Kennel Room Layouts

There are as many kennel room layouts as there are rooms and the imagination to fill them. There are rooms with irregular walls, windows in undesirable locations, alcoves, thermostats and light switches in inconvenient spots, and your layout needs to take all the above into consideration. There are even two-story layouts for when it makes sense to grow up, not out. Our strong suggestion is to visit as many boarding rooms as possible and see what you like and don't like.

Generally speaking, though, there are two types of kennel layouts: back-to-back or center aisle, as shown below.

Back-to-Back	Center Aisle

The back-to-back system is a popular layout because, assuming one dog per back-to back run, it allows the staff to move a dog from a dirty to a clean run when washing the kennels without having to manually move the dog. It also has the advantage of allowing two runs to share one rear trench drain, which can save money. This design also orients the dogs away from one another, which some believe promotes less barking because they are not looking at each other. Another advantage is the runs can share a guillotine door, lower cost. This layout also works well when a room has a highly irregular footprint or the exterior wall is ridged, bumpy or otherwise compromised in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to use as the kennels back wall. Finally, this design offers the flexibility to drop the guillotine door when capacity is tight and create two runs out of one run for a period of time. Downsides include the need for a back panel to separate the two runs, which adds cost. This layout also does not allow for indoor-outdoor runs. Nor does it allow the staff to see two sets of kennels as they walk down the aisle.

A center aisle layout offers the option of indoor-outdoor access. The building’s wall can also be used as the back panel of the runs, which can save money –- assuming the back wall is satisfactory for this purpose. This layout also offers staff the ability to see more dogs as they walk down the aisle. Downsides are the mirror images of the back-to-back system: you can’t move the dog to a fresh run during cleaning (except if they are indoor-outdoor), you can’t share a trench drain, dogs face each other and you need a good back wall or you will have to purchase a separate back panel.

There are ways to mitigate some of the above concerns through additional design features. For example, kennel gates can be constructed to provide privacy through isolation, or the center aisle can utilize planters or fences or other visual barriers to block the dogs from seeing each other.

Feature	Back-to-Back	Center Aisle	Comment
Dogs see each other	No	Yes	Privacy can be built into gates or aisle ways
Staff sees more dogs	No	Yes
Use facility wall as back panel	No	Yes	If it isn’t too irregular and has right material
Indoor/outdoor option	No	Yes
Share a trench drain	Yes	No
Move dog to clean run	Yes	No	Saves on staff time and handling
Turn one run to two in peak times	Yes	No
Share a transfer door	Yes	No	Assuming the runs have a transfer door
Good with bumpy, irregular walls	Yes	No

More information on kennel design can be found by viewing Mason Company’s Dog Housing Solutions webinar. Here are a few summary points to consider from that webinar:

Flexibility – Run Size. Too many kennel rooms have every run the same size. Not every dog is “average” so consider some larger as well as some smaller runs. According to the Humane Society of the United States, 40% of American’s own small dogs, 33% medium and 27% large[1]. Have some different sized runs.
Flexibility – Transfer Doors. 28% of Americans own two dogs and 12% (that’s one in eight people!) own three or more dogs[2]. These customers naturally want to board their pets together but a “typical” 4’wide x 6’ deep run can’t accommodate two or more labs or standard poodles. Consider having left-to-right transfer doors between a few kennel runs. These can be opened when someone wants to board multiple dogs and you can turn two 4’x6’ runs into one 8’x6’ run.
Luxury Suites. Most kennel owners will tell you their luxury suites sell out fastest and wish they had built more. Incorporate some into your layout. The related question is, “what makes a luxury suite?” Generally they are larger, often have extra amenities (doll beds for sleeping, TVs, etc.) or incorporate themes (Jimmy Buffett Room; the Times Square Room; Los Angeles Dodgers Room, etc.). They typically utilize more expensive materials such as tempered glass and real human doors to soften their look. Frequently they are built into the facility with dry wall or concrete block, but there are modular options as well (see more information on Mason Company’s Luxury Suites).
Grow Up Not Out – Double Deck System. Consider building a true two-story kennel system if capacity is an issue (see more information on Mason Company’s patented Double Deck System). It is often much less expensive to add a few feet of ceiling height than to expand outward.
Grow Up Not Out – Double Stacked Runs. Another related option is to take one wall of a kennel room and use double stacked runs for smaller dogs. These are typically two runs stacked on top of each other that total seven feet, either by having a 4’ bottom and a 3’ top or two 3 ½’ runs
(see more information about Mason Company’s K-9 Cabins). These runs have all the same features as a normal run, such as top-quality gates, guillotine doors, bowl feeding systems and trench drains. Using these runs effectively doubles the revenue generating capacity in a given footprint.
Timeout Run. At some point –- probably sooner rather than later –- you will board a destructive dog. It doesn’t have to be a pit bull. It could very well be a friendly Labrador that is freaked out by a thunderstorm. Consider having one run with stainless steel side panels to provide an impenetrable barrier to scratching. In the same vein, consider having a few runs with top covers to stop climbing dogs. We don’t recommend top covers on every run for a boarding facility, but you should have them on at least a few.
Asymmetrical Back-to-Back Runs: Research has found that approximately 70% of all dogs will naturally eliminate away from their food and bedding if given the opportunity. Consider an asymmetrical back-to-back run system to take advantage of this natural instinct. That is, one run that is “normal sized” attached via guillotine door to a smaller run that the dogs use for elimination. An example would be a 4’x6’ run attached to a 4’x4’ run. This design saves money because the elimination run is smaller and saves cleaning time if the dogs learn to use it for elimination.
Tri-Kennels: Another way to create more space is to have a back-to-back run system with a normal size run attached to a double stack run. For example, one side of the system would have a normal height run (i.e. 6’ tall) attached to a double stacked run, creating three runs in the space of two. Learn more about Mason Company’s Tri-Kennels.

Summary: As stated earlier, there are as many kennel designs as there are rooms and imaginations. Visit as many facilities as possible and ask the operator what works and doesn’t work, and what they would change if they had the chance to do it again. Please consider how to add flexibility and privacy to your design –- we don’t see as much of this as we should.

Finally, strongly consider teaming up with an experienced architect if you are building a large new facility or completing a major overhaul of your existing building. Mason Company can help with the kennel and cattery room design but we are not architects and cannot get involved with the other areas of the facility. Nor can we advise on permitting, ADA compliance, size of parking lots, HVAC and so on. Most people build or remodel once in their life. There is a whole encyclopedia of knowledge specific to animal care facilities. Team up with someone who already knows that information and don’t pay for someone else’s education. Besides, taking on the task of building a new facility will likely be more than one person can handle. Contact us if you need referrals to any architects in your area.

Post Script: Contractors have highest level of bankruptcies in America[3]. Only around one-third of contracting firms survive past their fifth birthday. Do yourself a big favor and run a credit report on any contractor you consider to see if they have staying power. Contact us if you do not have access to a credit rating agency and we will run a report for you. Mason Company has a flat-fee subscription and it does not cost us anything to run the additional report, and the due diligence can prevent future problems.

[1] Humane Society of the United States, 2016

[2] Humane Society of the United States, 2016

[3] http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/09/failure-rates-by-sector-the-real-numbers.html

Kennel Room Layouts

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