Waldo
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bedding?Hi All,
We're away for the easter weekend and Annie is off at the kennels for a "holiday" also.
Annie lives outside (does come in for short visits) and sleeps/rests in a plastic kennel under the verandah, in the kennel is an old bed sheet and and old shirt/jumper or two. Pulled all this stuff out to give it a wash and gee it was a bit on the nose!
What does everyone else use as bedding in the kennel?
Cheers,
Waldo
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doganjo
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I rather think you've left it too long then! My dogs all sleep on what we call Vetbed - or the equivalent - which is what they use on nursing home beds. The qualities are that it is warm to the touch, lets air and fluids through so they are always dry, and it is easy to wash and dries quickly. Also although it isn't completely chew proof it is chew resistant, so tehy are unlikely to get any stuck inside them although that does occasionally happen as with any other bedding.
My house dogs are changed every week but I have to change the outside ones more often, possibly twice a week. They pick up all sorts of dirt and stuff when running out and in the water, plus rolling - you might not see a qhick roll so woudln't know to hose them down before putting tehm back in their run.
You can use your old jumpers if you like so long as Annie doesn't eat them, but wash them at elast once a week.
JMHO
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Mugi
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OMG - my outside dog doesn't have any bedding!!!!
Actually he used to but he always dragged it out of the kennel and left it to get wet so I gave up. He has a large wooden kennel with the pop hole out of prevailing wind, he has a shelf and a plastic bed in there and he sleeps where he wants - sometimes outside on the concrete.
He has his food ration upped when it is horrid but otherwise he has little comfort, at his choice.
Chase has a number of fleeces in his crate but none of mine like vetbed and prefer thinner fleece that they can nest or push out of their way.
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Des O'Neile
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A draft free dog is a happy dog so if you can keep a dog draft free then you shouldn't really need bedding. I floor my kennels, my trailers and any dog crates with cow mat. It is a thick virtually chew proof, if fitted so that edges aren't accessable, rubber mat developed to protect cows elbows when housed on concrete. When travelling a distance in the trailer I put in Tuffies but they are removed on arrival as I have a few dogs with previous if left for a time with a Tuffie. For really long trips of say more that a week I break up a whole bale of straw and change it at least once a week. The straw is more about insulating the dogs from the metal trailer sides in cold spring weather and snow and the dogs don't really lie on it they burrow down to the mat but of course the straw fills a lot of the empty space and makes the trailer virtually draft free.
Cow mat is easily kept clean and it builds up heat relatively quickly if you place your hand on it so the dogs are very happy.
In the summer, when the whole emphasis changes to keeping the dogs cool, the mat is also very useful. You don't have to worry about the odd spill from a water bowl spill overnight of even the odd bladder spill. Simply tip up the trailer and throw in a bucket of water. Even if the matting is still slightly damp when you put the dogs in the bit they are lying on will dry very quickly once they settle down.
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guy
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I think i have seen this for sale in B and Q.
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Des O'Neile
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The "danger" with cow mat is that there are quite a few mats that look very like it but aren't it. The danger lies in the fact that these mats are relatively easily eaten and therefore potentially lethal to dogs. It is obviously possible that B & Q sell it but unlikely. Trade names like " Cow Comfort " and "Mayo Mat" are available. Do NOT use Equimat. It is used for a totally different purpose and is very soft by comparrison.
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Liz
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Sherry eats vetbed  She does much better with tatty old blankets 
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Victoria
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Hi Waldo, over here we can get cheap kennel mats made of sacking and stuffed with washed fleece wool...the dogs do not mutilate these. I buy cotton blankets which wash well. The dogs were given hessian backed sheep skins...theses were shredded over night. Joel Vance (US) in his book 'Bobs, Brush and Brittanies' states he uses wood shavings.
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