Question:What's the best way to get rid of a smell in a dog kennel that has a dirt floor? It's a 10' x 10' if that matters. I clean it at least once a week, but the urine must be getting in the dirt, and he lifts his leg to pee outside of it through the chain link sometimes. Are there any products to help deodorize it that work really well? Is there anything to do about the dirt floor smelling without changing out the dirt? Any info on deodorizing products would be appreciated.
Answers:
Yes, the urine soaks into the dirt. Only way to get rid of it is to dig it out. Trying to disinfect will make a swamp.
I am not sure there is any BEST flooring, all have drawbacks. But here are ideas I have used over the decades.
Best: concrete base with pine shavings on top. Daily scoop out wet shavings. When all gone, disinfect concrete and replace shavings.
Concrete only: easy to disinfect, but dog treads and lays in urine and feces. Not comfortable for dog.
Shavings only: soaks up the urine, engulfs poop, but bottom is still dirt and just can not be disinfected
Gravel: covers the dirt so can spray disinfectant, but again, base still dirt. Also not comfortable for dog.
It is the fact that the floor is dirt that is causing the smell. The best way to clean a kennel is to hose it down throroughly. If you had gravel down, the urine would get down in the soil and break down without creating a muddy mess. Ideally, bricks, pavers or concrete would be best so you could hose down easily.
You would have to buy gallons of deodorizing compounds to do the trick and you'd need to do it all the time - which will get expensive. Gravel, while not an ideal kennel floor, is better than dirt. Besides, your dog will stay cleaner not lying on dirt.
We have pavers in part of our dog run, with wood chips over the soil in the potty area. We scoop up and replace the chips regularly to prevent the smell and hose down the whole thing occasionally as needed.
I would probably get a load of gravel, We have a few kennel runs with gravel, the others are concrete. If the dog is a digger, I would put fencing down on the ground and stake it in before you put gravel on top. Clean and spray some bleach with water on the dirt, then put the gravel down at least 3 inches deep. When cleaning up the kennel, you can spray some bleach mixed with water every few days down and hose down the gravel to help with odor.
10'X10' sounds cruel. Why don't you get rid of the kennel, housebreak the dog and bring him in the house rather than leaving him outside in a nasty dirt run.
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