Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

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JonBailey
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Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 2:34 am

I'm considering K9Grass artificial turf for my future dogs. It is clean, durable and much softer on pooch paw pads than a concrete slab. I suspect that since it is designed for dogs especially it won't get hotter to the touch than natural grass. It's more or less like an outdoor bright-green marine carpet for animal enclosures since boat carpeting must be mold and water-damage resistant. It can be cleaned with a garden hose.

This phony turf is formulated especially for animal enclosures. K9Grass can be Googled to check it out.

I don't like muddy dogs in the house to visit during wet weather.

No more muddy paws in the house. No more holes, digging and erosion in the backyard. No more lawn mowing and resodding.

This will line the ground in their chain-link kennel with a concrete curb fence line border the turf edges bolt on to.

It will be totally durable and dig-proof. The dogs will have plenty of shade provision, a heated dog house for cold weather, a Doggie Dooley septic system (no more garbage cans full of dogsh_t) and a plastic wading pool with a bottom drain and stopper for hot weather.

Good dog keeping makes for good housekeeping.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by gonehuntin' » Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:01 am

It'll stink when they piss all over it. How ya gonna sanitize it?

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by birddogger2 » Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:05 am

Have fun when your future dog gets a case of diahhrea on the astroturf.

That will be fun to pick up and clean up.

RayG

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:12 am

gonehuntin' wrote:It'll stink when they piss all over it. How ya gonna sanitize it?
It gets washed periodically with a hose. It's porous so piss trickles into the ground below. You can use detergent or bleach, maybe: follow the installer's directions for cleaning and care.


Real grass gets killed by dog piss. Dogs tend to favor a corner of their kennel for doing their numbers.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:14 am

birddogger2 wrote:Have fun when your future dog gets a case of diahhrea on the astroturf.

That will be fun to pick up and clean up.

RayG
A little soap and a garden hose with a spray gun: will saturate right through to the ground underneath. The stuff bleeds water and pee through.

You might even have a small sandbox in the corner of your kennel and train the dogs to use it a litter box.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by DonF » Tue Sep 11, 2018 8:26 am

Why not just get a cat and keep in in the kennel and let the dog in the house?

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by cjhills » Tue Sep 11, 2018 8:43 am

you can easily clean it and deodorize it, but dogs don't need grass and soft footing, they need concrete or pea rock or a combination to toughen their feet and wear down their nails.
Dogs mostly learn bad habits in outdoor runs. Such as barking and standing with their feet on the fence. Therefore I keep mine inside except for short periods to go to the bathroom, hunting, training or exercise and fun times in the field.I know you can trim their nails......Cj

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JONOV » Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:18 am

JonBailey wrote:I'm considering K9Grass artificial turf for my future dogs. It is clean, durable and much softer on pooch paw pads than a concrete slab. I suspect that since it is designed for dogs especially it won't get hotter to the touch than natural grass. It's more or less like an outdoor bright-green marine carpet for animal enclosures since boat carpeting must be mold and water-damage resistant. It can be cleaned with a garden hose.

This phony turf is formulated especially for animal enclosures. K9Grass can be Googled to check it out.

I don't like muddy dogs in the house to visit during wet weather.

No more muddy paws in the house. No more holes, digging and erosion in the backyard. No more lawn mowing and resodding.

This will line the ground in their chain-link kennel with a concrete curb fence line border the turf edges bolt on to.

It will be totally durable and dig-proof. The dogs will have plenty of shade provision, a heated dog house for cold weather, a Doggie Dooley septic system (no more garbage cans full of dogsh_t) and a plastic wading pool with a bottom drain and stopper for hot weather.

Good dog keeping makes for good housekeeping.
Though you said you live in an apartment...

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by gonehuntin' » Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:27 am

JonBailey wrote:
birddogger2 wrote:Have fun when your future dog gets a case of diahhrea on the astroturf.

That will be fun to pick up and clean up.

RayG
A little soap and a garden hose with a spray gun: will saturate right through to the ground underneath. The stuff bleeds water and pee through.

You might even have a small sandbox in the corner of your kennel and train the dogs to use it a litter box.
ue

My guess is, it'll filter through and stain the back. No way you'll EVER keep the sink off, even with bleach.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by Mountaineer » Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:53 am

Fake grass has an honest place and marketing some of it just for dogs is actually that...marketing...not a bad ploy and for playgrounds, city dog play areas, etc. it probably has a bit of footing, pun intended.
Or, for lawn areas for which fiddly folks with lawns do not want icky yellow spots or dead areas or do not want to deal with those mean ol’ muddy paws after Poochy goes out.
Placing the product over packed limestone in small areas, as I have down with stall mats in horse stalls, might help too.

