Bedding? - Page 1

OK, it is cooler today then I like it, but never really gets cold and miserable for long in Texas. What does others use for bedding in your outside runs. Cloth bedding turns into expensive chew toys, any suggestions. What would be better ~ hay or cider shavings. Thanks

For cold temps, there is nothing better than Wheat Straw. Make certain it is Wheat Straw. Oat straw will irritate a dog's belly and cause a rash. In warmer temps the Cedar shavings are the best. Cedar repels insects and keeps the dog house clean and fresh. Every spring, I have the Dept. Manager of Walmart order me 100  Cedar Packs. They run $6 a piece and one will over fill a large dog house. 3 weeks ago we winterized the dog houses, and now each one is packed with Wheat Straw.

Thanks, I have used cedar shavings in the past, so I will stick with that. Just wanted to know if there was any thing else better, not as messy.

Cedar shavings rule as far as I am concerned. 

CEDAR SHAVINGS    EVEN THOUGH THEY SPREAD THEM OUTSIDE THE BOX,,THE STILL CLEAN UP WELL AND REPELL INSECTS..

iVE TRIED EVERTHING FROM BLANKETS,,,WRONG   , CHEW TOYS AS YOU SAID...NEWSPAPERS ARE A SITE BLOWING ALL OVER THE ACREAGE BECAUSE THEY SHRED IT AND OUT IT FLIES...

Just did all my kennels with the Kuranda (sp?) beds, best thing i ever did, well worth it the dogs love it they off the floor

I have used everything at one point. I am using straw. The drawback, it absorbs all urine and moisture and hold it in. When you clean it up, you will find a smelly, bacteria laden "mush" at the bottom hat looks dark borwn & black and is very slimy, so you must change it 2 -3 times weekly. I even spread straw in the outdoor puppy kennels to absorb urine (instead of pooling up and getting the pups soaked over & over), and it also makes picking up poop easy. The poop sticks to the straw and you just scoop it away, vs. scraping and washing the flooring itself. Lets face it, when pups have soft stool, it smears and spreads everywhere! Word of caution: Poop tends to get covered up by the straw so you really have to "look" for it under the straw. The most important thing to remember is that you must change it frequently! Even if you just use it in the dog house, it will still become wet and mushy over time. One great advantage in the winter time, poop will "freeze" to the straw making clean up easy, instead of having frozen scrapings of poop until the thaw comes.

Cedar shavings: They do work well in repelling insects however, some dogs have allergic reactions to the resin in the the chips. Also, because they are small pieces, cleaning is a bit harder as well.

Blankets: Get waterlogged and chewed. They are also a breeding ground for bacteria once wet.

I decided there is no real easy way or "one solution" when it comes to outdoor runs. So I buy several bales of straw every 2 weeks and change the runs frequently. I cart off the dirty straw in my utilty cart behind my mower and dump it in a "compost" pile on my land.