WHAT DOES YOUR DOG'S LIVING QUARTERS SAY ABOUT YOU?

More and more I’m appalled when I see people showing pictures of their dogs and puppies whether on one of the e-mail lists or on Facebook. What I’m appalled about is looking at the background of some of these pictures. I’m seeing a gazillion dogs cramped in one muddy, dirty looking dog run after another. I’m seeing dog houses that are ready to fall in on their occupants. I’m seeing filthy looking puppies that look like they roll around in their urine and feces all day. I’m seeing many more dogs than the owner can possibly give the much needed attention that they all deserve.

I’m seeing nails that look like claws, and ears that look as though they’ve never been cleaned. Some of these people are “proudly” displaying these pictures and are advertising their animals for sale. Even sadder is seeing the positive comments that people write about the pictures that they are looking at. Besides feeling sorry for the poor dogs, who wants to buy them? I mean really. Coming from a filthy environment, how can one expect the dogs to be healthy?

Now I understand that this time of the year when the springtime is "trying" to sneak in the backdoor of "Old Mister Winter" that along with the warmer weather, she brings the sticky, yucky mud right along with her. We all have dogs that track more than a few muddy paw prints in on the kitchen floor. This is part of normal dog ownership. But I'm not talking about a few muddy paw prints. I'm talking about dogs that are literally living in the mud! It's one thing that they are, but letting the public see it, well let's just say that they're advertising the fact that their dogs are very poorly kept.

Throughout my lifetime involvement with the German Shepherd Dog breed, I have been to some very well known breeders kennels as well as the smaller less known breeders. Let me tell you, being well known doesn’t necessarily mean their kennels and therefore, their dogs are being very well taken care of. Some of these animals only feel a brush going through their coats to make them look pretty just for the show ring. Once it’s all over, back to their “not so nice” kennel enclosure they go. Now I’m not talking about people that are poor. I’m talking about dogs that are kept poorly!!! You can be poor, but be clean.

And how about those dog bowls and water buckets? I bet those bowls don’t know what hot water and soap feels like. The water buckets match the color of the mud that the dog is running through. I mean how much does it cost to give your dog fresh, clean water every day? How much effort does it take to pick up those dog dishes and soak them in hot soapy water?

I have a friend that bought one his Select champions from a breeder that told me that the mother of the dog was decorated in caked on mud and when he went into the breeder’s home, he was afraid to touch anything for fear of all the germs that he was sure to contact. Yuck!

I went to a very well known breeder one time that owned some of the top producing Select dogs in the country. I mean if you went in his back yard, one dog was more outstanding than the other as they gaited through piles of thick ice and snow laden with dog droppings. Oh he was a very well liked old guy alright and boy could he breed some great dogs. But those great dogs lived in not so great living conditions. Looking at the man’s house neither did him or his family.

Why just a couple of weeks ago, a breeder calls me up and asked me if I saw some puppy’s pictures that were being advertised on Facebook. I told her that I did. Then she asked me, did I notice the person’s house where the pups were set up. I did. What she was saying is the place was a mess. Now I’m not going to win the “Martha Stewart” award for the best kept house in the dog world, but if I were advertising puppies, I would make sure that the place I was taking their pictures wouldn’t attest to the fact that I need to hire a housekeeper!

The way a person takes care of their dogs and their living quarters says a lot about that person. Many times if the dogs are kept dirty, the owner isn’t that much better. Certainly people that advertise their dogs looking like this and showing the environment that they live in one could easily say that “truth comes to advertising!” What you see is truly what you get!!! Dropping a bowl of food on the ground and in some cases, dropping the food on the ground without a bowl……well let’s just say that animals deserve better than this!


