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It is important to know your dog
While it may sound odd to think that you need to ‘dog proof’ your kennel and run area, it is a very wise thing to do before you introduce your dog to his new kennel. Owners who fail to do this run the risk of ending up with a damaged kennel or run, or worse still an injured dog or puppy.
It is important to know your dog. This can be difficult if you have just bought a new puppy or you have somehow inherited a new dog that you know little about. The first thing you should do is read up on the breed, you can learn a lot from understanding the basic weaknesses and strengths of the breed in general. It also stands to reason that in general a puppy will get into a lot more trouble than an older, more mature dog. While that is not always the case, you will find that to be a fairly accurate assessment of a new pup.
Here are a few things you should be aware of:
Puppies love to chew. Some breeds of dogs are also notorious ‘chewers’. My Golden Retriever chewed up just about everything she could get hold of, especially if we were not paying her enough attention! Dogs that chew will latch onto the side of a kennel, kennel roofing, pieces of kennel flooring that sticks up and they will chew oftentimes until they completely unattach the piece they are working on. Make sure that any kennel or run flooring is firmly pressed down so that no pieces are sticking up. Wood kennels can be prime candidates for being chewed on. If your dog is a chewer, consider building or buying your kennel from something other than wood. Keep kennel roofing out of reach of your dogs, whenever possible.
You should also make sure that you do not have any small pieces of gravel laid in the pen if your dog has a tendency to pick them up and chew them. Small puppies have become seriously ill after chewing and swallowing pea gravel. Even older dogs will sometimes pick up stones and gravel and chew on it.
If you have any electrical wiring going out to the kennel keep it out of the reach of your dogs.
Watch out for dogs that love to dig. They will easily dig their way out of a dog pen unless the fencing is reinforced and sunk low enough into the ground that they are not able to dig under it. One simple way to keep your dog from digging out of his pen is to dig a trench on the inside of the fence and fill it with large rocks, then cover it up again. That will effectively deter your dog from digging himself out.
Attending to these few tips will help to keep your dog or puppy safe in his kennel and run. It is well worth the extra effort it takes to ensure their safety, as it will save you in vet bills and will ensure the happiness and well being of your pet.
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!