# Bedding for kennel, what do you use?



## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

Hope this is in the right area.
I cleaned out the kennels yesterday and we have been using hay as bedding.
I was wondering what the alternatives are.
We bought a bail of shavings to use for the turkeys but found that it was really fine and dusty so I don't want to use that.
I don't want to use anything cloth as it will absorb moisture and become a mold problem.
Just wondering what other people with kennels use as there bedding choice.


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## JazzyGirl (May 25, 2009)

? Where is your dog kept? 

I use fleece that I used to use for my guinea pig cage. Her kennel is in our family room.


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## MayzieGSD (Aug 28, 2006)

Mayzie's kennel is indoors also and I use a Kuranda bed... http://www.kuranda.com
but it sounds like you are referring to an outdoor kennel. I have read that straw is better than hay (I can't remember why though)


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

OH, I guess that would help, knowing where it is.
This is for the outdoor kennel.
The dogs have an enclosed area with a regular chain link kennel with patio stone flooring. But there are only 3 sides used as the forth side is the wall to the garage. They have there "rooms" in there with a raised heated(winter) floor. This is the area I am concerned about.
Beyond that the whole house is theirs to roam inn sleep, play, what ever, as we don't use crates.
The kennels are used to house them when they want to be outside and I can't be there to supervise. They also love their kennels and some prefer to stay out there in the night.


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

I was going to use straw and was told that it can cause mange????
That is why we decided to use straw.


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

I used straw in an outdoor kennel that was 6x12x6 for years. However my dog also used it as her potty area...so I just changed it often and it never caused mange or any other health problems. I scooped often and changed it monthly. Only problem was what to do with the old dirty stuff.


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## WiscTiger (Sep 25, 2002)

Raya has a pen in a building that long ago was going to be my horse barn, lol my horse was clausterphobic and we made a lean-to shelter for her and she was happy. Any way I use shavings on the concrete floor for her.


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## Renoman (Apr 10, 2009)

Straw is better than hay for 3 reasons.

1. hay has seeds that can take root.

2. straw is hollow, making it a better insulator particularly in the colder months.

3. straw is cheaper than hay usually.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Sometimes I put straw in their dog houses, sometimes I don't. I bring them in at night. 

I prefer cedar chips, easier to clean and better smelling. Not as good of an insulator though. 

Mine have cots and also a pallate to lay on in each kennel, as well as their dog houses. The pallate is made out of 4x8 sheets of marine plywood and two by fours. Their dog houses have raised floors. They all love their cots. They do not mold. 

Kennel flooring is concrete.


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

Thanks, the floor of the garage is concrete and in the dog rooms there is a raised floor of plywood. Attatched to the bottom of the plywood in a heated cable, it's the same kind that they install on houses along the eves to stop the ice from forming in the evetroughs.
It keeps the floors nice and toastey but not overly hot. The dogs love to lie out there even in the nastiest of days. 

Question about the cedar shavings. Do you find that the shavings cling too much to their coats and gets traveled around?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

No. I ran a 2x4 x14 along the bredth of the kennel giving them a four foot x 14 foot potty area. That worked great to keep most of the chips in that section. Generally they will not stick to the dog unless the dog has something on its fur like if they rolled i poo -- very rare.










This has the pallate and cots I use. I no longer use the wood chips for a toilet area -- easier to scoop the poop and then hose it down when necessry. Wood chips make hosing it down very difficult.


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

Oh I get it! Great shot of the little pup sitting in the background!
I still need something for them to cuddle up in when the weather is bad.
I somewhere had the instructions for making one of those beds, I should dig around for it today and see what the material will cost, Looks like a great way to keep them up off the cement.
I cringe evertime I look out and see them lying on it.

I'll get a couple of pics later today and post them.


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## chruby (Sep 21, 2005)

Nice kennel Sue!!


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## Doc (Jan 13, 2009)

What kind of cots are you using Sue? And you now use nothing in the toilet area?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

The one inside the shelter is a custom made cot. The problem is it does not shed water so when the rain comes down it gathers a puddle. So I put them inside the shelters and they work nicely. I cannot remember who I got them from, someone on the internet. I like them just they do not shed the water. I will try to find the company.

The one outside is a Coolaroo cot, size large. They come in blue, tan and green that I have found. I LOVE them. A good chewer will take them out, but if you spend a little time with them, you can overcome that habbit. Whitney outgrew eating the cots. Everyone else is ok except Milla and she just needs a bit more time. (She EATS dog houses too.)

The coolaroo cots can be purchased at Walmart for 19.99 if the ever have them, PetsMart for 29.99 when they have them. And at Pet Co for 39.99 -- they generally always have them. 

No I took out the two by four by fourteen when I cut the two huge kennels into a total of four smaller kennels. Now there are two at 14' x 11.5' and two at 14 x 12.5'. They poop on the concrete and I scrape it up. I can hose it down when necessary. The wood chips get up under the shelfs and cut off drainage. Since it was only the one side everything still drained pretty well. But I found it just as easy to just clean the poop.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

My dogs love plastic folding chairs to lie on too. I only buy heavy duty ones that are not going to close up on them. They love to lay on them. -- yep, I have all the weird ones.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Not sure if this was the thread we were comparing and contrasting hay and straw. I know that many a barn fire is caused by damp hay spontaneously combusting. I have not heard that this can happen with straw. I hope not, because left over straw is often in my shed next to my house. 

I am not worried about combustion happening outside in the elements, but in sheds or indoor kennels it can be a problem.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

This is where I got the more expensive, custom cots from:
http://www.doglogic.com/comfybed.htm


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

They say they can support 450# without any problems, but that doesn't mean they cannot be bent when significantly less than 450 pounds falls heavily on the cot. And the green and purple and blue and red landscape that erupts on you from doing so is most interesting. 

This is why Heidi's cot is a little bent. It is certainly functional. 

The cots are comfortable and light, and I would buy one for myself for those whelping marathons.


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