I. Purpose
The first thing you should ask yourself is why do you want to build a kennel?
You must be genuinely interested in the breed. While experience and ability are valuable, it is important to have that indescribable "feeling" for the animal as a prerequisite. In order to run a kennel, you must know all aspects of the breed, such as breeding standards and traditions. You must also have the determination to work for the German Shepherd at any cost.
Two, choose the location
First, you need to think clearly about what kind of kennel you want to set up, and then choose a suitable location after you have decided.
A new kennel should be built in a quiet environment, on high and dry ground, where the sun shines for more than 2 or 3 hours a day, away from pollution. The ideal location would be a suburb not far from the city, so that it is easily accessible to visitors and food suppliers.
Also, stay as far away from your neighbors as possible, so that you don't disturb others with noisy dogs.
Also reserve space for parking in case you have guests visiting the kennel or buying dogs.
As for the size of the land, it depends on the individual's needs and abilities, but make sure you have enough land for a kennel and a training field.
All of the above are determined, pay attention to all aspects of the information, estimate a reasonable price, maybe someone else has a ready-made kennel to transfer or auction, you can go to visit.
Three, the specific facilities of the kennel
On the construction of the kennel, you can first make a plan, such as the appearance of the kennel is roughly what it looks like, but the specific design of the building and the details of the planning, it is best to go to consult with architectural design experts.
1. Functional area planning
As a workplace, the distinction between the kennel building and the exercise yard should be based on the principle of convenience, with the aim of minimizing the workload. Kennels are generally set up breeder kennels, maternity wards, puppy kennels, youth kennels, and sick dog isolation room, medical room, office, etc. Sick dog isolation room and medical room should be located in the downwind and downstream to prevent the spread of viruses.
In addition to considering the local climate, try to make the kennel house to avoid the summer sun exposure, as well as winter wind direction of the cold wind, to prevent the dogs (especially puppies) indoor temperature discomfort caused by disease.
If only working dogs are kept, including males and females with ovaries removed, a long row of kennels can be designed side by side. If you have a breeding dog, the male dog will naturally want to get close to the female dog during the heat period, and if he fails to do so, his appetite will be reduced and his health will be poor, so the kennel must be divided into two areas. A kennel with a breeding bitch needs two maternity wards, as it is rare for two bitches to give birth at the same time, so two maternity wards are sufficient, and one of them can be used as a hospital room in normal times.
2. Exercise area
First, circle the area around the kennel with wire as the exercise area for the dogs, the wider the exercise area the better, and create a slope in front to facilitate drainage. And in the corner of the site to do the drainage ditch, if necessary, can also be used for drinking water, coupled with running water equipment, easy to clean and sanitation. In summer, should also hold up a sunshade, in order to help prevent heat.
1) Fencing
A large exercise area where dogs can run freely and train is indispensable. This field is not only used for dog exercise, but also as a temporary place to get the dog out of the kennel house for short periods of time.
The fencing of the exercise area should preferably be made of solid metal chain link, or wire mesh on solid posts. The height of the fence should be 1.8 meters, and the posts should be curved inward 30 centimeters from the top to prevent the dog from climbing. The openings of the fence are made in the shape of large gates, framed by solid steel and mesh with slightly thinner wire.
Due to the high cost of steel fences, there are also kennels with wooden fences. Wooden fences are easy to be chewed by dogs, so you need to use strong and sturdy wooden planks.
2) Ground
In addition to the fence, the material of the exercise yard floor also needs attention. Typically, the materials used in kennel exercise yard floors are turf, concrete, blocks/stones, or asphalt.
a. Grass
Turfing is the most economical solution for a playground, except that it needs to be mowed regularly. Grass is good for drainage, is clean and attractive, and helps to minimize the chance of injury when exercising your dog.
The disadvantage of grass is that it is difficult to sterilize and is very much affected by the weather, for example, it is unusable in the cold months of winter.
b. Concrete floors
If you choose to use a concrete floor as a sports ground, you need to consider 3 factors: how much it costs, whether it is beautiful, and whether it is time-saving and labor-saving to clean. A large concrete sports field does not look beautiful, costs a lot of money, and takes a lot of time to keep it clean.
But it has the obvious advantage that it can be used all year round, in both hot and cold weather. However, if the ground is too rough, the dog will feel uncomfortable when walking and it will be very troublesome to clean it; if it is too smooth, it will not be conducive to the dog's movement, especially on rainy days, when the ground is wet with rainwater, it will be very easy to cause slips and falls.
