A friend and I have been trawling the net looking at kennels, as she wants to put a run of 3 up with runs in her garden. What we both wondered with the wood ones, is how do you stop the dog chewing through and getting out? The sides don't seem very thick. or maybe its just how we are looking at them :) because they look very similar to the laptype wood fencing you see around gardens today. Are the plastic type ones really anti chew, or is that just advertising? Has anyone got any makers they can recommend? Thanks :)

Don't have any personal experience, but the breeder I got one of my dogs off said they used to have wooden kennels but the dogs chewed holes in them (retrievers). Don't know if the design's changed since tho.

Be careful of condensation with plastic/fibreglass kennels. :(  Wood breathes.  You can always have metal edges put on wood. :)

>is how do you stop the dog chewing through and getting out?

Sorry to veer off topic,but i would think an owner would have major problems if they had a dog that was actually prepared to chew through a wooden door/wall to escape what should be their safe haven/home(even though i detest kennels).My first thought would be a very unhappy,perhaps lonely dog??
It;s just that chewing through a wall to escape wouldnt even cross my mind if i was helping someone pick out a kennel

have you tried doghealth, they have lovely kennels & runs, their kennels look like big sheds with cabins at the back & bars for runs  with internal doors so you can walk through the pens once you are inside. they are also very reasonable, mine should arrive next week [they make them in germany] cant wait.

Had a Rough Collie chew through one to get to an in season bitch many moons ago!

They are just being a bit OTT with the 'what ifs' because the wooden kennel walls look so thin in the pictures :) The one did chew through a wooden fence (the ship lap type) just to see what was on the other side I think :D no real need coz he could have walked round.......dohhhhh :) They are not shut up all day, they own horses and the dogs ride out with them, and spend much of the day outside with their owners, but they are moving so kennels will be needed there, as not enough stables as now.

I don't have kennels myself, but my friend runs kennels and has said to me in the past that having wooden kennels or plastic are dangerous not only for the chewing side of things but also germs can soak into the wood and they are harder to keep clean.
She has metal kennels and swears by them, for cleaning and keeping the risk of germs at bay.
When I win the lottery! I am going to have a HUGE house with some kennels, communal ones like the Guide dogs for the blind have, tiled flooring (non slip might i add!) with good quality metal kennels. AHHHHHHHH I can only dream,,,,,,,,,,, :P

for the average dog owner who only needs one or two kennels or say a block of four the wooden ones are perfectly adequate, more attactive and warmer.

Concrete and metal are really for large kenenls or commercial boarding where infection etc is more iof an issue.

In a domestic situation with soemoen that has kennels for the dogs sleepign quarters, sheltering older pups when they ahve a litter or seperating in season bitches from males the dogs are in constant contact exchanging germs all the time, and do not spend al theri time in the kennels, so claeaning them is not such an issue.    Easy enough to clean out a couple of them. 

I've got a wooden cabins within a run made of panels.  that way even if they chew through the cabin they can't escape

i have a wooden dog run and kennel which my dogs love, it seems to be a lot more warmer and cosier than the metals one. the wood is normally treated to stop it getting damp and germs. my dog chewed it a few times but then i sprayed it and he never touched it again, also the wood is quite thick,

my dog chewed it a few times but then i sprayed it and he never touched it again, also the wood is quite thick,

What did you spray with?

Thanks everyone, all this has been passed on. :)

Bit of a side note, but do make sure she gets some strong padlocks for anytime the dogs will be unsupervised in the kennels - there have been quite a few thefts of dogs from kennels, there are posters all around here for a springer at the moment.