Overview of sled dog kennel

[Swanny1790]

One of the things I really like about my place is that I can walk out to the end of the large attached deck, and see the entire kennel. Here's how it looked this evening.

[OnceInAWeil]

Very neat setup!

[Swanny1790]

Very neat setup!

Thank you very much. I put a lot of work and take a lot of pride into providing the most dog friendly environment for the fuzz-butts that I can.

[ClareMarsh]

Hehe, all the fuzz-butts are looking at you I think, except one, who is showing you his fuzz-butt I love that it's attached to your deck so you are kind of with them. I'd spend all my time on that deck I think

It's a far cry from my one tiny long coated chi in our apartment, snoozing on his bean bag

[bendog]

Great to see your set up. I know you've described it for us before but without actually seeing it it is kind of hard to picture. It looks great!

[Ari_RR]

Awesome!
Why are some fuzz-butts inside the chain-link fenced area, while others are just tethered outside?

[Swanny1790]

Awesome!
Why are some fuzz-butts inside the chain-link fenced area, while others are just tethered outside?

With a couple of exceptions, dogs that show a strong preference for one over the other, I rotate dogs through both confinement methods, and through the house. That provides them experience in a variety of living situations. Should I die unexpectedly the dogs should be able to fit into just about any living situation their future owners may provide. Both confinement methods give the dogs ample opportunities to interact with their team mates and with their human caretakers.

Please keep in mind that dogs tethered in a multiple dog setting are in a circumstance that is entirely different than the individual or pair of dogs chained out of sight and out of mind in someone's back yard. I'll get back to that in a moment or two.

I've set up the pens along the perimeter essentially to create a wall of chain link between the yard and the surrounding forest. I literally live on the edge of one of North America's most vast wildernesses, complete with wolves (yes, wolves do target dogs as prey), grizzly bears, porcupines and other potentially dangerous wildlife. By arranging the pens as we have it makes it easier to care for the dogs housed within them.

There is a pen that is not within view of the photograph, at the end of that row, that is 100 square feet, only large enough to house a single dog. The ones that are visible are either 150 or 200 square feet each, and house a pair of dogs. The best available scientific evidence indicates that dogs housed in pairs (versus single housing in runs) interact with each other as frequently as do dogs housed in groups of up to 15. (Hubrecht RC 1993. A comparison of social and environmental enrichment methods for laboratory housed dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 37.) I make it a point to match compatible dogs of opposite sexes in each pen to reduce the frequency of agnostic interactions (squabbles and fights).

The pen in the back of the yard is intentionally isolated from the others, for use as a heat pen for b*tches in season or to isolate a dog that is ill or injured.

The tether yard is set up with a re-bar swivel on each post, providing 6 feet of chain. This gives each dog that is tethered 113 square feet, more than adequate space to perform the full range of species typical behaviors. The posts are spaced precisely 14 feet apart. This allows the dogs to freely interact with all of their neighboring dogs without tangling their chains, yet provides enough separation that the dogs can easily seek safety if the interaction turns nasty. It also makes it easier for us to handle individual dogs without being mobbed by pen or kennel mates. The yard is set up to perform daily husbandry chores as efficiently as possible, which gives us more time to spend just loving up on each individual dog.

It's interesting that with all the concerns about "chaining" dogs, the only controlled, multi-discplined study comparing the behavior of dogs confined in runs or pens to those confined on chains was conducted in a mushing kennel similar to my own, and found no significant difference in the behavior of the two groups of dogs. (Houpt K, Reynolds A, Erb H, Sung W, Golden G, Yeon W; A Comparison of Tethering and Pen Confinement of Dogs. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, vol 4, no 4, 2001.) Basically, the results of the study indicate that it is no more cruel or inhuman tethering dogs (in the multiple dog environment) than housing them in pens.

I think it very important to look at the differences between dogs tethered in a multiple dog kennel to those chained in the back yard. I have no doubt that any dog kept in isolation, regardless of whether it is isolated on a chain, in a pen or run, or in the owner's basement, garage or spare bath, is going to suffer severe behavioral disorders. This isn't due to the method of confinement, however. It is due to the lack of socialization, habituation, physical and psychological stimulation. Anti-tethering laws don't force people to take better care of their dogs, they simply force them to isolate their dogs inside, rather than out.

We do everything we can to ensure the fuzz-butts receive plenty of each. We interact with every single dog at least twice each day, and frequently much more often than that. We've set up the kennel so they can see, hear, and smell everything that is happening in the environment around them, interact freely with kennel mates and the humans (my SO and I) and more than half the space in our fenced yard is open space, as a big play yard. Each day we let groups of dogs out or off of their primary confinement to play "run amok" and do as they wish, under direct human supervision. These are all common practices among dog mushers.

Swanny

[gwd]

Should I die unexpectedly the dogs should be able to fit into just about any living situation their future owners may provide.

i certainly don't mean to hijack your thread but i think this sentence is deserving of comment. i wish more people would consider what would happen to their pets should they die. even the young are not immune to unexpected tragedy. not only should their be a plan, you need to have communicated that plan (in a legal contract or trust, will, etc...)

good on ya for considering what will happen to your dogs if you're not around to care for them.

[minkee]

Love reading about your setup & experiences, Swanny, thanks for sharing!