Another key is the installation of a drainage system. Hard concrete surfaces can't absorb water on their own, so it's crucial to know how to install a drainage system underneath them.
c. Block paving/stone paving
Both materials are beautiful, available in a variety of different colors, specific materials, sizes, etc., corrosion-resistant, can be washed daily, disinfectants and urine are not easy to make it fade. Of the two materials, I prefer stone pavers because they are larger, have relatively fewer joints, and the surface is relatively flat.
Even if the floor is made of other materials, it is better to repair a piece of gravel pavement, allowing the dog to walk on it more often can make the dog's toe structure develop more compact.
d. Tarmac
Tarmac playgrounds may look good at first, but they have many drawbacks. For example, asphalt is porous and permeable to water, moisture and dog urine can easily seep into the foundation; in the summer, with the hot sun, asphalt heats up easily, and dogs can feel uncomfortable walking or lying on it, or even get burned by the heat; after exposure to the sun, the asphalt material softens, which can stick to the dog's toes, or the asphalt softens and exposes the small gravel that is mixed in, which can stub the dog's toes.
3. Buildings
Domestic kennels should be built in a safe and sturdy manner, with a north-south orientation. It is recommended that brick and cement building materials be used to construct the kennel house. If the doors and windows are made of wood, it is best to wrap a metal skin around the outside to prevent it from becoming an object for the dogs to grind their teeth. The windows and doors of the kennel should be made of glass for lighting inside the house, and the windows should be fitted with wooden boards to cover the windows. The inner layer of the glass door should be nailed with some wooden strips so that the dog will not break the glass inside.
The size of the space of the kennel is appropriate to allow the dog to turn freely, and the height of the roof is appropriate to the height of the dog's standing head up plus 8 to 10 centimeters. The size of the entrance to the kennel is based on the principle that dogs can enter and exit the kennel easily. The general height of the kennel is the height of the dog's back when standing plus 7-8 centimeters, and the width of the kennel is based on the height of the dog's back.
In addition, the concrete floor of the house should be added to the bedding, the lying box in the corner, put straw or straw mat. The kennel has windows in the north-south direction for air circulation, and the eaves should be designed so that the winter sun can enter and the summer sun cannot invade the standard.
The advantage of brick houses is that they have better lighting and ventilation, slow heat loss, warm in winter and cool in summer, and because they are more ventilated, they can avoid a humid indoor environment. The floor of the kennel is best paved with cement, with a certain slope outward, and there is a drainage ditch in front of each row of kennels, so as to flush the feces and keep the ground dry and hygienic.
The drainage system is very important. When building a new kennel, the problem of underground drainage must be solved so that sewage can be discharged smoothly when cleaning the kennel with water. The faucet should be appropriately located and have a long enough hose to allow for easy cleaning of all corners of the kennel.
Also note the location of the kitchen, preferably next to the kennel. There is a supply of hot and cold water and electricity, a cooker (preferably not over an open fire), a freezer or fridge for meat, a cupboard for medicines, a workbench, a metal bucket for feed, etc. If the workbench is not large enough, another table, preferably of metal, will be needed. The workbench can hold the dog's eating utensils, which should be of different sizes; puppies usually need shallow bowls with large mouths.
Since there is a lot of kennel equipment and items, there needs to be enough space to accommodate them, and the more space there is, the more things can be purchased at one time, and wholesale purchases can be much cheaper, so if you are purchasing a lot of dog food at one time, you can consider being a distributor yourself, and reselling the stockpile to the general public, and subsidizing some of the expenses.
4. Covering and Cleaning
Wood shavings are the best when it comes to covering items because they keep the dog warm, are pest-free, and can be replaced at any time after getting dirty, making them easy to clean. Wood shavings can be stored in paper and cloth bags near the kennel.
The dirty wood shavings are best burned to avoid environmental pollution.
Clean up every day and clean up the feces at any time. Regarding cleaning tools, they should include brushes, small shovels, large coarse and hard brooms, buckets, etc., plus the previously mentioned faucet and a long hose for cleaning the floor of the exercise yard.
Promote good hygiene, strengthen disinfection, and thoroughly disinfect the kennel and feeding utensils every 7-10 days. To disinfect the kennel, the use of diluted bleach solution (diluted concentration of 10-20%, the main ingredient is sodium hypochlorite) is the most economical and very effective, but it is irritating to the mucous membranes, the respiratory tract and the skin, and may also have a chemical reaction with other substances, so be careful with the use. It is important not to leave water residue on the floor after cleaning, as this can be harmful to dogs if they accidentally ingest it.
