Concrete vs. ground and my dogs

[BlueJack]

I have noticed something over the past year that seems quite strange to me. First let me set this up for better understanding. I got this hound that for some reason or another after living in the same pen for 3 years decided to become an escape artist. My other dog has never even tried to get out. Anyways, after a while I finally decided to put down some strips of welded wire fence (about 2 foot wide) on the inside of the pen where he cant dig out no more. Well he figured out he could dig a little beside the fence get his head under and go right back out where he used to dig. Now I get the bright idea to go to Wal-Mart and buy enough 2x8x16 concrete blocks to form a barrier around the inside of the pen on top of the fence I put down and he hasnt got out in over a year now. Heres the strange part, I have two dogs in this pen and it is 12'x24' and the only time they walk on the ground is when they got business to do. Now I do try and keep it as clean as I can but I still find it funny how when they come out of their house there is a worn out path to the blocks 3 feet away from the front door and right beside their feed bowl and nice green grass everywhere else. In the summer there will be a place wore out next to the garage where they keep cool but the middle of the pen gets mowed every week just like my yard. Why in the world would these dogs rather walk laps all day on something like concrete than be on the soft ground. I am fixing to construct some new pens and thought about going with pea gravel because I thought it would be easier on them physically but they seem to like the concrete. I always knew my boys were strange. LOL

[CAINCUTTER]

Go for the concrete. They like it you will like it. I recently built a new pen. It is the first one I ever spent any money on.. Everytime before I always built a pen based on what ever I had laying around or left over from some other project. This time I spent some bucks. I like off the ground pens, but I also like concret. So I built an off the ground kennel with a concret floor. I floored it with deckboard and then caped it with 1 1/2 inches of concrete. It has been in use for about four months and so far so good. If is easy to clean and the dogs always look like they just had their nails done.

[Emery]

Animals are creatures of habbit. Take deer trails for instance. Cattle do the same thing, if you ever worked on a farm you will know what I mean. My dog has free roam of the entire back yard, but I have paths marked in the grass from where she walks over and over again. If you run the same patch of land over and over, you will find that for the most part the rabbits follow the same trails also.


Emery

[Bsbowhunter]

I think you'll find pro's and con's to either type of kennel you use. I just finished building a huge above ground kennel and am very pleased with it, but it ran me way over what I thought it would cost. I like the health benifits that above ground kennels provide, especially in the summer, as the dogs don't have as much trouble with fleas and ticks when off ground. Looking back, it would of been easier, quicker and a whole lot cheaper to just poor a concrete slab and build the chain link kennels on it. This wasn't an option for me as I built the kennel way behind my house and would not be able to get a truck into that area. Also, try and image mixing and pouring that slab using bagged concrete (not an option either). Speaking of pea gravel, Bev uses it a lot and has talked of the benefits on numerous posts. Check out the pictures of her kennel. Seems like it's working for her. The best "sanity check" is the neighbors. If they ain't complaining, you're in good shape. Last comment, if you poor a slab, remember to put a good pitch/slope on it and level the surface so no water/urine puddles. Also, consider building a home made septic system for whatever you build (exception being the pea gravel). They're easy to made and makes clean up so much easier.

[Ray]

With a concrete slab,you can disenfect it with clorox.In my experience,pea gravel always smelled bad and practically made me lose my lunch everytime I went near it cause it held the oder from my one dogs waste.It got to the point where I spent the 80 bucks for the concrete.That was 12 years ago,I couldn't be happier.

[James Carman]

I have had dogs on dirt, wood floors, above ground and concrete. I have had concrete for about 15 years now and would not go back to any of the other surfaces willingly. My pens slant to the front and side. Waste is washed to a 4' pipe cut in half between two pens. That pipe goes into another in front of the pens and the waste goes 150 feet to a settling ditch. I have very little trouble with fleas, no tick problem and very little problem with worms. I have no problem with sore feet from catching toes in wire. Keeping the feces washed out keeps re-infestation from worms from occuring. In my humble opinion, concrete is the only way to go.

[Bev]

Ray, having used pea-gravel for about 5 years now, I can't imagine why you would have the odor problem with one dog. We don't have an odor problem with 16. Pea-gravel can be cloroxed too. We clorox twice weekly when the temps are above freezing, we live in the city with neighbors nearby and don't have complaints of odor. Don't have a problem with fleas either. (the pea-gravel needs to be about 4" deep to allow proper drainage)

[Ray]

Hi Bev,
That was my problem.I didn't clean the pea gravel like I should have and I did't keep up with it cause,frankly,I'm lazy.lol.It's the truth, actually.I also didn't have 4 inches of it either which would account for the poor drainage problem I had.I'll keep your comments in mind if I ever go back to it.Thankyou.
Take care all and I'll catch you later.Keep having fun!....Ray

[snowshoehareguide]

may make a big difference what type of soil is under the pea gravel. we have blue clay. its good for making pots , lining ponds or you can even grow grass on it but its awful stuff. if you put 4 inches of pea gravel on it it would disapear fast in spring and fall. if you have gravel under the pea gravel then i bet it works great. pete

[Bev]

Good point pete, In this part of Indiana, we have a rich, black soil - perfect for growing really. Low concentration of clay so it drains well, but not loamy either.

Ray, right now our kennels wouldn't be a poster example. It's been almost a year since we put fresh gravel down and we've had over 50" of snow and ice this season (a lot for us). We generally pick up turds every day - even when it snows, but this year it was hard to keep ahead of. It would dump 7" on us overnight and you wouldn't know where to start digging for them. I almost dread when it thaws. Ahhh. but then there's Clorox. Clorox is for cleaning what onions are for cooking. Hard to imagine life without either one.