All of those possibilities mean nothing as regards installation in a dog’s kennel....concentrated activities of all kinds happens in a kennel run.
Concrete Up...the dogs and humans will both benefit.
Nice when folks think of dogs and reality ahead of icky.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by birddogger2 » Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:58 am

Enough with the dog pee and dog poop. That is most definitely a chitty subject.

Sooooo Jon -

How's that dove season of yours going. You never answered me on that thread, so I thought I'd ask it here since you are obviously not answering it there.

Did you get out? Did you figure out which gauge shotgun to use and which loads?

Inquiring minds want to know.

RayG

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by mnaj_springer » Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:31 pm

JonBailey wrote:I'm considering K9Grass artificial turf for my future dogs. It is clean, durable and much softer on pooch paw pads than a concrete slab. I suspect that since it is designed for dogs especially it won't get hotter to the touch than natural grass. It's more or less like an outdoor bright-green marine carpet for animal enclosures since boat carpeting must be mold and water-damage resistant. It can be cleaned with a garden hose.

This phony turf is formulated especially for animal enclosures. K9Grass can be Googled to check it out.

I don't like muddy dogs in the house to visit during wet weather.

No more muddy paws in the house. No more holes, digging and erosion in the backyard. No more lawn mowing and resodding.

This will line the ground in their chain-link kennel with a concrete curb fence line border the turf edges bolt on to.

It will be totally durable and dig-proof. The dogs will have plenty of shade provision, a heated dog house for cold weather, a Doggie Dooley septic system (no more garbage cans full of dogsh_t) and a plastic wading pool with a bottom drain and stopper for hot weather.

Good dog keeping makes for good housekeeping.
Is this an info-mercial?!? I'm in sales and marketing, and this internet forum post sounds more sales-y than every ad I've ever run combined! haha Seriously, am I the only one who read this in the Sham-wow guy's voice?

Anyway, my dogs are inside except when I'm out with them or we let them out to do their business. I have a big yard so they don't pee in the same spot enough to kill the grass. As far as when their paws get wet and they come back in... I could care less. I like being the kind of guy who will have the occasional paw print on the floor, or toddler footprint, for that matter. Life is lived in my home.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 3:18 pm

cjhills wrote:you can easily clean it and deodorize it, but dogs don't need grass and soft footing, they need concrete or pea rock or a combination to toughen their feet and wear down their nails.
Dogs mostly learn bad habits in outdoor runs. Such as barking and standing with their feet on the fence. Therefore I keep mine inside except for short periods to go to the bathroom, hunting, training or exercise and fun times in the field.I know you can trim their nails......Cj
Concrete will get too hot to the touch when exposed to mid-day summer sunlight. Of course with any kind of ground cover used in a dog yard or kennel, my dogs would have plenty of shade provisions in their outdoor area. Concrete slabs as a kennel ground liner may also cause orthopedic problems as in the joints from that constant pounding. Gravel inside a dog run is troublesome to keep groomed and is not gentle on their feet either. Barking outside can be curbed by certain electronic devices. There is an anti-bark e-collar, and even more convenient, a device that makes unpleasant noises only animals can hear to curb incessant kennel barking. If the dogs bark too long, the device will make a high-frequency sound beyond human hearing range that hurts their ears. If they lean against the chain-link fence with their front paws, I don't care. I just can't have dogs running free inside the house while away at work all day long. It's a recipe for home interior destruction. I won't pay and arm and a leg for pet sitting service either. I don't like cooping animals up too long also. I always have kept dogs in pairs: a male and a bitch for mutual company.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by averageguy » Tue Sep 11, 2018 3:54 pm

Ask for advice on any subject and then repeatedly argue with the advice you received from folks with decades more experience than yourself. You are at least consistent, Jon.

But it begs the question, why ask for advice if you already know all the answers?

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 4:35 pm

averageguy wrote:Ask for advice on any subject and then repeatedly argue with the advice you received from folks with decades more experience than yourself. You are at least consistent, Jon.

