sue

May back wooden deck has a roof attached to my house.  The deck is 5' high.
I am wanting to put two kennels under the deck.  It has nice brick columns on the sides and
the rain (maybe the way the deck is facing) never seems to get wet under it.
I just need to get the kennels off the ground because they are diggers.