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kennel with no bedding bad for dog?

Posted : 9/27/2006 9:56:00 AM

Kali has always been kenneled and willingly sleeps in it at night and always brings her treats and toys to it to play/snack. The problem is, if i put any kind of bedding into her kennel, she pees/poos on it. The kennel is proper sized. Has anyone had this problem? I have resorted to putting no bedding in her kennel.

We are now kennel training Ezra, who has reverted back to her separation anxiety that she suffered when we first got her, so she rips apart any bedding we put in there. We can't afford to continue replacing beds until the anxiety subsides so she has a few towels in her kennel.

Both kennels seem so uncomfortable to me. I realize they are dogs not people, and neither of them seem uncomfortable, but could this be affecting their bodies negatively? They are both younger (kali's 3, Ezra's 2).

Firestorm

Posted : 9/27/2006 10:01:07 AM

Kenneled? Do you mean crated?

labcrab

Posted : 9/27/2006 10:21:38 AM

I don't think it's problematic unless the dog has a specific health condition that will be aggravated by the hard surface. I have never put any kind of bedding or padding in Slick's crate because he would have chewed it up. It's comparable to them laying on the floor, which he does ALL the time because it's cool.

Stacey

Posted : 9/27/2006 10:30:50 AM

Firestorm: Yup I meant crated

Labcrab: I thought it could be compared to sleeping on the floor as well. I just wanted to make sure i wasn't harming them in the long run. Thanks for the response.

Aina

Posted : 9/27/2006 10:34:12 AM

I don't think it will hurt them. Maggie always pusher her bedding outside of her crate, so we have finally stopped putting it back in there, and she seems ok with it.

houndlove

Posted : 9/27/2006 11:07:21 AM

Conrad also seems to push his sheets around a lot so he's not actually laying on them. I don't think there's a problem with that. Conrad and Marlowe are both Shredders, so we give them a couple of old sheets to spend a month or two shredding up, then we throw those out and go to the Goodwill and get new ones. Neither one has ever shown a desire to actually eat the sheets, so we just let them shred away.

bichinpanda

Posted : 9/27/2006 11:31:10 AM

It seems that there shouldn't be a problem with your dog being on a bare kennel floor -- and if he doesn't seem uncomfy, then I see no problem with it either! About the towels instead of bedding, I think that's completely fine. Dweezil's never had any formal "bedding" ... just blankets and towels, and she loves them!

Xebby

Posted : 9/27/2006 11:49:23 AM

On hot days, Giz would much rather lay on the cool tile floor of the kitchen then sleep in her bed or kennel. She will push the blanket to the side of her kennel on warm days also. When it's a little colder she doen't mind sleeping on them. I guess it's sorta like her own type of Tempertaure controll. The blankets just make her to hot.

Firestorm

Posted : 9/27/2006 11:54:52 AM

My dogHarley on the other hand prefers blankets and pillows. I think that he thinks he is royalty. Maybe its just him or maybe its a Shih Tzu thing. My old Rott loved the floor except in winter then he would lay on a rug...
If your dog seems happy go with it.

Ruth

Posted : 9/27/2006 12:48:20 PM

I think your dogs would let you know if they were uncomfortable in the crates. Mine likes crate bedding (old flannel sheets mostly, and his very favorite is an old bathrobe) and if it gets all scrunched up in the corner he will lie on the nearby rug instead of going into his crate. I'm pretty well-trained, so that's my cue to spread out his crate bedding, and then he will hurry in there and curl up again. If your dog is just as happy I wouldn't sweat it.

Violetta Madej

Posted : 9/27/2006 4:21:10 PM

If they are on a hard surface they'll probably get kennel elbow...which resorts to them having dry, scaley cracked skin on their elbows... sometimes lying down on hard surfaces for long time periods also leads to join problems when the dogs get older, and stiff achy muscles. My vet suggested finding some kind of foam if the dog rips apart bedding...it looks like the floaty swimming foam mats they use in kid pools...

brookcove

Posted : 9/27/2006 6:22:08 PM

Mine eat foam too, lol. I put stall matting down in my crates - it cleans up well and most dogs leave it alone. It's not quite as hard as the crate floor and my dogs that almost all hate laying on soft stuff, in all weathers, don't mind the rubber.

Now Her Royal Highness Zhi would no more lay on anything hard than she would volunteer to walk on coals of fire. She gets little sheepie mats - those are her fav and don't get instantly demolished if I forget and put a puppy in her crate without pulling out the mat. [

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spiritdogs

Posted : 9/27/2006 7:38:09 PM

You can try cutting to size the fatigue mats that hairdressers and groomers use. www.petedge.com carries 2x4 non-recessed mats - I think they are about $45. A bit cushier than the bare crate, and still feels like there's no bedding to the dog.

Stephanie Book

Posted : 9/28/2006 12:05:47 AM

When it was hot during the summer, I sometimes crated Mirelle without any bedding because I knew she would be cooler. We don't have AC but I put a fan on the crate, and didn't put bedding in it because that keeps her cooler. And most of the time now, she pushes her bedding to the side so she's just laying on the tray.