But it begs the question, why ask for advice if you already know all the answers?
Not a single question was asked in my OP except for the heading "Is your kennel lined with artificial turf"? In that case I just wanted a YES or NO answer from other people. I wasn't seeking advice on what to do for myself. The purpose of my thread was to make suggestions about dog-keeping to other people here. Many people may have not considered special astroturf designed for dogs for their own pooches. As a human, I know myself, from decades of experience, how painful it is to walk on sun-beaten cement barefooted. I can only imagine it doesn't feel good for dogs as well. I also know by experience with Lab retrievers that a kennel with natural grass turns to mud eventually and that leads to mud all over the house when they come inside to visit. I'd prefer my dogs to sleep by my bed at night to give me company and security against burglars anyway. I also demand they be clean inside the house as well. From what i have studied online so far, astro turf for canines seems to be the best solution to muddy dogs out there though no possibility for a kennel ground cover is absolutely perfect. Artificial grass will a few compromises as well but a muddy house is still much worse than whatever few shortcomings phony turf will offer. I don't want pigs in my bedroom. A concrete slab inside a dog run may provide for clean dogs and easy cleaning with a hose, but it seems cruel to animals to me.

I am now really trying to plan and engineer how I will keep any future dogs I may get. I want no more messy houses. Keeping a neat and tidy household with dogs around is somewhat of an art if not a science. It takes some inventiveness and maybe some cleverness.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by averageguy » Tue Sep 11, 2018 4:51 pm

A dog without shade and fresh water will die in the summer heat regardless of the surface. With Shade and Fresh Water, Concrete has been proven an excellent surface for dog kennels for at least the 40 years I have been housing dogs on it. Which is what multiple folks have told you in this thread. I don't sell astro turf, concrete, or dogs, so no dog in this fight for me. Sounds like you have it all figured out.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 4:58 pm

averageguy wrote:A dog without shade and fresh water will die in the summer heat regardless of the surface. With Shade and Fresh Water, Concrete has been proven an excellent surface for dog kennels for at least the 40 years I have been housing dogs on it. Which is what multiple folks have told you in this thread. I don't sell astro turf, concrete, or dogs, so no dog in this fight for me. Sounds like you have it all figured out.
I appreciate your input, average guy.

Concrete still might be worth considering. It might also depend on whether you own your own home or rent. A landlord may object to a concrete slab but might OK astro turf since it can be more easily removed. I would also have to compare the cost of installing a concrete slab vs the cost of installing astro turf from contractor bids. Astro turf will need some special chemicals occasionally to clean and sanitize.

My biggest concern is that concrete may feel uncomfortable for the dogs to run on and lay on even in the shade.

Have any of your dogs kept in concrete kennels suffered joint or other canine orthopedic issues?

If considering concrete for a dog area, I would ask my vet for an opinion about it first.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by cjhills » Tue Sep 11, 2018 5:07 pm

JonBailey wrote:
cjhills wrote:you can easily clean it and deodorize it, but dogs don't need grass and soft footing, they need concrete or pea rock or a combination to toughen their feet and wear down their nails.
Dogs mostly learn bad habits in outdoor runs. Such as barking and standing with their feet on the fence. Therefore I keep mine inside except for short periods to go to the bathroom, hunting, training or exercise and fun times in the field.I know you can trim their nails......Cj
Concrete will get too hot to the touch when exposed to mid-day summer sunlight. Of course with any kind of ground cover used in a dog yard or kennel, my dogs would have plenty of shade provisions in their outdoor area. Concrete slabs as a kennel ground liner may also cause orthopedic problems as in the joints from that constant pounding. Gravel inside a dog run is troublesome to keep groomed and is not gentle on their feet either. Barking outside can be curbed by certain electronic devices. There is an anti-bark e-collar, and even more convenient, a device that makes unpleasant noises only animals can hear to curb incessant kennel barking. If the dogs bark too long, the device will make a high-frequency sound beyond human hearing range that hurts their ears. If they lean against the chain-link fence with their front paws, I don't care. I just can't have dogs running free inside the house while away at work all day long. It's a recipe for home interior destruction. I won't pay and arm and a leg for pet sitting service either. I don't like cooping animals up too long also. I always have kept dogs in pairs: a male and a bitch for mutual company.
I really hate feeding the Troll, but I will once.