From the book: "It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff"......This book changed my life! Veteran "organizational consultant," TV show host and author Walsh (How to Organize (Just About) Everything) has more ideas in his latest book on clutter management than the spare closet has junk, and, even better, it's organized, in-depth and entirely user-friendly. Part One examines the "Clutter Problem": how it happens, how it hampers and how to face it without excuses or discouragement. Part Two presents a step-by-step approach to "Putting Clutter in its Place," which begins with "surface clutter" and developing a household plan before moving on to the bulk of the book, a walk through of each room in the home. Also included are ideas for involving other family members, letters Walsh has received from viewers of his TLC show "Clean Sweep," vignettes illustrating how real people deal with common organizational challenges and plenty of charts, checklists and sidebars ("Clutter Quiz," "Yard Sale Planning") for added utility. Walsh is upbeat and funny throughout, treating the task at hand like "a thrilling archeological dig," a "positive and exciting" way to unlock your "ideal home" and "unearth those things that are most important in your life." Entertaining and instructive, this is one guidebook readers should place in their "keep" pile.


My rating: Dogs deserve clean living quarters: (4)

HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOUR DOGS FROM MOTHER NATURE?

I have been to many breeders kennels. Some of them have a protective cover on top of their kennel runs and others do not. I always preferred to have my dog’s kennel runs covered but finding the ideal type to do it with was always the problem. For my kennel run now, I used a tarp like kennel cover that came with a metal frame and it was pitched in the center so if it rained the water went down on the outside of the kennel. (See the above picture to see what it looked like).  However, three winters ago we had one of those “final reminders” that it’s still winter a couple of weeks before it was actually spring. We had one of those this year as well. It couldn’t be a small little snow storm. Nope…..it had to be the biggest snow storm of the season! The snow was heavy and it pounded our area as most of us slept in the comforts of our warm, toasty bed. The next morning when I let my house dog out, she and I were greeted with a kennel roof totally destroyed with the metal frames twisted every which way. My dog had to gingerly go around it to go potty. What fun that was trying to unhook the rest of it and get it out of the run. So it hasn’t been replaced yet.

It seems there are a few ways that one can cover their dogs’ kennels. Many companies sell the tarp like structure that I used. I really did like it for the couple of years that I had it. It was attractive and it served the purpose for what I bought it for…..shade and protection from the elements. The reason that I thought it was attractive is that it had the pitched roof and it made it look like it was part of the house off the deck where I have my dog’s run.

“Options Plus” sells the Universal modular hard roofing system. Here’s the description from their website. Heavy-duty polycarbonate, twice as thick as standard PVC roof panels from box stores • 26" x 65" panels, with pre-installed, easy-attach roofing straps (lays approx. 2' x 5' when overlapped). Will handle snow loads up to 20 lbs./sq.ft. • Opaque gray. • UV treated for long-lasting durability. • Includes galvanized steel frame - either flat or sloped models. • Easy to assemble, no drilling, with adjustable upright leveling piping (sloped roof only). • Roof panels have overlap for minimization of leaking and added strength. • Create multiple setups, runs and configurations easily.

Years ago I used to use that kind of roof over my kennels. I like that it says it can handle the snow well because of my bad experience with the softer roof already. Also this roof seems easy to put together. Some of these come in flat roof or slope roof systems.

Another kennel cover is the Kennel Sun Block Top which is a woven UV treated polypropylene top with reinforced brass grommets. The sun block top provides shade to help keep your pet cooler and reduces the temperature inside the dog kennel by up to 15°. This doesn’t have a pitched roof but stretches across the top of the dog kennel.

I often wondered how one can prevent the sun or elements from coming into the kennel from the side. I always found that no matter what type of roof I used, the rain or snow still came into the kneel from the side. I searched the internet for something like this but all I found was this one pictured here that Amazon sells. From the description: K9 Kennel 8 Foot Canvas Side Cover: Made of heavy duty weather proof canvas, it protects your pet from wind, snow, sun and rain, installs in just seconds with easy slide over form fitting pocket, D rings at bottom for easy attachment, and comes in colorful cameo pattern only.

I did find that some of the fence companies sells privacy panels for their fencing, so perhaps they sell if for their kennels as well. Most of this stuff is custom made by the company for your specific needs. So ask if they can make these privacy panels for your dog runs if that is something you would like to have.

So having had both the tarp like kennel tops and the hard kennel tops, I would say that the tarp one is the most affordable (as long as mother nature doesn't fool around with it)and the hard top is the most durable.

So do you cover your dog’s kennels or not?

My rating: pitched tarp like roofs: (3), hard covered roofs: (4)