Fit for a Queen

And a king, I hope.

Regular readers will remember the shed-conversion-to-kennel project as a work in progress. After getting a serious test-run this winter, a spring make-over was in order. While I won't claim more than 50% completion yet, I will say I'm very pleased with today's progress.

After much hemming and hawing and on-line window-shopping, I finally settled on a doggie-door. Fashioned after the creative use of a basement remodel of some friends in Colorado, I had a 3'x3' sliding window installed. Duct-tape marks the glass inside and out to cue the dogs to the "open" or "closed" status (several other barriers were explored, including replacing the glass with plywood, covering with matting, cardboard, or butchered x-pen wiring, before this obvious solution presented itself). The opening is 18"W x 36"H, perfect for borzoi. Currently the "door" is a screen (cut on the sides and bottom, so it opens), which will be replaced with long strips to make a flap and keep out rain.

Progress was needed, as I'm hoping to breed Day next month, and her intended mate is due to arrive in a few days. One of which is, he likes x-pens. Here's a shot of the x-pen barrier with the new doggie door (in the "open" position") visible in the background:





The right side of the x-pen is attached to a 700 size crate, the door of which is locked open. Day loves crates; here she demonstrates the easy in/out feature:



The crate is on the raised, heated bed, which I hope will be perfect for puppies once they move out of the house.








Just visible in the first picture is a raised dog-bed, to the right of the dog-door. Here's a slightly better look at it:










To the left of the doggie door is a pool-bed, so-called because it's a cushioned bed inside a kiddie pool. Some of my dogs love these, others ignore them, but it provides options for Day and her visiting beau.




I hope by now somebody has noticed how clean the floor is; say "ooh, ahh" for me would you? The inside of my house is not, at present, as clean.

Outside there's been an addition as well. The straw bales that were providing wind insulation have been relocated, rearranged, and a 1/2 sheet of plywood added to make a roof (also based on the friends' in Colorado's set-up):

It's in the center of the puppy paddock, well away from the fences, so any mountain-climbing dogs can improve their view but not escape. The opening will get full sun in the mornings (so will stay nice and dry), full shade all afternoon, and the walls protect against our vicious spring winds. The design will tweak over time, but it's a good start.

Our kennel is a castle! Well, almost... the list of other items still needs to be reduced to zero.