Concrete will get too hot when exposed to the midday Sun. That is why they are not out inn the midday sun. My kennel has AC to maintain the temp. at 74 degrees F. Never had a dog with orthopedic problems. Unless your dogs are neurotic wrecks( which will be pretty likely) the do not constantly pound the concrete. Do you have any idea how much a dog sleeps in a day, if he is left by himself? It is very easy to clean the poop from pea rock with a bedding fork and leave the rock. Pea rock does need to be Cleaned and deodorized occasionally. Both are easy. It is very good to tuffen up the dogs feet as is concrete. Some dogs will dig in the pea rock. many ways to stop that
I do know about bark collars, Believe it or not my GarminTritronic Ecollars do both.

The worst thing is the standing on their back legs with their feet on the fence all day. That can cause orthopedic issues. The dog is far better being inside all day even if it is in a crate. They don't get over stimulate and develop barrier frustration and other mental issues. They also do not need to be in pairs single dogs do just fine. I am sure a huge number of very well adjusted pets are in single dog homes.

Your choice of bedroom companions is purely personal and has no place on this forum. It will be your dog do what you like it will all work...…….Cj

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by averageguy » Tue Sep 11, 2018 5:29 pm

I have never had an orthopedic problem with kenneling my dogs on concrete. Nor have I ever had a dog which spent any appreciable time on its hind legs while in the kennel. Never had a dog pace in a kennel. Key to that is I get my dogs out of the kennel a minimum of twice a day everyday for exercise, training, hunting, mental stimulation ... My dogs also come into my home for several hours daily. But they go outside when I go to bed, or am gone, or occupied with something otherwise. Keeping them outside makes them more weather hardy including developing a better coat.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by averageguy » Tue Sep 11, 2018 5:49 pm

Here are some photos of my current Kennel setup. In the past I did not have a roof and instead had a couple of 2x4s across the top to support some welded wire, which had shade screen material zip tied over it. And that kennel was set under multiple shade trees. I like the roof alot better as it eliminates having to shovel snow out of the kennels or off the flat roof as I had to in the past.

I also had a kennel setup at one of my farms for short duration stays and used 18 inch concrete blocks for the flooring of it. If set on a firm base of dust concrete is ok.

Image

Metal Blade Ceiling fan on a switch and an outlet to run a water heater in the winter. I zip tie the cord along the top rail so the dog has no access to it.
Image

Dog Houses set inside the insulated 6 inch walls of the Machine Shed. Hydrant to the left to blast out the floor and refill the water buckets daily. Note kennel set on concrete blocks which raises the bottom rail high enough to hose out bedding materials that get drug out of the dog house over time.
Image

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:26 pm

JONOV wrote:
JonBailey wrote:I'm considering K9Grass artificial turf for my future dogs. It is clean, durable and much softer on pooch paw pads than a concrete slab. I suspect that since it is designed for dogs especially it won't get hotter to the touch than natural grass. It's more or less like an outdoor bright-green marine carpet for animal enclosures since boat carpeting must be mold and water-damage resistant. It can be cleaned with a garden hose.

This phony turf is formulated especially for animal enclosures. K9Grass can be Googled to check it out.

I don't like muddy dogs in the house to visit during wet weather.

No more muddy paws in the house. No more holes, digging and erosion in the backyard. No more lawn mowing and resodding.

This will line the ground in their chain-link kennel with a concrete curb fence line border the turf edges bolt on to.

It will be totally durable and dig-proof. The dogs will have plenty of shade provision, a heated dog house for cold weather, a Doggie Dooley septic system (no more garbage cans full of dogsh_t) and a plastic wading pool with a bottom drain and stopper for hot weather.

Good dog keeping makes for good housekeeping.
Though you said you live in an apartment...
I plan to live in a house in the future. Possibly when my well-to-do elderly aunt dies or when I get off disability and back to work in a new professional career whichever comes first. Living in an apartment now does not preclude my interest in dogs, however.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:39 pm

