To put a roof on kennels or not.

[Nut]

Currently busy with a new kennel setup on a new place. All sides are closed except for the front panel. I have 2 options for roofing. Fence or roofing panels. Just can't choose which to use.

Pro's of fence are.
-More sunlight. Sun comes up west of the kennels so not much will reach into their kennels if roof is closed.
-Rain keeps it clean.

Con's of fence are.
-Dog's and myself get wet when I come to clean and feed.
-Dog's might not come out to drink enough water and some young dogs choose to piss inside their doghouses when it rains. And hell it rains allot. ( no snow)

Covering half is not an option for me.

What do you guys prefer.

[brokeback]

I would say cover the back half by their houses but you said that's not an option. So, I suppose I'd go with the fence since the dogs will need sun and the other way it sounds that they'd be missing that. Good luck and I'd be interested in seeing some pics if you feel like sharing. Keep us posted.

[CRISIS]

use tin roofing & 2x4's. if your dogs are gettin quality time out of theyre kennel, then you dont need to worry about lack of sun. the benefits outweight the cons to me. dry doghouse. dry kennel footing. id go with tin roofing, myself.

[DARTMASTER]

I use panels and put a tarp on the top. Then attach a spring to the kennel overhang

[bulldoghistorian]

roofing that lets sun trough

have you thought of that

[scratchin dog]

I use Tuftex Translucent Smoke Corrugated Polycarbonate Roof Panels from Lowe's. They come in 8 foot or 12 foot long by 26 inches wide. They are also available in clear or opaque. I prefer the translucent smoke ones because they let the light in yet the kennels stay relatively cool in the summer sun.

The panels sit on a wooden frame that gets clamped to the top of the kennel panels. Wood supports are used in between the beams of the frame due to the heavy snow we get here. Painted, galvanized steel screws with neoprene washers are used to attach the panels to the wood beams. They keep the rain or melting snow from leaking into the kennel. Besides keeping the kennels dry from rain or snow the panels keep debris like falling leaves, small branches or acorns etc, from falling into the kennels. So far they have held up very well under the snow, however I try to push the snow off as soon as I can. Another advantage is that these panels wont rust like the tin roofing eventually will.

My smaller 6' x 8' kennels have a flat roof. The larger 10' x 12' kennel has a slanted roof to help the rain water drain off. I was even toying with the idea of attaching a gutter and drain pipe to divert the water from the kennel. So far I haven't had to use it. I haven't had any problem with rain running back into the kennel.

The only disadvantage would be cost but that would vary on the size of the kennel and how much overhang you use. I have enough of an overhang so I don't have to stand in the rain while opening or closing kennels to feed the dogs.

Here are some pics:
The first pic shows the cross beams without the supports attached yet. You can see there's already leaves and nuts sitting on the panels that would have ended up in the kennel if I used a fence roof. The second pic is from last year's huge snowfall. Third pic you can see that sunlight does come in the kennel.

[bulldoghistorian]

I use Tuftex Translucent Smoke Corrugated Polycarbonate Roof Panels from Lowe's. They come in 8 foot or 12 foot long by 26 inches wide. They are also available in clear or opaque. I prefer the translucent smoke ones because they let the light in yet the kennels stay relatively cool in the summer sun.

The panels sit on a wooden frame that gets clamped to the top of the kennel panels. Wood supports are used in between the beams of the frame due to the heavy snow we get here. Painted, galvanized steel screws with neoprene washers are used to attach the panels to the wood beams. They keep the rain or melting snow from leaking into the kennel. Besides keeping the kennels dry from rain or snow the panels keep debris like falling leaves, small branches or acorns etc, from falling into the kennels. So far they have held up very well under the snow, however I try to push the snow off as soon as I can. Another advantage is that these panels wont rust like the tin roofing eventually will.

My smaller 6' x 8' kennels have a flat roof. The larger 10' x 12' kennel has a slanted roof to help the rain water drain off. I was even toying with the idea of attaching a gutter and drain pipe to divert the water from the kennel. So far I haven't had to use it. I haven't had any problem with rain running back into the kennel.

The only disadvantage would be cost but that would vary on the size of the kennel and how much overhang you use. I have enough of an overhang so I don't have to stand in the rain while opening or closing kennels to feed the dogs.

Here are some pics:
The first pic shows the cross beams without the supports attached yet. You can see there's already leaves and nuts sitting on the panels that would have ended up in the kennel if I used a fence roof. The second pic is from last year's huge snowfall. Third pic you can see that sunlight does come in the kennel.

thats some snow

[Officially Retired]

BTW, nice pens, ScratchinDog

Jack

PS: Can't they dig under the earth though?

[scratchin dog]

BTW, nice pens, ScratchinDog

Jack

PS: Can't they dig under the earth though?

Thank you.

Yes, they can dig and occasionally they do. But I think it's more of a boredom thing than trying to escape. Especially in the winter when they are not being worked. But it's so cold and the ground is frozen so they usually spend most of their time in their dog houses. The ground here is full of rocks and smaller stones. You can't put a shovel in the earth without hitting a rock. If you have a perfect spot to place an axle, forget it. Most likely you have to move it around a few times until it goes all the way under the ground. I don't even know how the dirt fits in between all the rocks. So the rocks are somewhat of a deterrent but I put heavy flat rocks at the base all along the outside of the kennel panels and that stops them from digging. Actually the biggest problem is not digging, it's barking.

[scratchin dog]

thats some snow

We had a really bad winter last year. One of the worst I've seen in a long time. Snowstorm after snowstorm. It was almost impossible to pull the snow off before another storm hit. So far this year it has not been as bad. I only had to remove snow once from the top of the kennels.