Dog run

[kcbarnes]

Next summer I will be building a garage and adding a deck to the back of the house.Under the deck will be a walk out basement that I will do some sort of patio. What I would like to do is fence in a small part of the back yard and walk-out for a dog run for our border collie. I know that any grass in that area is doomed so I would like to put something down to help keep the mud at bay and be good for a dog to be on.I don't know if some sort of stone, gravel or fabric is in order. Any ideas?

Kevin

 

[Boondox]

Depends on the ground. Woodchips work well unless there's a lot of moisture there, in which case they decompose and cover your dog with the dreaded slime of decay. The best setup I ever saw was a breeder who used pea-sized gravel of a significant depth. Easy to spot the poop. The small size and smooth shape of the gravel didn't get stuck in paws. And the once weekly dousing with a bleach solution quickly disappeared.

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[GrantMO]

KC,
I used 16" concrete squares sitting on sand with sand between the joints. They had a sale on them and I used about 50-60 of them. The advantage over pouring concrete is you can move it or change if you want to. In two years they haven't moved much at all and still look pretty good.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I am not convinced that any one surface is the all-around best. The trade-offs I usually think about are comfort, sanitation, and security. The relative importance of these items depends on your dog, size of the run, fence construction, etc.

Grass is a wonderful surface for a happy dog, if he will leave it alone. Unfortunately, it holds bacteria and parasite eggs and can be dug out by a persistent digger.

Concrete is great for cleanup (i.e. sanitation), but is not that good to run on (constant pounding on the dogs joints may lead to injury).

Pea gravel is OK for footing, and is not the worst surface for sanitation. However, it can be easily dug out.

I have seen pavers used successfully, but have also seen one run where they collapsed at an edge due to undermining by rodents or erosion.

 

[looch]

The kennel where I bought my dogs uses a combination of stone dust in the larger areas and thick, rigid rubber panels in the individual runs. The panels are terribly expensive though.
I'm building a new kennel next summer. I've decided to go with concrete. It's easier to clean; easier to shovel snow in winter; keeps the dogs pads in good condition; and keeps their claws short (I hate trimming black claws). The kennel that they're in now is all stone dust. It's a good surface once it's hard, but if the dogs dig it up before that it's difficult to fill in the holes - they keep re-digging.

 

[TerryinMD]

Kevin,

One of the best methods of keeping your dog in a confined area is to use a hidden fence. I was skeptical of their effectiveness until a neighbor installed and trained their dog with it.

They work!!

We purchased an Innotek Smart Dog Contain N Train system. It does two things. Contains the dog and has a remote for training. It is somewhat expensive about $300 depending on where you purchase it. We got ours off of the net.

We installed about 1500' of wire around the perimeter of our property. this gives our dog about two acres to enjoy. This way you do not have to have any special place for the animal. It can choose it's "favorite" area and have some room to just be a dog.

We also have a bordie collie. They are fairly easy to train since they are fairly smart and sensitive (did you ever see a dog pout!!). Once they learn about the flags which mark the borders and understand what the shock means in relation to the flags, the dog will stay within the confines of the perimeter.

Terry

 

[Harv]

I gotta agree with any of the "shock treatment" approaches to containing dogs. I resisted for long time, thinking it would be too cruel of a thing to do to my australian shepherd/border collies (see attached), but when a 6-foot cyclone fence proved to simply be something to climb over or dig under, I bought a fence charger. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

I remember spending a couple of weekends "electrifying" the entire yard, including some 300 feet of chain link fence in preparation for their new confinement. I dreaded the idea of zapping my li'l friends every time they felt like doing what comes natural, but I knew I had to do something.

Now, the irony of the thing was that each dog touched that wire exactly once with a wet little nose, and immediately decided that it was something that was to be avoided at all costs. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif They eventually learned that they could walk right up to it, even lean over it, but they were not willing to go any further than that. From that point on, I could confine them anywhere I wanted by simply laying a piece of the same wire on the ground. Even inside the house, if I wanted them to stay out of the living room for a while, I just laid a piece of wire on the floor at the entrance to that room. I could then spend the rest of the evening watching them sit patiently at that doorway, just waiting for me to take that wire away. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

If I had known it was going to work that way, I could have saved a lot of time and money by just "conditioning" them to the wire and then just playing the bluff. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[jimgerken]

We built one out of pressure treated wood, like a real light-duty deck. 2x4 sleepers right on the leveled ground, then 1x6 (not 5/4 decking, a 1x6 measures 3/4" x 5 1/2" and is cheaper) screwed on. After this had been in for a few years, I went back and modified it so it was smaller than the kennel area by 6" on each edge, to offer the dogs a "killing zone", for the mice which had decided it was a good idea to live under there. Now, no more mice since the dogs can wait for them at the edge and kill them. The toads do love this arrangement though, and they are beneficial. I feel the wood is easier on the dogs joints than concrete, since it is an insulator and is not as hard and abrasive. So far this simple arrangement has lasted 14 years and there is not end in sight yet. If you do this, put your boards tite together since they will dry and leave gaps. And use stainless fasteners because I have had to replace a few as they seem to rust off. Do only half the kennel, set the dog house(s) on it, then the other half can be sand. The dog figures this out pretty quickly. Cleanup is easy on sand, even runny ones can be rolled and picked up with a small shovel. To prevent digging out at the fenceline, 6x12x2 patio pavers can be buried on edge 6" into the ground, end-to-end right under the fenceline. I have not had one dig deeper than halfway (and I own a husky). The wood is easy to clean with a hose. For geriatric dogs with bad hips and traction problems, you may wish to add what is called "cow mats", a 1" thick deeply grooved rubber pad of 4' x 6' for about thirty dollars. I use these in high traffic areas around the food and water, and at the doghouse entrance. They are comfortable to lay on, they are black and warm up faster in cool weather, and they rinse easily. Curiously, the dogs will not chew them, even my new Shepard puppy has no interest in biting them.

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>dig deeper than halfway (and I own a husky)</font color=blue>
I can attest to this! We've had a husky for just a little over 1 year and boy does he like to dig! He also likes to 'talk'. He's got the smallest bladder of any dog we've owned (he almost didn't live through house training /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif and he soaks any new visitor to our home). He's the most animated dog we have ever owned. I'd buy another one in a heart beat. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[jimgerken]

"buy another in a heartbeat..."
Want mine? Just kidding.