cjhills wrote:
JonBailey wrote:
cjhills wrote:you can easily clean it and deodorize it, but dogs don't need grass and soft footing, they need concrete or pea rock or a combination to toughen their feet and wear down their nails.
Dogs mostly learn bad habits in outdoor runs. Such as barking and standing with their feet on the fence. Therefore I keep mine inside except for short periods to go to the bathroom, hunting, training or exercise and fun times in the field.I know you can trim their nails......Cj
Concrete will get too hot to the touch when exposed to mid-day summer sunlight. Of course with any kind of ground cover used in a dog yard or kennel, my dogs would have plenty of shade provisions in their outdoor area. Concrete slabs as a kennel ground liner may also cause orthopedic problems as in the joints from that constant pounding. Gravel inside a dog run is troublesome to keep groomed and is not gentle on their feet either. Barking outside can be curbed by certain electronic devices. There is an anti-bark e-collar, and even more convenient, a device that makes unpleasant noises only animals can hear to curb incessant kennel barking. If the dogs bark too long, the device will make a high-frequency sound beyond human hearing range that hurts their ears. If they lean against the chain-link fence with their front paws, I don't care. I just can't have dogs running free inside the house while away at work all day long. It's a recipe for home interior destruction. I won't pay and arm and a leg for pet sitting service either. I don't like cooping animals up too long also. I always have kept dogs in pairs: a male and a bitch for mutual company.
I really hate feeding the Troll, but I will once.

Concrete will get too hot when exposed to the midday Sun. That is why they are not out inn the midday sun. My kennel has AC to maintain the temp. at 74 degrees F. Never had a dog with orthopedic problems. Unless your dogs are neurotic wrecks( which will be pretty likely) the do not constantly pound the concrete. Do you have any idea how much a dog sleeps in a day, if he is left by himself? It is very easy to clean the poop from pea rock with a bedding fork and leave the rock. Pea rock does need to be Cleaned and deodorized occasionally. Both are easy. It is very good to tuffen up the dogs feet as is concrete. Some dogs will dig in the pea rock. many ways to stop that
I do know about bark collars, Believe it or not my GarminTritronic Ecollars do both.

The worst thing is the standing on their back legs with their feet on the fence all day. That can cause orthopedic issues. The dog is far better being inside all day even if it is in a crate. They don't get over stimulate and develop barrier frustration and other mental issues. They also do not need to be in pairs single dogs do just fine. I am sure a huge number of very well adjusted pets are in single dog homes.

Your choice of bedroom companions is purely personal and has no place on this forum. It will be your dog do what you like it will all work...…….Cj
Dogs are animals: living creatures with feelings. How they are kept and cared for is as pertinent as how they are trained for field work in this forum. I am too soft hearted to coop dogs up in tight confines all day long. Back when I had two Labs, up until 2004, they were kept in a custom chain-link yard about 70 feet long by 20 feet wide. The ground was natural turf that eventually eroded into mud. They could not come into the house during wet weather since they got messy. They had to be put into the garage at night in a large cage with a heat lamp hanging over the top at night during cold weather. During the day, all day long, in all seasons, come rain, shine or snow, they were in their outdoor kennel with an insulated Igloo house and a door flap on it. During the summer they had two shade trees, a custom canopy I built, and a large plastic wading pool to cool off in during summer weather. I am just now contemplating that should I ever get two future dogs, I want to have a much tidier living arrangement for them with still plenty of space to run around during the day. I refuse to coop up animals for long periods in small enclosures.

Furthermore, I had an uncle down South who told me that hunting hounds were commonly kept in small enclosures so that it did not supposedly "ruin their good nature" as hunting dogs. I would rather take a chance in having a retrieving-breed dog that is not worth a "bleep" in the field because "I spoiled him with too much living space" at home if what my uncle said about keeping hunting dogs was true. Some sportsmen evidently think they have to treat their dogs like convicts in maximum security prison to be of good quality on the hunt. I'm not convinced that a jail cell of a kennel is an absolute must to make for a good hunting dog. Some farmers also are not very generous in regards to how much space is given to their livestock as well. My mother taught me that cooping up animals was cruel.
Last edited by JonBailey on Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by cjhills » Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:02 pm

mine spend the time when they are not training, hunting or on a run twice a day in 5 X6 kennels in a heated and air conditioned building. they are out in a run for about an hour twice a day Unless we are hunting or training. The temperature varies from 35 below to 95 above so I like climate control. It is the 21 century. This works very well
well for me. when they are not hunting, training or exercising they sleep. If I was just starting I would build a kennel addition on my house. dogs sleep about 18 hours a day.....Cj

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:08 pm

cjhills wrote:mine spend the time when they are not training, hunting or on a run twice a day in 5 X6 kennels in a heated and air conditioned building. they are out in a run for about an hour twice a day Unless we are hunting or training. The temperature varies from 35 below to 95 above so I like climate control. It is the 21 century. This works very well
well for me. when they are not hunting, training or exercising they sleep. If I was just starting I would build a kennel addition on my house. dogs sleep about 18 hours a day.....Cj
Depending on somebody's work schedule, familial status, household composition, job, health, income level, location and lifestyle, there might not be enough time in a day to spend much time taking one's dogs out of their kennels on runs. You can afford to hire a pet sitter to run your dogs if you are "made of gold". If you have the time and energy to take your dogs out on two daily one hour runs, that's nice. Every person's situation regarding keeping dogs or ability to keep dogs ethically and humanley differs. I can't own dogs ever again unless I can consistently provide for their well-being and comfort over the long haul. Right now, I am not financially fit to responsibly own dogs so I don't.

