Our Kennel
Many people have asked us about our home and kennel, so we decided to add this page about our property and kennel to the website. Of course, we’d love to have all the dogs in our home with us, but for practical purposes, we regularly rotate 1-2 of them in and out of the house.
Our property was purchased in April 2007 and is approximately 2 acres. We have plans to completely renovate our 25-year old 6-bedroom, 3-bath, 2-kitchen home over a seven-year period. The home hasn’t had a significant update since it was constructed. Following are renovations plans:
- 2007-2008 - kennel construction, replace all flooring, replace all appliances, remodel baths, repaint all rooms (substantially complete except flooring trim work, window treatments and paint touchups)
- 2009 - landscaping (xeriscaping)
- 2010 - deck reconstruction
- 2011 - kitchens remodel
- 2013 - replace vinyl siding with hardiplank
Following is information about the kennel.
Kennel Size
The kennel consists of a 10’ x 20’ building with five 4’ x 4’ indoor kennel runs. Each indoor kennel run also has a 4’ x 5’ outdoor kennel run. As Australian Terriers are a very social breed, two Aussies are often kenneled together for companionship. Mack (their mixed-breed guardian) is bedded in the 6’ x 20’ open area of the kennel. There is also a kennel yard used for daily exercise that is approximately 7,000 sq. ft. Due to concerns about area wildlife, none of the dogs have unlimited access to our entire property. Unless a family member is with them, our dogs are confined to the house, kennel building or kennel yard. Total space dedicated to the kennel building and kennel yard is substantial, but less than 10% of our property.
Kennel Building Construction
The building shell is a custom Morgan steel building (studded every 24″ instead of the standard 30″-36″), placed on a cantilevered concrete foundation that has a drainage trench and port. The building has two doors, two windows and five kennel doors. The building has electric service, water service (cold only at this time) fluorescent lighting and is heated. Window unit air conditioning is used as needed. The walls and ceiling are insulated and finished with drywall. The bottom four feet of walls use moisture resistant drywall (greenboard) covered with FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) panels for waterproofing. The indoor kennels use custom-made OptionsPlus kennel fencing and each kennel has a 22” x 40” custom-made PetCot pet bed. The kennel building can easily be converted to a workshop, office or storage. The outdoor kennels use custom-made OptionsPlus kennel fencing placed on a cantilevered foundation with a drainage trench and port. The foundation is filled with river rock for drainage. The outdoor kennels have custom-built 15″ x 51″ treated lumber platforms.
Kennel Sanitation
We pick up solid waste at least once daily and dispose it weekly with other refuse. The kennel building interior and outdoor kennels are power-washed weekly using a natural, biodegradable disinfectant.
Animal Care/Treatment
We use a pragmatic, reasonably holistic approach in care for our dogs. We feed a combination of raw, cooked and natural products with the primary diet being Blue Buffalo or Nutro Ultra kibble. Following is our vaccination/disease treatment protocol:
- Rabies – puppy at 20 weeks, first three-year adult at 13 months (four weeks before/after other vaccinations), then every three years.
- Distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza and parvovirus – immediately after weaning (but no later than 9 weeks), 12 weeks, 16 weeks. Test titers (resistance test) at one year and then at least every three years to determine if a booster is needed.
- Bordetella (kennel cough) – every six months for dogs being shown/exposed to other dogs
- Leptospirosis, coronavirus, giardia and lyme disease – no treatment required, not an endemic problem in this region
- Heartworm and digestive tract worms (hookworm, roundworm, tapeworm, whipworm) – monthly, on the first of each month using Iverhart Max
- Flea and tick – monthly, on the first of each month using Sentry Natural Defense
Following are photos of our property and kennel complex:
