This is part of a series of blog posts about starting your own dog daycare or boarding business.

Click here for the entire series

Imagine this scene: after a long day at work or out running errands you walk through the door ready to relax and the first thing you see.... your new couch with a big hole in the middle of it, stuffing everywhere, your favorite pair of shoes are now in pieces, and the trash you meant to take out this morning is strewn all around your house like confetti. Let the cleaning-up commence and all you wanted to do was take a load off on that new couch. Oh, and your dog makes himself scarce knowing he's in serious trouble. Chewing. Ugh, chewing! At one time or another, in some capacity we have all been there. 

One of the first questions most of us ask is why? Why did that once cute little puppy turn in to a destruction machine? This is the time to remember that adorable puppy and thank him for reminding you that the floors were due to be cleaned. Begrudgingly thank him.

According to K-9 Ballistics (2019) dogs chew because of teething, stress, excitement, or boredom. We do our best as pet owners to alleviate these things to the best of our ability, but sometimes it's simply not enough. 

So how does this relate to custom professionally build dog kennels? Well, it's a great solution to three of the four causes stated above. To help relieve stress and boredom, taking your dog to a doggy daycare facility could be the answer (plus they come home super tired from playing all day, bonus!). While the excitement factor will be off the charts, taking your dog to a well established, clean, and outfitted with proper dog kennels will ease your mind about your dog during their stay.

Before any sort of kennel system is set up, the surrounding area needs to be prepped to be "dog proof." If using existing walls as part of the kennel, the walls must prepared. Even the smallest dogs will chew through drywall (trust us, we know from experience). 

There are many ways to dog proof the walls a few are, tile, paneling, wallboard, protective film, and wall shields. The problems with these options are that they tend to not look as professional in most cases, the material might not be high enough resulting in larger dogs being able to chew the drywall above the material, the material in most cases will not be seamless, or the cost and time to install such materials can be costly. 

This is where Gator Kennels' Signature Series kennels are the perfect answer! The Signature Series kennels consist of 3 panels and a gate. Every kennel can be customized to size but our standard panels and gates are 6 feet high. While we believe the most cost effective and best option is our complete Signature Series kennels, you can always use existing walls, but remember, they must be doggy proof! Below are two examples of common layouts, one using the full Signature Series kennels and the other utilizing dog proofed existing walls. 

Can a dog chew it's way out of our kennels? 

This is a question we get asked quite often. The answer is no. We make our kennels solid and seamless. This means that there is no place inside the kennel for the dog to gain purchase to begin chewing. We avoid edges for this reason. All slats and spaces around the gate are too small for most dog's snouts. 

To recap, well made and prepared kennels can really help to eliminate destructive chewing. By utilizing Gator Kennels Signature Series, the cost and trouble of preparing existing walls gets eliminated, as well as the need to update or redo walls in the future. www.gatorkennels.com/materials/    

Here at Gator Kennels we pride ourselves in manufacturing solid, safe, and attractive products that meet our customer's needs and space, and improves the dog's day to day life. And maybe help the dog owner's sanity in the process!   

www.gatorkennels.com