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What is a Boarding Kennel Manufacturer?
‘So what is a boarding kennel manufacturer?’ is a question we get asked a lot. In the broadest sense it’s just a kennel company that builds dog kennels, but there is a significant and important difference that sets these kennels apart from your everyday kennel manufacturer.
So how do boarding kennel manufacturers kennels differ?
A commercial boarding kennel is an incredibly harsh environment. These are so different to a kennel that is used for your own dogs or a small group of dogs.
Generally, these are much larger too and start from about 20 dogs but there are some kennels with up to 80 or 100 dogs at a time. These are large noisy environments that really do get high traffic flows and are intense in their canine activity.
If you think that a normal kennel door is opened and closed maybe 2-4 times a day in a boarding kennel environment this could be opened and closed many more times. This high wear and tear will mean that unless the materials are fit for purpose the kennel will quickly begin to experience issues.
All kennel owners never know what dog or breed maybe coming through the doors each day and the chance of housing a destructive dog is much higher. These difficult dogs can be a nightmare in a kennel and they can be very difficult to control. Your kennel will need to be able to cope with these types of dogs, without them causing any long term damage.
This might be repeated jumping up and activity within the sleeping area and run areas or some dogs continually throw themselves at the doors, this will also of course involve a lot of chewing, biting and scratching. Sliding hatches will also take a lot more use as the dogs might be moved from sleep to run and out for exercise up to four times each day. So these hatches need to be manufactured from the right materials that can withstand such use.
With a greater number of dogs this will also mean more activity and more noise. Controlling this noise is important so the kennels need to use materials that will help to control this. Better kennel systems that use the correct materials will have some sound reducing or acoustic properties which will mean a quieter kennel.
So the activity in these kennel suites will be so much more intense, it becomes essential and critical that the right materials are chosen for the right areas. Some components of a kennel or an area of a kennel will take more wear and tear than other parts. The key to understanding this is as important as the wrong choice will result in on going issues.
Boarding Kennel Manufacturers Materials
Wooden Kennels
Of course, there are quite a few companies in the UK making dog kennels all of which use a wide range of materials. Most of these companies have started from building a range of wooden kennels which were predominantly built for home use.
Wood is an aesthetically pleasing, natural material which looks great in any garden. However, the drawbacks are that its porous and harbors germs, mites and bacteria and its impossible to keep clean and hygienic. It also tends to get chewed easily and for dogs that love to chew they can easily be destroyed.
Its easy to see why wood is not a suitable material for anything other than a garden kennel for your own pets.
GRP Kennels
Quite a few companies make plastic kennels or GRP dog kennels, and these are quite inexpensive to buy and they are certainly easier to clean than wood. Many of these companies make claims of thermal properties and insulation but in reality they are not particularly well insulated.
If the material is not efficient at retaining heat it means that the running costs for any kennel owner will be extremely high. Another problem with this type of kennels is that these plastics are quite soft so they can easily be scratched and externally they are affected by UV light causing them to go brittle and crack.
Perhaps the main reason these are not fit for purpose in our opinion is that they are not structural, and they are not able to withstand loads caused by heavy snows or high winds. We feel that these materials only have quite short lifespans.
Block Kennels
Traditionally commercial kennels were made from concrete blocks and mortar constructions. This was often viewed as a good long-term building but when I have had conversations with owners of this product they all seem to complain about the kennels. Block kennels are porous and therefore extremely difficult to clean.
To try to get around this the blockwork needs to be rendered and then sealed with a paint system. Every year this process will need to be repeated so it’s a costly and time-consuming job to do that you could do without. This type of kennels offer very little in terms of insulation so again these can be costly to heat during winter months. During the hot months the reverse happens and they are likely to overheat, causing dogs and kennel staff to suffer in a very warm environment.
Modular Kennels
Modular kennels manufactured from a structural composite are becoming increasingly popular as they tick all the boxes on so many points. These are easy to clean, have excellent thermal properties and these also very efficient to heat and maintain.
Being modular these can easily be extended in the future, so they are a very versatile way of producing a commercial kennel. Boarding kennel owners are starting to realise to that they are very hard wearing and therefore if your investment lasts for many years it also makes them the most cost-effective kennels produced in the long term.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a commercial kennel or kennel suite then we can help you. After 15 years of experience in this field Easy Animal Ltd have the expertise and knowledge in this field to help andguide you through this complicated process when choosing your next boarding kennel manufacturers.
We offer completely free and impartial kennel advice so why not contact us to discuss your next commercial kennel project? We can be contacted on sales@easyanimal.co.uk or call our friendly team on 01785 559555 for a no obligation chat.
