Kenneling

It goes without saying that any place is not good enough for a dog,

although when one considers the way some dogs are housed in small, dark

outbuildings, or damp, ill-lighted and poorly ventilated cellars, or even

perhaps worse, in old barrels or discarded drygoods boxes in some

out-of-the-way corner, it is not surprising the quality of the puppies

raised in them.



A great many people who only keep one or wo dogs keep them in the kitchen

or living room, and here, of course, conditions are all right, but the

fancier who keeps any considerable number will find that it pays to house

his dogs in a comfortable, roomy, dry building, free from draughts, on

high lands (with a gravel foundation, if possible), that can be flooded

with sunshine and fresh air. Such a kennel can be simple or elaborate in

construction, severely plain or ornamental in its architecture, but it

must possess the above characteristics in order to have its occupants kept

in the pink of condition. Where half a dozen dogs are kept, I think a

kennel about 20 feet long, nine feet wide, with a pitched roof, nine feet

high in the front, and at the back seven feet, with a southern exposure,

with good windows that open top and bottom, and a good tight board floor

will do admirably. This can, of course, be partitioned off in pens to

suit, with convenient runs outside wired at the top to prevent dogs

jumping over. The building should, of course, be well constructed, covered

with good sheathing paper, and either clapboarded or shingled. Such a

building should be cool in summer and warm in winter, and thoroughly

weather proof. If provided with a good Eureka ventilator and well

painted, the dogs and their owner will be satisfied. Where a much larger

number of dogs are kept, then a corresponding amount of floor space is a

necessity. I rather like the style of a kennel, say from fifty to a

hundred feet long, twelve to fifteen feet wide, with an open compartment

or shed, about twelve feet long (in which the dogs can take a sun bath or

get the air if the weather is not favorable to go outside. This also makes

an ideal feeding pen), in the middle of the house, without outside runs to

each pen, and each run opening into a large exercising yard, so that all

the dogs may have a good frolic together, of course, under the watchful

eye of the kennel man.



The large breeders will also require a separate building at some distance

from the main kennels for use as a hospital, a small kennel for his

bitches in season, and some small, portable kennels which can be placed

under adequate shade trees for his litters of puppies during the hot

weather. It would be an excellent plan if good shade trees could be

planted to cover all the runs, but if this is not possible, then it is

advisable to have at the rear of the kennels a clear space covered over

with a roof, say ten or twelve feet wide, for the dogs to have free access

to during the heat of the day.



Perhaps a description of our own kennels, entirely different in

construction from these, and costing more to build, may be of interest

here. We have two buildings, seventy-five feet apart, built exactly like a

house, with two stories and a high basement or cellar, twenty-five feet

wide and thirty feet long. One of these houses is lined with matched

paneling and divided off on each floor into separate compartments; the

other is only boarded, one thickness of good paper and clapboarded and, of

course, not nearly as warm. This second building has no pens in it. The

basement has a stone wall at the back, but on the east, south and west

sides is boarded to the ground, and has a dry gravel floor. These

buildings are well supplied with windows (the same as a house), and get

the sun all day. In these buildings we have no artificial heat whatever,

and all stock, except small puppies, are kept there. Our pups in the

winter have warm quarters until they are four months old, when they are

placed in the south side of the warmer kennels. All puppies are kept in

the cool basement in the hot weather, and during the summer our bitches in

whelp are kept there also. We have not any separate runs attached to these

buildings, which entails a much closer watch on the dogs, of course, but

each building opens into a very large enclosure with abundant shade trees,

and the dogs can, if let out, have the run of several acres.



In the fall of the year we have several tons of rowen (second crop hay

with a good deal of clover in it) put in the upper story of the open

kennel, and a smaller amount in the first story, and during the winter a

certain number of young dogs that will not quarrel amongst themselves are

given the run of the building where they burrow into the soft hay and are

as comfortable as can be. Particular care has to be taken that they do not

get any bones or any food to quarrel over, or trouble would ensue right

away. Allow me to say that only dogs brought up together with perfect

dispositions can be allowed to run together. A strange dog must never be

placed with them or his days will be numbered. In the summer, of course,

no dogs are kept in the upper story, as they would suffer from the heat.

Also no bitches in whelp are ever allowed to run together.



In the other kennel in each pen during the cold weather is a large, tight

box, with hole in side, filled with this soft hay, renewed when necessary,

in which two dogs sleep very comfortably. The windows in each kennel, as

soon as the weather permits, are kept open at the top night and day, and

top and bottom while the dogs are out doors in the daytime, and in this

way the kennels can be kept perfectly sweet and sanitary. Three times

during the year, in spring, midsummer and fall, the kennels are treated

with a thorough fumigation of sulphur. We buy bar sulphur by the barrel of

a wholesale druggist or importer, and use a good quantity (a small dose

does not do much good), keeping the kennel windows and doors tightly

closed for twelve hours, after which the building is thoroughly aired

before the dogs are returned. Of course, this would not be practical

during the winter, nor is it at all necessary. We find that once a week

(except of course, during the cold weather), it is a good plan to give the

woodwork that the dog comes in contact with a good sprinkling with a

watering pot with a solution of permanganate of potassium, using a

tablespoonful of the crystals dissolved in a quart of hot water. It costs

at wholesale fifty cents per pound, and is the best disinfectant I have

ever used. Unless the kennels are kept scrupulously clean the dogs' eyes,

especially the puppies, are liable to become seriously inflamed. The

gravel in the basement we remove to a depth of eight inches twice a year,

putting fresh in its place. Where a large number of dogs are kept it will

be found very convenient to have a cook house, wash room and a small

closet for kennel utensils in close proximity to the kennels.



By attending to these important essentials, viz., an abundance of pure air

and sunshine, protection from dampness, draughts, and cold, proper

disinfecting, and sufficient protection from the intense heat of summer,

good health, and a reasonable amount of success can be confidently

expected, but disease will surely find an entrance where these

requirements are not met.



I would like to add that kennels only large enough for white mice, or

perchance piebald rats, can never be successfully used to raise Boston

terriers in.