Cove Mountain Kennels

I was driving home from Sarah’s piano lesson and we saw this guy out sunning himself in the afternoon sun. He took to the cover pretty quickly, but I managed to get a couple of good photos.

Title: The Ultimate Guide to Bird Dog Training: A Realistic Approach to Training Close-Working Gun Dogs for Tight Cover Conditions

Author: Jerome B. Robinson
The Lyons Press, Guilford, Connecticut
ISBN: 1-59228-161-3
Copyright 2000

What kind of dog training book do you get from a 30 year veteran gun dog editor of both Sports Afield and Field & Stream? What you get is a whole collection of good magazine articles on dog training. You get this idea right away reading the titles of the different chapters, such as: Your Kid Can Be Your Best Assistant, Don’t Let Your Hunting Companion Ruin Your Dog, and A Trick That Makes Him Whoa with a High Tail.

The book is a series of forty-three 1500 word articles (chapters) that are ready for publication in a general sportsman’s magazine. Robinson covers a broad variety of topics in the book, from picking your puppy to getting the dog steady to shot, however, most of the chapters are somewhat superficial. They cover the ideal, but don’t get into the realities of training situations. This was especially true in the chapter on force fetching a dog.

The book was published in 2000, but many of the photos look like they were taken in the 1970’s. Some of the methods and training tools discussed are similarly not current. The e-collar chapter was inserted in the front of the book as an afterthought, and is seldom mentioned in the rest of the text.

That said, I did buy myself a copy of the book, because of the breadth of issues covered. There are lots of good training tidbits and things to consider in the book. And it is apparent that he has spoken to a lot of dog trainers over the years about different aspects of training a bird dog. It may be important to note that this book is primarily written for pointers, not flushers or retrievers. 

 

I got several questions about the kennel platform, what I used for the decking and how to keep it clean. You can use pine, redwood, or composite decking material. The cheapest by far, and what I used was 1” x 6” pine rough on one side and finished on the other. What ever the material, it is critical that the deck is smooth to facilitate cleanup. Stain the wood properly with a good quality stain so urine doesn’t soak in. I re-stain my deck every year so it stays good and water tight.

As for dog waste on the deck, I store a flat 4” wide drywall mud knife and a bunch of plastic bags nearby. With the flexible knife you can quickly scrape it up, bag it and throw it away. I always clean it up when I go to let the dog out and it only takes 30 seconds. Sometimes in the winter when it gets stepped on or is between the gaps in the boards the poop get frozen and is harder to get out. Then I just use a little stiffer mud knife and it pops right out. I’ve never let the waste build up on the decking; it is so easy to clean up daily that there is no reason. Plus I know the dogs really prefer it clean.

As for composite decking, I think it would be a great surface because it is impervious to water (urine) and sunlight. I would look for the smoothest surface possible so the waste comes off cleanly. If it is rough, even at a really fine scale, the waste maybe difficult to clean off.

It is critical with any deck material, but especially composite decking to not have any edges where the dogs can get at it to chew. The only places on my wood deck that they chew are where one plank has an edge wane defect and they can chew on the adjacent piece. I would guess that dogs would love the feel of chewing on the composite material, so you’ll have to be careful of that. I found that 1/2“ spacing is perfect to discourage any chewing and still allow space for water to drain off and air to circulate.

 

Spring is almost here and you may be preparing for a new puppy. We strongly suggest keeping the dog in the house with you as much as possible to build a strong bond with the dog. Nevertheless, you will need to house the dog outdoors some of the time. We suggest that you don’t leave the dog loose in the yard for a couple of reasons: first, they get board and get into trouble, chewing up sprinklers, digging holes, etc.; second it gives the dog too much independence and often they become their own pack leader; finally it seems to excuse us of interacting with the dog. We subconsciously think that the dog has plenty of room to “run around” so we don’t get the dog out for exercise and interaction. The dog need some time to romp in the yard, but not all day. Therefore, we suggest a kennel run for the dog.

