New pens; for retired and visiting dogs & stopping unplanned love in the dog yard.
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.
Maya Angelou
This may be true, but as responsible dog owners sometimes we have to do what we can to prevent it. That, and a desire to have a more comfortable place for our retired dogs, were the big motivations behind this fall’s kennel improvement project.
You may remember last year’s Monster Make-Over, well the houses are no longer new looking. They are, however; safe, dry, and comfortable. And since they were built with removable floors I was able to clean them all out this fall in preparation for winter. Having housing under control this year allowed us to focus on the pen project. This summer we had a fortunate find of some good heavy duty wire fencing and used poles. All that was needed was some additional lumber and concrete. A little (OK a LOT) of effort. And, like all big scale projects some big scale toys. For that a big Thank You to our sponsor TJ’s Land Clearing for the use of the dump truck and chipper.
Trying to make these pens as escape-proof as possible.
The pens were made to be especially hard to escape from, with posts pounded in and set in concrete. The floor of the pen is lined with fence that is set in the ground with spikes and sewn with wire to the walls. Then seams in the flooring fence were covered with wood so dogs could not hurt their feet on the edges. A wooden edge was added to the bottom of the front walls where digging is very likely to occur. Pens were then filled with pea gravel to cover the fence on the ground, and lastly filled with fresh wood chips. The insides of the doors are lines with fence, so dogs can’t destroy them (at least not easily, we hope). In addition to being attached to the floor; the sides and inside walls are nailed to the door frames and top rail, as well as wired to support poles at midsections. The door frame footer is set in concrete. We really went all out to make these pens safe; and the dogs in them secure.
“A fence lasts three years, a dog lasts three fences, a horse lasts three dogs, and a man lasts three horses”
German Proverb
*although the numbers seem low to me.
These pens give us more flexibility in the dog yard. Pens are not only great for making sure nobody can visit with females in heat. They can also be useful if you have a dog recovering from injury. We built 5 pens total, with one being a much larger pen that will allow us to let groups of dogs stay together. This is especially nice when we babysit friends dogs, they can all hang in the same pen. Right now 3 of our visiting dogs are doing just that and enjoying being able to run around and play together. And 2 of our older dogs have already moved in and made themselves at home.
Very pleased with our effort, and the dogs seem to agree. With that project crossed off the never ending ‘to do’ list the dog yard is looking good for winter. Fish and straw have been purchased and stored. The kennel is ready for winter. Now we can focus even more conditioning and training the kids for the adventures ahead.
– See what went into making the new pens –
You know it is going to be a fun project when there is equipment involved.
Dan preparing the site for the new pens.
Jake telling Dan what he thinks of the project so far.
More equipment, fun, fun!
This time it was an auger to make post holes, way easier then digging by hand.
Fencing laid down to line the floor of the pens.
Fence seams are connected with wire.
Loads of gravel cover the wire fence on the pen floor.
Pressure treated lumber set in concrete for the front wall and gate posts.
Wooden door frames and gates for the pens. The bottom of the door frame is set in concrete and the doors are lined with wire fence on the inside.
Lining out the inside walls: additional poles were set and a top rail to support the inside fence walls.
These guys are ‘testing’ the big pen before we put the wood chips in.
Wood chips, made on site with an industrial chipper.
Jake (r) and Diesel (l) are the first to move in to the totally finished pens.
A finished pen ready and waiting.
When you’re safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you’re having an adventure you wish you were safe at home. Thornton Wilder
I have always loved that quote, and know the ring of truth in it. The marvelous adventures we have with our kids are only part of the relationship. It is built on trust, they know they always have a safe home to return to. Kennel improvement projects like this are just one way Dan and I make sure we honor our commitment to our dogs; providing a safe comfortable home to enjoy when they are not out having wonderful adventures with us on the trail.
