Animal Arts is working with some wonderful clients who want to find a better way to house dogs and improve their health and well-being while in care. These are some of the ideas we’re exploring:
- Housing dogs in much smaller numbers. Older kennel and ward spaces often house too many dogs in a single room. This creates additional social stress, and contributes to noise, poor air quality, and disease risk. By housing fewer dogs in one space (ideally four but up to eight), we can vastly improve environmental quality, AND reduce the dogs’ social stress at the same time.
- Double-compartment housing. Providing a separate resting and elimination area reduces stress for dogs (UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine).
- Easy access to the outside. This means not only indoor/outdoor kennel design, but excellent access to yards, which can be immediately co-located to the kennel. This reduces the need to transport dogs to yards for play, which is a time-consuming task for staff in boarding and shelter environments.
- Enrichments, enrichments, enrichments! Giving the dogs lots of enrichment, from cleanable beds, to food rewards (lick mats, etc.), to time out of kennels walking and playing, is the key to keeping kenneled dogs happy.
- Social housing. Social housing (such as housing two bonded dogs together), is very uncommon in kennel environments. For social dogs, appropriate co-housing can be better for them. We can prepare for co-housing as follows:
- Ensuring that the dogs don’t HAVE to be co-housed. Co-housing should be a choice, not a requirement.
- Upsizing housing units so dogs can be co-housed safely and appropriately.
- Giving the dogs choice in the housing, for example an inside/outside configuration. If there are two compartments, it is also easier to separate dogs for feeding, if necessary.
- Allowing for ample out of kennel time to reduce stress in the co-housed kennel. The kennel is then primarily for resting.
- Choosing the co-housed dogs properly. Many dogs are not right for co-housing. Choosing carefully, with the help of a trained behavior specialist, can help make co-housing successful.
- Ensuring the dogs get rest:
- Kennel rooms should be fully dark at night.
- Schedule a quiet hour during the day.
- Employ noise control techniques such as noise reduction materials, and separation between groups of dogs to keep all the housing quiet.
- Auditory soundscape. Using products such as Zounds to keep dogs listening to quiet, enriching sound to reduce their stress. Provide some quiet time as well, such as at night, and for one hour during the day.
Some of these ideas might apply to clinical environments, and some may not. All apply to shelter and boarding environments. It’s important that we continue to look for solutions that can be implemented in different environments.
Rendering of a smaller dog pod, designed to house fewer dogs and have easy access to its own play yard.