I am a bachelor and have no family members to mind the dogs at home should I be away at work during the day and I would NOT be willing to pour much money into pet sitting service even if my job income were fairly decent. I can't have pooches that break my bank.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by gonehuntin' » Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:33 pm

If you watch dogs left to their own devices in a house, they'll go into their secure kennels and sleep all day or plop on a couch and sleep all day. The best way to keep a dog outside is on a coveted concrete run. It is the only material that can be sanitizes and kept odor free. It has zero effect on a dog's joints or feet.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by averageguy » Tue Sep 11, 2018 8:09 pm

Jon, I started a lawn mowing business when I was 11 and kept earning my own money from there on. For my entire career I commuted from the country where I lived to the city where I worked. Got up at 4:30 am, worked out, then turned the flood lights on and went outside and chore'd the horses and the dogs. Worked puppies under the flood lights during the winter months of short daylight. Put on a head light and took the dogs for a run around the acreage in the dark, put them up and went to work, got them out first thing when I arrived home and did it again. Used all my vacation to hunt something somewhere... How much money a person has or doesn't is of far less consequence than how dedicated they are to things that are important to them. We all have 24 hours in each day, up to each of us how productively we use them.

FWIW You could not pay me to keep my dogs in a building during the heat of the summer, dependent on AC which can fail while I am away at work for 12 -14 hours vs having them in a secure shaded kennel which has no such venerability to catastrophic but common mechanical failure. Shade and water still work in the 21st century.
Last edited by averageguy on Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by cjhills » Tue Sep 11, 2018 8:49 pm

If my AC failed during a14 hour day it would still be cooler than outside. Insulation does that, plus the dogs to not have deal with biting insects, neighbor kids and other distractions. My 2 house dog sleep almost all the time except when I take them outside. one is a six month old pup.

The OP is right if he can't spend an hour or two with the dog daily he should not have one. It is about priorities....Cj

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:14 pm

gonehuntin' wrote:If you watch dogs left to their own devices in a house, they'll go into their secure kennels and sleep all day or plop on a couch and sleep all day. The best way to keep a dog outside is on a coveted concrete run. It is the only material that can be sanitizes and kept odor free. It has zero effect on a dog's joints or feet.

Thanks, gonehuntin. I still am willing to ask a vet for his opinion on concrete slabs for dog kennels.

Of course, even if he gives the OK on it, I will have to price it out to compare it with the cost of installing K9Grass fake turf. I would also ask him what he thinks of K9 grass.

So, the possibilities for me are now slimmed down between pooch turf and concrete. I am certain either one of those solutions will keep the dogs clean during wet weather seasons.

I once had a male and a bitch: while in their outside kennel, which was about 15 hours a day, when they weren't eating, drinking sleeping, barking, chewing on Nylabones, and beef leg bones, going to the toilet, or running around the kennel, they were making love.

No, I never had a/c for my dog kennel. The only time they would get a/c exposure is when they were clean enough to come inside my house. They got by fine with plenty of shade, drinking water and cool, clean wading pool water when the temps hit 105-110. Often on outings in my truck, they were taken to the cold Boise River for a swim during summer sizzles. I would take them to the same river during the snowy winter. These Labs were so cold-hardy they would swim in the dam_ river even if it were snowing outside and act childishly giddy about it. The Boise River never seems to freeze in winter. After these cold winter river outings, they would be put in their garage cage to warm up and dry out under the 250 watt IR heat lamp. In the future I would have a good insulated dog house in their outdoor yard with a built in thermostatically-controlled heater. I didn't have a hearth in the house I lived in with my labs. My next house will probably have a fireplace, or a wood stove, my dogs could curl up by after a cold, wet outing.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by porochi » Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:36 pm

