We have to move to Mississippi temporarily for 3 months and the place I am staying at will only allow my dog to live in a kennel, outside of the house. So I went online and searched for a few kennels. Here is one I am considering...

http://www.optionsplus.com/silverseries.htm

and here is another with a thicker gauge

http://www.optionsplus.com/ultrakennel.htm

( I am open to other websites anyone may suggest)

My dog will be in there most of the day. Is there anything else to consider when kenneling a dog outside for long hours. The average tempeture while we are down there in Biloxi will be 85 degrees at the end of August. What else should I put inside and outside of the kennel to make sure he is taken care of.

Thanks in Advance
Ruby

Hi Ruby,

Of the two kennels you note I do NOT see anywhere for the dogs to get out of the sun?

This is VERY important, as is the issue of providing enough water for the dogs during the day. Get a big drum and fill it with fresh water, drill a small hole in it (1mm) so that fresh water can filter into the dogs bowl over the course of a couple of hours. Drainage might be a consideration.

You absolutely MUST have a place for the dogs to retreat in my opinion.

John

What is your dog used to with regards to temperature right now? Do you work him frequently during the day or is he inside in the A/C with all of his exercise morning and night? If it's the latter you will need to acclimate him to your current outdoor climate to help him along with adjusting to the climate in Mississippi. Tossing him outside after being used to a cooler, drier climate is not going to do well for him. As suggested, he will need provisions for shade and I strongly suggest a fan with a mister to help keep him cool if you're in an especially humid, sweltering area. Have plenty of water available, keep his coat very well groomed (rake out the undercoat frequently), try to eliminate any extra pounds he's carrying (lean muscle is perfect, every extra bit of weight will heat him up), think about getting him a plastic kiddie pool to wade and lay in if your kennel space allows for it. If your dog is not used to this heat, learn the signs of heat stroke and keep a careful eye on him until he does adjust.

Also, I think you need to raise your average temp estimate: Current conditions for Biloxi Right now it's 90 and it feels like 102. That's worse than central Florida. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Soe here is what I have so far...

Get the tarp for shade like this one...
http://www.optionsplus.com/kennelcover.htm

Get a big drum of water and a dog house or crate.

He is in AC for most of the day so, I should get him used to the weather outside before we go. Diana this is where I got the average tempature for Biloxi for the 27 of Aug.
http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/boatandbeach/monthly/USMS0033?from=tenDay_topnav_boat

But you are right, it still probably likely feels closer to 100.

So guys besides a kennel cover, crate and water drum. What else should I get? Where can I find a mister for him? If I cant find a mister could I use this ooling mat...
http://www.snowcountrypets.com/kh/product-kh-coolbed.html

BTW, thanks John and Diana for the suggestions

Just a thought, I lived in Mississippi a while ago and hurricanes can affect Biloxi. You might want to look into what alternative housing would be available in really bad weather. Also, it's a good idea to add your cell phone number to ID tags for emergency use. I don't mean to sound negative but it's better to be prepared.

That looks nice, perhaps tarping out one side or two sides, such as the east and west sides, then setting up a fan to blow north to south to prevent stagnation (or south to north if you are close enough to get a nice sea breeze). I'm not sure if tarping the sides would be beneficial, maybe it's best to leave the sides open. I am not sure where you can get misters, maybe check out a Home Depot or Lowes, or maybe those kennel suppliers would have an idea where to go. I know Ed Frawley has put up lots of shade trees and bushes, not just for shade but for windbreaking. http://leerburg.com/tour.htm for more info on that. Farther down he mentions that kennels facing the west end up baking in the sun so he planted bushes to cut down on that. You may not be able to plant bushes, but maybe a tarp could do it? I've never had a dog live outdoors but what I posted above comes from reading on lots of others' experiences.

So far I have the 5x10 kennel, tarp roof, flooring, crate also I went ahead and ordered a mister anyways. Here it is...
http://www.mistymate.com/1079907.html

I am going to put a little baby pool in there as well. Hopefully he wont chew it up.

Also, my dog like to tip his water bowls over, what can I use to hold alot of water but still prevent tipping?

Besides that what do you guys think? Is that sufficient enough?

http://leerburg.com/737.htm Maybe a flat bucket like that?

Make sure you watch him with the pool first. If he doesn't chew it and shows no interest in chewing it and has other options for chewing, it may be fine. If he does try to chew it then it might not be a good idea to have one for him when unsupervised. Also, in a 5x10, the pool may take up too much space.

One of the other posters said something about a drum that drips into a bowl. That's a great idea if you can find a way to fasten the bowl, or maybe have a drip going into the bucket?

If there's a faucet that could be accessed from the run you could install a Lixit and teach the dog to drink from that. That would eliminate the need for a water dish.