We have 6 indoor/outdoor kennel areas for adult dogs and 2 indoor/outdoor kennel areas for whelping puppies.
At birth the puppies start off in the house in a whelping box. This is the "main kennel" area. Our house.
After a few days they are moved to one of three whelping areas. These areas are maintained at 78 degrees.
The puppies spend the first 4 weeks in the whelping rooms with mom only.
At 4 weeks they are weaned and come back into the house. They are given a small area indoors (dining room) and a doggie door to go outside to the back yard.
At 8 weeks their area is enlarged and they have the run of the house on the tiled floor areas only. Only our bedroom has carpet.
All of our adult dogs rotate through all of the 6 kennel areas, including the house.
We have a strict maximum limit of 4 Dachshunds (and one Australian Shepherd) on the bed at night.
Kennel area 5 is separate from the house and other kennel areas. It is for mating couples or in heat females to lessen the stress on the males when the girls are in heat.
So, we have our home and yard, a 4 room kennel with 4 large play yards, 3 whelping rooms with a small yard for mom and a private kennel with a cement patio for privacy.
It is not a joke that Roberta built it all, including the house. She has a degree in construction management and used to teach self help housing. She is the builder in the family.
