Home sweet home

Q: What is the minimum sized kennel recommended for a labrador?

A: There are government standards that boarding kennels need to be guided by, i.e.: ‘The kennel should be sufficiently large to allow each dog to be able to walk, turn around and wag its tail without touching the sides of the kennel, to play, to stand on its hind limbs and to lie down without touching another individual.’ Guideline requirements can be found on Gov.uk.

How often you take the dog out of its kennel to empty itself and exercise will also influence how much space you need to allow.

Your choice for a sleeping area will be influenced by the environment that the dog’s bed is in. If it’s in a warm, indoor environment then clearly your choices would be different to a sleeping area that is open to external temperatures.

I personally like my dogs to sleep in a dog box/ cabin. These offer the dog a warm, comfortable, safe place to take themselves off to sleep, or just to relax. The doggy equivalent of a Lady or Man Cave. Bedding choice is endless: heated mats, dust-free shavings or a material/blanket type bed. The choice is yours.