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.
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