Questions on kenneling

[chads7376]

I am new to owning multiple dogs so I have a few questions. Why kennels versus one or two or even three big fenced in areas with housing? I understand to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Can't you just separate males and females? If you use kennels do you let your dogs out daily to exercise or just when they go hunting? Reason for all the questions is I have four gyps and one four month old male and I have to figure out something soon. Right now they all live together in a 70x60 fenced in yard with a 10x8 metal building for a dog house. I live on 5 acres and I can build one heck of a fenced in area for the price of a small slab and those small metal buildings are a few hundred bucks.

Thanks for the help.
Chad

[J Carroll]

I don't personally but there are lots of people that run all there dogs in one big area together. Just have to keep an eye on the female so you know when she is coming in heat, so you can seperate her.

[txhogsanddogs]

I am new to owning multiple dogs so I have a few questions. Why kennels versus one or two or even three big fenced in areas with housing? I understand to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Can't you just separate males and females? If you use kennels do you let your dogs out daily to exercise or just when they go hunting? Reason for all the questions is I have four gyps and one four month old male and I have to figure out something soon. Right now they all live together in a 70x60 fenced in yard with a 10x8 metal building for a dog house. I live on 5 acres and I can build one heck of a fenced in area for the price of a small slab and those small metal buildings are a few hundred bucks.

Thanks for the help.
Chad

I don't let mine loose unless I'm in the woods.  Exercising should be done in the woods when there going to work.  JMO

I would try and keep them seperate but cost is a big roll soooo... it's your call bud.  All together your going to have problems. 

[cujo72]

I have individual kennels for all my dogs built off the ground. I let the whole pack loose everyday to stretch for 30-45 minutes and socialize them as a pack. Most of my older dogs don't even use the restroom in their kennels cause they know I will let them out every evening hunting or just to run. It is also a way I use to get a handle on my pups from the get go. Just my opinion and what I think works well for me!!!

[chads7376]

My thought process was to just build one large fenced in area (100x50) and make it 5 seperate runs. Thats a 1000 sqft per dog. It would eliminate the need for washing poop and pee everyday and the need to let them out everyday. I dont always have the time everyday to let them out for an hour especially with it gettin dark so early. I darn sure dont get to hunt enough for that to be their only time out of the kennel. If I priced everything right it should cost around 2k to do this. This is 6ft chainlink with a hot wire. I would spend that on just a slab if I went with kennels.

[jon]

sounds to me like you gotta heck of a plan there. but i would get the oklahoma brand 2x4 max-tight horse wire though. JMO for some reason i hate chainlink. but you gotta good plan i think

[halfbreed]

when i was a kid our coonhound and beagle and foxdog pen was an acre of six foot chain link fence with a community dog house in the middle . just gotta watch the gyps and put em up when needed . i wish i had the room to do that now .

[dub]

Mine are together most of the time. I have kennels to seperate them if I have to. You have to keep an eye out and prevent fights. It is just about if the dogs can take it. They all want to be alfa so that is why most people seperate them. I would not keep the male with the females because one can go into heat and you miss it. You need to have seperate kennels for your males. If a female goes into heat the males may fight. Then you may have a hurt or dead dog and a dog that you may never trust again. So you could have two areas with kennels in them. If a female goes into heat lock her up to keep stays off her and lock up all the males. Just my two cents if you want to give them more room.

[chads7376]

Thanks for yalls input. Still not completely sure which direction I am going to go.

[arrowbar]

All mine are in the same big pens, they get seperated if they are in heat or whelping but even when whelping they are only isolated for up to a week and then they are together again. They have a strong pack structure and learn as a pack, when I feel I need to work on one of them on a particular set of skills I take them out and work on that with them 1:1.

[jsh]

Putting males together will result in a fight sooner or later........................bout lost my best dog this way 3 years ago.  And no, my dogs aren't dog aggressive.  Just had a little argument that cost me about $500.

Cousin just had one crippled trying to climb out of an open pen and got hung up by her back leg.

I sleep easier at night knowing they're kenneled up, separated and no chance of them getting out.

I've seen people use a community pen with a "prison cell" in the middle for females in heat.

Whatever you do, build it right and don't cut corners - you'll thank yourself later.

[treeingratterrier]

castrate the male dog now

[NechesBobcat]

There's not a fence made that can hold my dogs. They are better escape artists than Houdini ever thought about being. I can't even keep them in a chain link kennel. Kennels are great, just don't cut corners building one.