Hi. I need some advice from fellow lab owners. I am thinking about putting a 10 ft x 5 ft covered kennel outside for my 2 labs to be able to play with each other when I am gone instead of staying inside in separate crates. Any advice on chain link vs. welded wire? Also, what is a good flooring for a lab? I am worried about chewing or ingesting something when I am not around. I want them to be in a safe place as possible. They shouldn't need to toilet in the enclosure, since they will only be in it as if they were crated when I was gone. They will have plenty of toys. I would like to make it portable, so I don't really want to do concrete unless that is the only option. Any other suggestions for flooring? Thanks for all your help.

I have welded wire from options plus. It works great for me. 5X10 is what I have for each of my dogs. Might be tight for two (but I have a dog house and a dog bed in each kennel which you may not need).

I dug a two foot deep whole and put in french drains, added drainage rock, then put a composite deck over that (cheap version of Trex). This is an awesome setup as I can just hose them down. I add lime to the hose down every couple of weeks to break down the hair.

Check it out at http://mistymountainlabradors.com/dogrun.aspx

Toni

I too wanted a comfortable set up for my 3 boys. When I'm not home they are in their 5'x25' Magnum by Behlan welded kennel (they share this space). The kennel sits on a cement slab. I laid Kennel Deck, this is the name of the product, that comes in 4'x2'sections that can be clipped together. I use 2 and part of 1 panel (I had to do some cutting of 1 panel, easy with a hack saw) to make it fit the floor space. I didn't connect all of the panels together so that they can be lifted and cleaned top, bottom and the slab freshened. The boys don't toilet in the kennel. In the winter, we get a lot of rain and some snow. We fashioned a lean-to roof along with their dogloos to keep them dry. Behlan makes a corrugated metal roof to fit their kennels $$$!! In the summer we can get 100 degree + temps. The dogloos are removed from the kennel. I had a mesh shade made that covers the kennel. I also set up a misting system on a timer. I haven't had any complaints from my 'guests' so I think we get a 5 star rating. If you are interested in seeing photos of my set up please email me and I'll send you pics.