Kennels don’t need to be big, despite the fact that they are often called runs, dogs don’t run in them (if they do, you have some behavior issues that need to be dealt with). Five feet by ten feet should be plenty of room. If possible, we like to have the run facing south to allow the sunlight to disinfect the run. In the summer shade is critical. In the winter, try for as much sun as possible. For this reason, our kennels are movable. We move them into an open area with full southern exposure in the summer and under a huge shade tree with an eastern exposure in the summer.

In the kennel they need some kind of shelter. We use the K-9 Kondo dog den and absolutely love it. They are comfortable in summer and winter, chew proof and well worth the money. Also, we like to provide a couple of different surfaces at different heights for the dogs to climb up on and lay on. This allows them to choose what surfaces are most comfortable based on the conditions, plus, I think that it breaks up the space and gives them a little more mental stimulation over a flat open floor.

As for the fencing, there are a lot of different options out there. We really like the Priefert welded wire kennel panels. We have tried a lot of other chain link panels and they just don’t hold up over time. I have seen some advertisements for other products which looked really good, but I haven’t tried their products: Mason FRP Sani-Kennels (top of the line commercial grade stuff) and Behlen Manufacturing Magnum Kennels.

As for the floor, we don’t believe that dirt surfaces are acceptable. They hold bacteria, are muddy when it’s wet and cold in the winter, plus dogs have the potential of digging out. There are basically four options, concrete, gravel, wood deck, or composite deck. Concrete is a good option, but it’s expensive and you can’t change your mind and move it later. If you build a concrete run, make sure it is well sloped for drainage and provide a underground sump (a large, deep hold filled with gravel). Gravel works ok, it stays dry and helps toughen dogs feet for chukar hunting, but is really difficult to clean. Decking, either composite or wood works well; depending on what product you use, it is often cheaper than concrete. It is easy to clean, keeps dogs warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

We found 6” planks with ½ inch gaps works well for dogs 25lbs and up (toe pad size being the issue). We bought 1×6 planks that were finished on one side, rough on the other (use the finished side up) and saved a lot over finished lumber. If you are building decking make sure the deck size is larger than your kennel all the way around. If you want to be able to move it, build it in 3 or four foot sections. For example, if your kennel is 5’x10’, build two deck sections 3’x12’. Use 2×6’s for joists spaced 18” or 20” apart. Stain the deck with a good quality deck stain that will take the sun. We have used these kennel decks for 10 years with only annual staining and replacing the occasional board. They have worked great.
              See comments for more info.

We’ve gotten a lot of snow this year and the dog have loved it. Today we had a good long romp in the fresh snow. It was kind of an ethereal experience because it was foggy and you couldn’t see more that 50 meters, but the morning sun was filtering through and provided a beautiful light for taking photos.

 

I’ve got to say, I made another purchse from Gun Dog Supply today and they are excellent to work with.  They are knowledgeable,  friendly and helpful. They have the best prices I have found any where, they stand behind their products, and have an excellent email tracking system for their shipping.  They have consistently been great to work with.  I strongly recommend them for any dog supplies or training products.

One of their products that I think is a great buy is their training bumper. Excellent product for a great price.

It’s a muddy spring here. We had 15 tons of gravel delivered today to cope with the mud. Chris, the kids and I spent the morning shoveling gravel. Allie wanted in on the action. (Sorry about the cheesy photo. I couldn’t resist.)

 

At this time of year I am really glad for the kennel decks I have. The dogs are clean, dry and comfortable, when everything around them is a soupy mess. We’ve had a pretty good snow year this year and now everything is melting off. The ground is still frozen about 8 inches down, so the water just sits on the top and the yard is like a soppy sponge. 

We have seen some really poor housing facilities for dogs, and they become much worse during the spring because of wet muddy conditions; dogs chained up in a mud bog, on muddy, poopy ground, and other such. If you’re in this situation, know that your dog deserves better, and there is a better way for a lot cheaper than pouring concrete.