In addition to bleach solution, the kennel commonly used disinfectant drugs are: 3-5% Lysol solution, 0.3-0.5% peroxide monoacetic acid solution, and others have Chlorpyrifos, bacteriophage, potassium permanganate (PP powder), and so on. Feeding utensils can be sterilized by boiling for 20 minutes, or can be soaked in 0.1% new Sushuer extermination solution for 20 minutes, or 1:800 Weidao disinfectant solution or 84 disinfectant solution for 5 minutes, and finally rinsed with clean water.
5. Lighting and heating
If the kennel house is oriented reasonably, the indoor natural lighting is enough, the maternity ward and sick dog isolation room is necessary to install electric lighting in such special rooms.
The best thing about a kennel is that it maintains the right temperature and humidity. The standard temperature of the kennel is 13-15℃ in winter and 21-24℃ in summer, and the relative humidity is kept at 50-60%. Puppies in the 7-14 days old temperature is maintained at 26-29 ℃, 15-22 days old for 23-26 ℃. In practice, however, there is no effective and affordable way to ensure that every kennel maintains a constant temperature, so the initial siting of the house and the structure of the building are very important for later protection against both heat and cold.
6. Greening
The kennel should be surrounded by trees, flowers and grasses to provide greenery, coolness, purify the air and improve the environment, and the garbage and weeds around the kennel should be cleared regularly to create a good ecological environment for the dog's growth.
Four, the dog noise control
1) internal noise
With the enhancement of environmental protection awareness, to solve the noise problem has been the imperative of the kennel. The larger the scale of the kennel, the more prominent the noise problem. Noisy places are not only harmful to the human body, but also easy to cause the dog's distraction.
Noise is measured in decibels (dB), and in a normal office environment, the noise index should be around 50 dB.
2) Naturally occurring noise
Different sounds have different vibration frequencies. The human ear is constructed to be particularly sensitive to the sounds of the external environment, and can clearly distinguish between sound vibration frequencies in the range of 1,000-5,000 cycles per second. This number of cycles per second is generally referred to as hertz (Hz). The canine ear is even more sensitive than the human, and can distinguish between sound vibration frequencies in the range of 500-16,000 Hz.
Because smooth surfaces do not absorb sound, but simply bounce sound waves back, echoes are produced inside buildings with smooth walls. The longer the sound bounces back, the more uncomfortable the people inside feel. In an office with a good environment, sound waves should bounce back for 0.4-0.6 seconds, and indoor sports venues or swimming pools should bounce back for 4-6 seconds.
3) Noise Limit
Noise generated by kennels can damage human hearing, so it is necessary to monitor kennel noise. Once the usual noise exceeds 85 decibels, the kennel owner should be obliged to inform his subordinate employees and take some measures to protect their hearing; if it reaches 90 decibels, the owner should find ways to try to reduce the noise decibels and let his employees take hearing protection measures.
Obviously, most people now recognize that high decibel noise is not only harmful to human hearing, but can also damage a dog's hearing and distract it.
4) Eliminate the noise
If there are opinions around the kennel that are not happy with the noise, you should pay enough attention to them and come up with effective and feasible solutions to solve the problem, for example, by using building materials that are soundproof. Of course, it is best, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, in the construction of the kennel, consider the site to determine a quiet location as far as possible not to disturb the public, to avoid a lot of trouble later.
Sixth, the selection of dogs
After all the external construction is ready, we are faced with the problem of the choice of dogs to be bred.
For a kennel dedicated to the cause of reproduction, a mature German shepherd male dog in breeding is indispensable, there is a good quality of breeding male dog in order to cultivate the next generation in line with the standard set, but remember, the breeder bitch is your capital, there is a good breeder bitch, in order to cultivate their own kennel of puppies.
Most countries and regions import breeding dogs because of the bloodline pattern. Currently, all member countries of the World Shepherd Dog Association have adopted the German breed. If you want to import a breeder, there are some things you need to pay extra attention to. For example, if importing directly from Germany, it is best to approach the breeder directly and not through a middleman. All German Shepherds over 2 years of age should be registered, with all certificates in order, and dogs a few months old should have pedigree certificates, and special attention should be paid to whether the parents of the puppies have pedigree certificates. The German Shepherd Dog Association's journal will have a record of registered purebred dogs, which should be paid more attention to. These are my homework, I hope you give some advice 。。。。