I have the K9 grass in my GSP's run. He doesn't like it and continually digs at it until he can roll up a section and expose the dirt underneath. Then he promptly plops down and lays on the dirt. No matter what I do to secure it he always manages to roll up a few feet and lays on the dirt. Now I just let him. Makes him happy. I

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by JonBailey » Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:37 pm

porochi wrote:I have the K9 grass in my GSP's run. He doesn't like it and continually digs at it until he can roll up a section and expose the dirt underneath. Then he promptly plops down and lays on the dirt. No matter what I do to secure it he always manages to roll up a few feet and lays on the dirt. Now I just let him. Makes him happy. I
I checked out K9Grass website and the turf is supposed to be secured with screws along a solid fence edge such as a concrete curb. Maybe your turf wasn't properly anchored by the installers?
K9Grass claims that "dogs can't dig through their product". I figured if it can stand up to the rigors of NFL games, astro turf can handle dogs.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by Mountaineer » Wed Sep 12, 2018 5:30 am

Moms and Uncles can give bad advice.....it happens.
They often do not mean to but their narrow experience base and limited depth of knowledge simply permits bad advice to take root and spread.
Moms and Uncles would often do well to listen more. :idea:

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by gonehuntin' » Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:59 am

Let me go at this from a flooring guy angle because that's what I am, I own a flooring store and we deal with all types of flooring. They these products are UV stabilized and that's fine, except they all break down under the sun. They first fade, then become brittle, they disentigrate. All of them if uncovered. It's just a matter of time (five years). Next, the back on most is rubber and perforated. Great, it allows drainage but like all rubber, the back picks up and holds odor. Even if it doesn't, when the pee drains through lays on the stone or concrete, is impossible to wash off because you can't get a jet of water at it, and stinks. You think you can clean dog crap out of it? When they have diarrhea and it sinks to the bottom in that thickly tufted grass, you'll never get it out.

If I were to try anything, I'd get one of the new WPC core plank floors and go with it. Nobody guarantees them outside but it's my belief, if they are covered, they will outlast anything but concrete. The are relatively inexpensive, waterproof, and easy to install and change. Hosing them off is no problem, using a shovel on them is. It would probably scratch. Still, I think that may be the product of the future. They're getting close. Plus, you can install it then take it up and take it with you if you move. A product to consider. Look at Coretec and Shaw.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by averageguy » Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:01 am

I use these dog houses with the divider and swinging door in the divider which traps the dog's body heat in the nest box area. The design keeps out drafts and also provides the dog a place to lay in the hallway when it is more comfortable doing so. I take the divider out in the summer. As posted my current setup has the dog houses placed inside the adjoining insulated Machine Shed, but for many years other kennels at other locations, the dogs houses set at the outside end of the kennel run. I wired the dog house to the kennel to ensure they could not be moved out of place and the dog escape. In the winter I placed straw bales around them as well. Never had a dog suffer in the least. In the coldest of sub-zero temps the dogs were always outside the dog house bouncing with excitement when the lights came on in the house and they knew their morning work would follow shortly after. Those same dogs developed wonderful undercoats which allowed them to do cold water waterfowl work in brutal conditions. To each their own but notions dogs physically suffer when being properly housed out of doors are completely false. Their mental state depends on how dedicated the owner is to providing daily exercise and stimulation, not where they are housed.

http://www.deer-creek.org/page7

I mentioned before that I have used 18 inch concrete patio blocks for a kennel location on a farm I owned at the time. I think it might be a good alternative for your situation on a rental property. Your chain link kennel, dog houses, and blocks are all easily removed in the case of you moving to a different location. A base of compacted sand with the 18 concrete blocks would be a surface easy to keep clean and impossible for your dogs to dig out from. The blocks could be sold if you decided to go a different route should you move. Black dirt spread over the sand could easily restore the yard relative to landlord concerns. Food for thought.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by mnaj_springer » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:14 pm

JonBailey wrote:
cjhills wrote:mine spend the time when they are not training, hunting or on a run twice a day in 5 X6 kennels in a heated and air conditioned building. they are out in a run for about an hour twice a day Unless we are hunting or training. The temperature varies from 35 below to 95 above so I like climate control. It is the 21 century. This works very well
well for me. when they are not hunting, training or exercising they sleep. If I was just starting I would build a kennel addition on my house. dogs sleep about 18 hours a day.....Cj
Depending on somebody's work schedule, familial status, household composition, job, health, income level, location and lifestyle, there might not be enough time in a day to spend much time taking one's dogs out of their kennels on runs. You can afford to hire a pet sitter to run your dogs if you are "made of gold". If you have the time and energy to take your dogs out on two daily one hour runs, that's nice. Every person's situation regarding keeping dogs or ability to keep dogs ethically and humanley differs. I can't own dogs ever again unless I can consistently provide for their well-being and comfort over the long haul. Right now, I am not financially fit to responsibly own dogs so I don't.

