The American Beagler Forum

i was wondering when building your own dog kennel does it matter what wood you use. I was told to use regular oak and i was told you can use pressure treated wood. Just seeing what to use. Thanks

if you dont mind spending the extra money on treated wood then great, if not make sure you use some king of sealent to make it last longer

Pressure treated wood contains arsenic! It can be fatal if your dog chews it and eats it. I use regular plywood, and paint it with one coat of primer sealant and a few good coats of a good exterior latex paint. Just my two cents.

i stopped at a lumber yard and they said that the only way the pressure treated wood the only way the arsneic comes out is if its burnt out of it

I'm not sure, but I don't thnk they sell the CCA (arsenic) treated wood anymore, they started treating it differently; but if you have it, it leaches arsenic when it rains. I have it & I worry sometimes when it rains if its leaching into the dogs water bowls. Its an issue because its been used a lot on little kids playgrounds. The lumber yard was probably talking about if you burn it, it would release arsenic gas that can be breathed in, however, you could also breath it in when you cut it. Home Depot wasn't allowed to cut it for customers, especially indoors. I'd stay away from it.

One more tip... the paint I used on my kennel I got at Lowes in the clearance isle. Originally it was almost $20.00 a gallon, and I got it for $3.50! A customer had the color blended and wasn't satisfied with the way the color turned out. They had a bunch of it there like that, and for a kennel it was fine. It was kind of like a forrest green, and when I painted my kennels and tucked it in behind some pine trees, you couldn't even tell they were there if you drove by and looked in my yard. I've had this kennel for about 6 years now, and the paint still looks great. I used regular 3/4" plywood for the houses and roof and it's holding up great.

i posted a question similiar to this on the Rabbit Hunting Online board and I used wood that my grandpa thought was treated with arsenic but it had been laying around for a while. I used all treated wood and im going to have a deck for the floor. I was told that if i used a water seal or some other kind of paint i, cant recall the name of it, then the dogs would be fine.....i went ahead with it and the pen is still under construction. keith

ive used treated wood for the past 10 or 12 years in my kennels. had puppies, young dogs, pregnant dogs, old dogs etc all in with it. pups chewed and ate it at times. never had any problems but thats just my experience.

i appreciate all your help

I`ve got over18 years with one pen that is pressure treated, still sturdy and haven`t lost one pup or dog in it......need to change the wire every few years......
A friend sprays his pen with K-1 keroscene, motor oil and diesel fuel, he puts it in a spray tank, and does his pens once a year, he has horses also and he dips post in it also and they are over twenty years in ground, he said to keep it thin???????sprays better, he said to mix a Qt of oil and a gallon of each of the others........
He sprayed my new pens 5 months ago and the pups don`t chew and water beads off........

I have made dogboxes, off ground kennels, etc for over 15 years and have never had any problems with dogs getting sick or dying because of treated wood - use it.