# Indoor kennel for Malinois



## Neil Greenberg (Jul 9, 2012)

I am looking to build a small, indoor kennel for my Mals. The room they will be in is 10x10 with a tile floor. I plan on putting down a mat but would like any suggestions on the kennel itself.

There will be just one in the room with no access to outside - just four chain link walls or something.

Thanks for any help/input you may have.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Neil Greenberg said:


> I am looking to build a small, indoor kennel for my Mals. The room they will be in is 10x10 with a tile floor. I plan on putting down a mat but would like any suggestions on the kennel itself.
> 
> There will be just one in the room with no access to outside - just four chain link walls or something.
> 
> Thanks for any help/input you may have.


whatever you do, make sure that you can get around all sides of it to clean, that is my advice, unless you plan to take it apart ever time you clean, that is if you are using fencing type material on all sides.

solid cleanable material to height would prevent the need for this, and would allow for a bigger "kennel".


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## Neil Greenberg (Jul 9, 2012)

Joby Becker said:


> solid cleanable material to height would prevent the need for this, and would allow for a bigger "kennel".


Thanks. Any recommendations I can check out online?


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Neil Greenberg said:


> Thanks. Any recommendations I can check out online?


http://www.masonco.com/animal-enclosures/dog-systems/luxury-walk-in-dog-suites


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## Ben Thompson (May 2, 2009)

Geoff Empey said:


> http://www.masonco.com/animal-enclosures/dog-systems/luxury-walk-in-dog-suites


 I was looking at the site and saw that they put a house plant and a litle bed and a tv in the kennel. Thats stuff would not last long with a young working dog.


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## patricia powers (Nov 14, 2010)

is there some reason why you would opt to do this rather than having the dog in the house & using an ordinary crate for cvonfinement when needed?
pjp


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## David Winners (Apr 4, 2012)

Neil Greenberg said:


> I am looking to build a small, indoor kennel for my Mals. The room they will be in is 10x10 with a tile floor. I plan on putting down a mat but would like any suggestions on the kennel itself.
> 
> There will be just one in the room with no access to outside - just four chain link walls or something.
> 
> Thanks for any help/input you may have.



If you want it right in a corner, you could cover the walls with FRP. It's a material commonly used to cover restaurant kitchen walls. It's available in 4'x8' sheets at all the big box hardware stores. You glue it up using a notched trowel. There are fittings available for all types of corners and edges. 

Another option would be blank fiberglass tub surround panels. They would install in much the same way as the FRP. 


For the fencing, cost and esthetics are going to be the main factors. Remember that anything you need to attach to the floor is going to have fasteners going through your tile. You didn't mention if this was ceramic or vinyl composition tile, but either way, I would suggest making the frame sturdy enough to be anchored only at the walls and/or ceiling. Unless you don't mind repairing the tile later.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

David Winners said:


> If you want it right in a corner, you could cover the walls with FRP. It's a material commonly used to cover restaurant kitchen walls. It's available in 4'x8' sheets at all the big box hardware stores. You glue it up using a notched trowel. There are fittings available for all types of corners and edges.
> 
> Another option would be blank fiberglass tub surround panels. They would install in much the same way as the FRP.
> 
> ...


in this line of thinking would the wall panels then be 2 sides of the enclosure? or would there be some type of fencing inside of this?


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## David Winners (Apr 4, 2012)

Joby Becker said:


> in this line of thinking would the wall panels then be 2 sides of the enclosure? or would there be some type of fencing inside of this?


The FRP would be 2 sides if the enclosure, or 3 if he were to go all the way across one end of the room. It's really tough, waterproof, white do you can be sure it's clean, and kind of slippery so the dog couldn't get any traction on it. 

The transient kennels in Kuwait are built out of FRP over moisture resistant drywall with a big base much like a shower as the floor. You can hose them out twice a day and never worry about water damage. The same trailer was there on 2 separate visits of mine almost a year apart, and the had hardly a scratch on the FRP. A lot of dogs see the inside of that kennel too.

This is how I would build it if I were me.


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## David Winners (Apr 4, 2012)

Cover the back wall and as much as you want of the side walls with FRP, using the appropriate fittings at the floor and joints, bedding all joints in silicone. I would run a horizontal pipe at the floor and one at the ceiling across the room at the right height for your fencing. The pipes would be run to brackets anchored to wall studs, and bracketed to the floor for strength. Then I would build a chain link wall between the pipes with a gate in it. 

I would install a big mother of a bathroom exhaust fan to rid the room of moisture, and install a utility sink in an unoccupied corner for washing up. 

You could also build a box, covered in FRP, in one corner of the kennel so the dog could get off the cold floor, if in fact the floors get cold.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

David Winners said:


> The FRP would be 2 sides if the enclosure, or 3 if he were to go all the way across one end of the room. It's really tough, waterproof, white do you can be sure it's clean, and kind of slippery so the dog couldn't get any traction on it.
> 
> The transient kennels in Kuwait are built out of FRP over moisture resistant drywall with a big base much like a shower as the floor. You can hose them out twice a day and never worry about water damage. The same trailer was there on 2 separate visits of mine almost a year apart, and the had hardly a scratch on the FRP. A lot of dogs see the inside of that kennel too.
> 
> This is how I would build it if I were me.


yes this sounds great, add an epoxy floor and a floor drain if it was me, and I had that kind of money.

this makes sense, was just thinking it would still be impossible to clean if fencing was put up near the walls. hair, slobber, waste, water, etc...all the incidentals that would build up over time.


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## David Winners (Apr 4, 2012)

Joby Becker said:


> yes this sounds great, add an epoxy ffloorand a ffloordrain if it was me, and I had that kind of money.
> 
> this makes sense, was just thinking it would still be impossible to clean if fencing was put up near the walls. hair, slobber, waste, water, etc...all the incidentals that would build up over time.


The FRP would extend past the fencing, and it cleans up easier than just about any other surface. The fence would have vertical pipes at the walls that would be fastened at the ceiling and floor, leaving space to clean behind them. You could gap them 2" to the wall. 


The floor drain would be major. You would have to custom build the sloped floor out of lightweight concrete, or frame it with lumber, cover that with rubber roof, sheet it with Durock, and then tile or fiberglass it. Too advanced for a do it yourself project IMO. Floor drains in a wooden structure are a potential for major damage. 

If the room is on a slab, it would be safer. A couple cuts with a concrete saw and some floor leveler could take you a long way, if there is a drain close, or a perimeter drain around the slab. The whole flour would have to be surfaced however you went. 

Floor drains are nice though!


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## David Winners (Apr 4, 2012)

You would also need a curb at the front to contain the water...


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Ben Thompson said:


> I was looking at the site and saw that they put a house plant and a litle bed and a tv in the kennel. Thats stuff would not last long with a young working dog.


No Shit .. 

The idea is sound though. I like the idea of that many of their enclosures that have been plumbed for attachment to a sewer line, that way you can hose out any messes and it is easy to disinfect. They are movable after the fact. Plus there is no edges that the dog can chew and break teeth etc. 

You can easily build something like that yourself using plastic 4 x 8 plywood as the core ingredient. http://www.itsrecycled.com/Sheeting.shtml


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