I am a bachelor and have no family members to mind the dogs at home should I be away at work during the day and I would NOT be willing to pour much money into pet sitting service even if my job income were fairly decent. I can't have pooches that break my bank.
My wife and I both work regular 8 hour days. I'm not far from home when at work (2 minutes away), but I am usually too busy to go home. So keep that in mind when I say this.... my dogs live in the house, but all day they are crated in the house. Yep, it's true. I am completely convinced that they sleep all day long and would either stay in the kennel, stare at the window, or try to get on a couch or chair if I left them out all day. Here's how I know... every day, towards the end of the day when everyone is relaxing in chairs my EP puts herself in the kennel and my springer goes downstairs and lays on the dog bed in the living room. And also, on occasions when I have forgot to shut the crate door when I leave, guess where they are when I get home... THAT'S RIGHT! They're in the crate. They live a cushy, happy life. And when I'm too lazy to take them on a run I throw a ball with a chuck it. So little effort, so much exercise for them.

You're putting up barriers that don't exist.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by porochi » Wed Sep 12, 2018 9:06 pm

I laid the K9 grass in my kennel myself, over ground, not cement. But my GSP manages to pull up a corner and roll up a section so he can lay on the dirt. He hates laying directly on the k9 turf. not sure why, maybe irritates his skin. I leave it in kennel nonetheless because it helps keep the ground from just getting all muddy. I spent quite a bit of $ on it and was surprised that my dog seems to not want anything to do with it.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by CDN_Cocker » Thu Sep 13, 2018 8:49 am

Completely unnecessary and not overly hygienic. Concrete is fine and keeps nails short as well as easy to clean. You're not housing an exotic tiger. There's a reason the top guys keep it simple. It works.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by fishvik » Thu Sep 13, 2018 2:19 pm

Take it from me, someone who has hunted S. Idaho for over 40 yrs, if you keep your dog on a soft surface, keep your Vet on speed dial. You will have cracked and cut paws and broken nails with the lava content of the soils, cacti spines and thorny plants.

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Re: Is your kennel lined with artificial turf?

Post by Featherfinder » Fri Sep 14, 2018 2:09 pm

Often , I offer responses that are specific to my experiences, my application, my preferred hunting style, my climate. An answer on this subject based on someone from Alaska might have a significant variance from someone in Arizona.
In my particular "neck-of-the-woods" I have poured outside concrete runs: 3 - 38" X 15' X 6 ' high (one run has a chain link roof too) and 3- 38" X 12' X 5' high. All are gated at one end. This is the external aspect of the containment. This run abutts a north facing barn (kennels run north/south). This is a wonderful asset as it offers moving shade throughout the day without a fixed or permanent roof. I prefer this because the sun (in part because of UV rays) can actually be a wonderful natural sanitize r
a s it naturally migrates across the runs. I have never in 40 years had a problem with a parasite or virus permeate my 6 runs....touch wood.
At the barn end (opposite the gaited end) there is a cut-out that allows the dogs to go into the barn. Inside the barn are individual rooms roughly 5' X 6' with concrete floor which houses a double-walled insulated dog house with a flat removeable roof. Therefore the dog(s) can lay in the sun outside, lay in the shade outside, lay inside the barn on the floor, on the flat roof of the dog house or inside the dog house.
The concrete has a somewhat coarse "broom finish". This is not for esthetics but instead to ensure the dog's pads stay tough, to an extent.
The dog houses also have thermostatically controlled Hound Heaters for colder weather. Heat is not an issue here so no need for A/C which I personally think is a detriment unless you can provide it while hunting.
Each run has a 2 gallon stainless steel water pail that is secured by a snap to the fencing. Any bigger a pail is not utile here simply because I prefer to dump the water cyclically anyway and refresh it, just to be on the hygienic/safe side.
The other advantage for me here regarding concrete is that once again, I cyclically sterilize the runs. It just works.
I see no practical use for artificial turf, regardless of what the manufacturer suggests....only disadvantages.

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