The Airedale

by Williams Haynes

The barrel ought to be painted inside and out, and to keep it from rotting on the bottom must be mounted on blocks so that it just clears the ground. Rain can be kept out of the door either by tacking a curtain of sacking over it (a dog soon learns to go through this and it can be hung up in good weather) or by making a roof of V shaped planking, which sets over the barrel, projecting in front like the eaves of a barn. Two small terriers or one Airedale can live easily in these keg kennels in summer, with an extra dog added, for warmth's sake, in cold weather.

Another kennel that is fine for terriers is one I adapted from the suggestions of a chicken owner, who used a similar box as a coop for hens with young chicks. It is a box that can be taken all apart. The floor is a raised platform against which the sides fit closely, being fastened together with hooks. The roof slants backward and is held in place by thin strips that fit just inside the walls.

This is fine for summer, but must be very carefully made to be tight enough for cold weather. Its flat floor makes it admirable for a bitch with puppies and it has the great advantage of enabling you to leave off any side you wish. Naturally, they are very easy to clean. They can be made any size or shape you wish and cost from five dollars up.

For the man who is going into a large kennel little can be said that will be broadly useful. One wants to build a model kennel of hard wood and concrete, while the next has an old chicken house to adapt to doggy uses; naturally requirements and conditions are very different.

The first thing that any kennel builder wants to see to is that he has good natural drainage and that his runs are on quickly drying ground, gravel rather than clay. Southern exposures are the favorites, and it is better to have two or three smaller buildings rather than to house all the dogs in one. In this way there is opportunity to give each building a rest once in a while, and this should be done in the case of the individual runs and pens, if not for the whole building.

Good hard wood, varnished and kept clean and well drained, is the most popular floor for kennels. Concrete is cold in winter, asphalt is far from desirable in summer, and both are hard on a dog's feet. Dirt, gravel, and ashes are very hard to clean. Cork is expensive and rots out with amazing speed.

The sleeping benches ought to be about two feet off the floor and so arranged that they can be taken down, cleaned, and set out in the sun to dry. Plenty of elbow grease, backed up with a good strong disinfectant and fresh air and sunlight, these are the secrets of a successful kennel. Cleanliness means that disease and parasites will be unknown.

Wheat or rye straw or wood shavings make the best bedding. The straw costs more than hay, but it is ten times as cleanly, lasts twice as long, and is much better for a dog's skin. Very often shavings will be given away for the carting of them, and they make a fine summer bedding, though they are not very warm for winter. Shavings, especially pine shavings, make a very poor home for fleas. Excelsior is not popular. It has a distressing habit of wadding up in hard bunches in corners, absorbs moisture, and does not dry out easily. Moss and sea weed and such beddings are dirty and hard to handle.

Food is an important item in the care of the dog. Table scraps make, in my opinion, the ideal food for a dog. In this the house pet has the advantage over his friend of the kennels, for he gets a wide variety of well cooked and nourishing food, and variety, cooking, and nourishment are the foundation of good feeding.

Dog biscuits, which are so cheap and easy to handle, are excellent in their way, but one should resist the temptation to feed them all the time. You would not like to live on beefsteak three times a day, week in and week out. Dry bread can be bought by the barrel from most bakers and is at once inexpensive and nourishing. Shredded wheat and cracker scraps can also be gotten and are useful for a change. All of these should be fed soaked in some soup.