building a dog Kennel - Page 1

 thanks to everyones comments i have alot of great ideas , question should i be concerned about noise ? do I need electiciy ? should I use chain link or that new iron bars? please send comments to dkingjr@comcast.net or just reply here all pictures are helpfull 

Electricity isnt a must, but it sure makes it nice.  If you can do it, I would.  That way you will have lights at night.  Instead of trying to hold a flashlight. 

My indoor/outdoor runs enable me to lock my dogs inside at night to keep the noise down.  I always keep a radio playing in the garage, which helps to muffle the outside noises.  Another good reason for electricity. 

I know some people bring their dogs in and crate them at night to keep the noise down, if your not set up for indoor/outdoor runs.  I used to do that and it worked fine for me. 

Good luck

KIM

www.justk9s.com

We have some solar shed lights that work well in the runs.  You put the panel up on the roof and the lights have a pull switch on them.  A bit of a compromise but much easier than having to run cabling.

Water and power, heavy insulation and dual-pane windows are musts for me here in the Northeast. I run fans in the warm months for ventilation/circulation, a Monitor heater in winter, and often need lights at night and on dark days for chores. If I could afford bar-type kennels instead of my chain link I would have them. I rotated dogs from outside runs in the day time to crates at night last winter while the new building was under construction. NEVER AGAIN!

Hot water is nice, too. Saves hauling buckets and dishes back and forth to the kitchen in the house for washing. A smal electric hot water heater, with a switch to turn it off and on, works well. They heat up quickly so you don't have to run them 24/7. I'd love to have an on-demand hot water heater someday for bathing, but the cost is out of my range thus far. I don't like dog hair in the bathtub in the house, so in winter I am a regualr customer at the do-it-youself doggie wash down at the car wash. Its worth the $6-8 not to have to clean up the mess in the bathroom.

:) SS

Hi

I converted a barn into a commercial kennel, when I was done it was quite elegant and functional (wall paper, hanging plants etc.).  I actually did it on a shoe string budget, I got alot of my materials from Tek Supply, they are online and the best thing I got from them are the polymax panels, they have interlocking features, can be powerwashed, are all white and really brighten the kennel.  It took me a year to build so I could really shop around for materials.  I sloped the concrete so the runs would dry quickly and I purchased grates that go around a swimming pool to cover my gutters.  I used the polymax both indoors and out to protect the building, glad I did.  I made sure the walls were well insulated, then I purchased sound proofing boards and placed them under the water resistant sheetrock and then I put on the polymax.  I lived in fairly close proximity to neighbors and I never had a noise complaint!  Well worth the extra time.  I used crushed rocks at the end of the outdoor runs, I would scoop before I hosed and never had an odor problem.  If you slope your concrete I think I sloped mine 1/4" per foot of run make sure your fencing supplier knows the slope.  I would not even let my guy measure until the concrete was in place, good thing I did because he did not slope his panels and had to redo them (at his cost).  I used propance for heat, I was taking care of many different breeds and many of them older, I used an empire heater because I am in the northeast and it would run w/o electricity.  Tek supply also carried the channels to make the gullitine doors and the cable.  I sandwiched  a piece of plywood between two pcs of polymax to make the actual door.  It was very heavy to you have to use a good quality cable system, but it was very efficient, easy to clean and almost indestructable.  I used Kurunda dog beds, pricey upfront but easy to clean, kept the dogs up off the floor and could be repaired.  I did not allow dogs to bring in thier own beds, to dangerous in a kennel IMO.  Hope this info helps.  I am assuming that you are building this for your own use, but if you are going to board visitors at all keep in mind the swing of your doors, mine were set up to that if someone walked into my office and did not close the door if a dog jumped on the door it would close itself.  All outside access doors swung in.  If you are building this for commercial use I could go on, just let me know and I can give you more info.  My kennel was called Bark Ave., I only sold it because I got sick, I really miss it.  I was proud of what I did.  It's a big commitment but even bigger rewards.  I only took 8/10 dogs and I was booked 6 months in advance,  I really need to stop now!

You do not have to order specially made kennels for slopes. 

You can either leave the extension feet on the end of the run and cut them accordingly to the slope or if you have panels without the raised feet, you can buy 1 bag of concrete and pour small pads for the kennel panels to sit on.  This will allow the space between them and the floor for hosing out debris.

oh yeah, don't forget perimeter fencing!  I never had a dog escape!  I used cedar landcaping timbers and I went to a sawmill to purchase boards, looked great when stained.  Even w/experience a dog can blow by you when you enter the run.  I also covered the indoor runs with vinyl lattice allowed the light to shine through and supported the plant hanging over the runs. Also if you order the polymax panels order extra, they make great privacy panels for dogs that fence fight.  I only used them when I had to, attach w/wire ties.  O.K.  I'll try to stop now!

zukeeper!! Sounds amazing. Do you have any photos?? You are very creative. I am sorry you don't still have your kennel.

Cat

Thank you cat.  My pics are on my old computer and I am trying to copy the info to this computer.  When I do I will post them.

Well, I would have to ask how much money you are willing to spend? If you want high quality products I would go to mason kennels(just type mason kennels in at yahoo). I know a woman that has a kennel with 10 runs in it. She has electric and it is a blessing. Unfortuinatly when she moved into this house which is on 10 acres NO ONE lived there and now people do and are always complaning because is doesn't have sides just a roof that covers all of the dogs from the sun no matter what time of day it is. Plus if you go to mason they will work with you and have a designer there on sight that you can talk to if you have your own idea about how you want your kennel to look. They have several options on there sight for the looks and convience etc.. Well, I hope this helps you make a decision. Have a nice day.