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by vipets on 14 March 2014 - 06:03
Hi everyone!
I am retiring my old boarding kennel & building a new one. The new kennel will have 9 indoor/outdoor runs & a separate cat room. I will have a wide variety of dogs as well as cats so I'm wondering if anyone has a suggestion as to which would be the best dog door for this circumstance.
Thanks in advance!
by Sunsilver on 14 March 2014 - 11:03
What is the climate like where you live? I'm in Ontario, Canada, and after this very cold winter, where I was struggling to keep the kennel warmer than 60 F, and had 2 electric heaters running all the time, at great cost, I would gladly get rid of my guillotine doors, and just let the dogs in and out through the gates to the runs!
Guillotine doors are great in summer, but they leak cold air like sieves in winter! Next winter, if I am still here, I am going to stuff the doors with insulation, then put a piece of wood over the outside to seal out the cold air during the winter.
If I were in a warmer climate, I would get the sort of door where you can close it and lock it at the touch of a button once the dog is inside. Nothing pisses me off more than a skittish dog that comes inside, then pops back out again as soon as he sees me come to close the sliding door! (I have to confess a few of these dogs have found themselves spending longer outside than they wanted to...
I am not going to leave the door open, and let tons of mosquitoes inside while they make up their minds about coming inside for the night! )
Automatic doors would also be great for those dogs that just can't hold it until morning, and have to go out during the night.
Okay, they are expensive, I know, but I can dream, can't I?
My doors are wooden, with wooden frames. The previous owners tried metal, but found they got gummed up with condensation and frost in the winter, and would not slide up and down freely.
One hint for designing the runs and cages: most of my gates, both those to the indoor cages and outdoor runs, open up the full width of the aisle. This means they block off the aisle when they are open, allowing you to more easily 'herd' the dog into the correct cage or run. If I were ever designing a new kennel, I would size the gates so that I could do this. It's a big time-saver, and helps prevent fence-fighting, if you are housing dogs that don't get along with each other!
Other ideas for designing runs: If I were to tear the runs down, and start over, the runs would have a gate at each end. One end, of course, would be the entry point from a centre concrete aisle. The other end would lead out to the fenced yard, which is grass. This would really facilitate snow removal in winter. Currently, I have to shovel the snow into a wheelbarrow, and wheel it out and dump it outside the kennel building, which is a total PITA.
The concrete runs would have the high point in the middle, to allow water and pee to drain either onto the grass at one end, or into the concrete channel that would run just in front of the gate to the run. (The current setup has the drainage channel for the larger runs running right through the runs, so pee and waste can be flushed from one run to the other, which is not very good hygeine.) At the end of the drainage channel, I would have a Roman drain, which is simply a large pit full of rocks and sand.
If I REALLY wanted to get fancy, the runs would have their own underground drainage system that would go into a septic tank, but, of course, in the Ontario climate, this would be difficult to construct in a way that would keep it from freezing in winter. Currently, my drainage channels are frozen solid, and I leave a layer of snow on the runs to act as a blotter for pee. I scoop the poop as best I can between snow storms, but when things thaw, and the drainage channels are working again, there is always a massive cleanup to be done!
Guillotine doors are great in summer, but they leak cold air like sieves in winter! Next winter, if I am still here, I am going to stuff the doors with insulation, then put a piece of wood over the outside to seal out the cold air during the winter.
If I were in a warmer climate, I would get the sort of door where you can close it and lock it at the touch of a button once the dog is inside. Nothing pisses me off more than a skittish dog that comes inside, then pops back out again as soon as he sees me come to close the sliding door! (I have to confess a few of these dogs have found themselves spending longer outside than they wanted to...
I am not going to leave the door open, and let tons of mosquitoes inside while they make up their minds about coming inside for the night! )Automatic doors would also be great for those dogs that just can't hold it until morning, and have to go out during the night.
Okay, they are expensive, I know, but I can dream, can't I?
My doors are wooden, with wooden frames. The previous owners tried metal, but found they got gummed up with condensation and frost in the winter, and would not slide up and down freely.
One hint for designing the runs and cages: most of my gates, both those to the indoor cages and outdoor runs, open up the full width of the aisle. This means they block off the aisle when they are open, allowing you to more easily 'herd' the dog into the correct cage or run. If I were ever designing a new kennel, I would size the gates so that I could do this. It's a big time-saver, and helps prevent fence-fighting, if you are housing dogs that don't get along with each other!
Other ideas for designing runs: If I were to tear the runs down, and start over, the runs would have a gate at each end. One end, of course, would be the entry point from a centre concrete aisle. The other end would lead out to the fenced yard, which is grass. This would really facilitate snow removal in winter. Currently, I have to shovel the snow into a wheelbarrow, and wheel it out and dump it outside the kennel building, which is a total PITA.
The concrete runs would have the high point in the middle, to allow water and pee to drain either onto the grass at one end, or into the concrete channel that would run just in front of the gate to the run. (The current setup has the drainage channel for the larger runs running right through the runs, so pee and waste can be flushed from one run to the other, which is not very good hygeine.) At the end of the drainage channel, I would have a Roman drain, which is simply a large pit full of rocks and sand.
If I REALLY wanted to get fancy, the runs would have their own underground drainage system that would go into a septic tank, but, of course, in the Ontario climate, this would be difficult to construct in a way that would keep it from freezing in winter. Currently, my drainage channels are frozen solid, and I leave a layer of snow on the runs to act as a blotter for pee. I scoop the poop as best I can between snow storms, but when things thaw, and the drainage channels are working again, there is always a massive cleanup to be done!
by vipets on 15 March 2014 - 07:03
Thanks so much for your reply!
We're in Alberta - & it's been a bitterly cold winter. At the moment, in my old kennel, I'm just using a heavy rubber flap. It is easy to teach the dogs to go in & out however I use electric heat in there & the bill is through the roof!
I'm Thinking about a commercial door like the ones by gundogs. Then a guillotine as well.
My new kennel has radiant heat & I love it already! Even in the recent -40 weather I could turn it off at night then the next morning within 10 minutes I could sit on the flood & feel the warmth in it. The dog door haven't been put in yet so it's fairly sealed but I'm sure it will make a big difference.
We're in Alberta - & it's been a bitterly cold winter. At the moment, in my old kennel, I'm just using a heavy rubber flap. It is easy to teach the dogs to go in & out however I use electric heat in there & the bill is through the roof!
I'm Thinking about a commercial door like the ones by gundogs. Then a guillotine as well.
My new kennel has radiant heat & I love it already! Even in the recent -40 weather I could turn it off at night then the next morning within 10 minutes I could sit on the flood & feel the warmth in it. The dog door haven't been put in yet so it's fairly sealed but I'm sure it will make a big difference.
by Sunsilver on 15 March 2014 - 12:03
Can you show me what the Gundogs door looks like? I am not familiar with them.
by ramgsd on 15 March 2014 - 15:03
OK, you have a new kennel. You know now kennel pics are a MUST. So start posting them. We'd love to see them.
Rick
by vipets on 16 March 2014 - 06:03
I'm considering their Easy Door. Here is a link to their site: http://www.gundoghousedoor.com/
I have no idea how to post a picture?
I have no idea how to post a picture?
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