A commercial dog kennel used to house other people's dogs or during training should always be a climate-controlled, safe environment. The size of the individual kennels should be large enough for the biggest of boarders and should only contain one dog, unless the occupants are from the same owner and get along well with each other.
Building your commercial kennel takes a great deal of planning. The building itself should be constructed by a professional builder unless you have extensive carpentry experience. Knowing what goes into a commercial dog kennel will help you make all the right choices.
Instructions
Plan to Have a Commercial Dog Kennel Built
1. Plan the size of your kennel building according to the number of animals you wish to house. If you are running the kennel by yourself and intend to do all the work, be sure you do not take in more animals than you can feed, water and clean up after daily. If you are taking dogs in for training, be sure you have enough time each day to handle each animal. Offering extra services in a boarding kennel such as grooming can increase your attractiveness to clients. However, you will also need special grooming rooms, running hot and cold water for bathing, and a lot of extra equipment.
2. Choose a layout that best fits your needs. Indoor runs can be either a single row along one side of the building with a walkway on the opposite side, or a double row of kennels on each side of the building with a walkway in the middle. A single row of kennels reduces noise from dogs barking across the aisle at each other and can be a good alternative for areas where noise may be a problem with the neighbors. The walkway between or on the side of the kennel row should be wide enough to allow for easy feeding, cleaning and moving animals on a daily basis. Do not cut yourself too short on space in the walkway or it will make your job much more difficult than it has to be. Four feet is a good size walkway for either a single- or double-row kennel.
3. Allot a 6-feet-by-6-feet area for each individual indoor kennel section. That is a reasonable size for any breed of dog. Include a door to an outdoor run area for each kennel space. Use prefabricated dog kennel panels or build your own from cement block and chain link kennel doors. Prefabricated panels come in 6 foot sections for easy assembly and are the quickest method of constructing kennels. These panels can be freestanding, or mounted to the concrete pad with concrete bolts.
4. Build each outdoor kennel at least 6 feet by 12 feet for maximum space big enough for even a large dog. Outdoor kennel runs can be easily created from pre-made chain link dog kennel panels or built from pipe and chain link. Remember that while prefabricated panels may cost a bit more, they will usually look nicer, last longer, and be more secure. Consider what your clients will think when they tour your facilities. Professional quality is worth a little extra cost. Prefabricated panels come in 6- and 12-foot lengths with 12 feet being the minimum desired for an outdoor run. They can be freestanding or mounted to the frame of the building with bolts and/or the concrete pad with concrete bolts.
5. Buy several sizes of feed and water dishes and wash them after each use.
6. Have a local veterinarian on-call for emergencies should an animal be injured or become ill.
7. Have extra collars and leashes on hand in case the equipment that a dog comes in with is lost or damaged.
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