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KENNELING: INSIDE OR OUT

 Does it make a difference and why?

For years handlers have debated the issue of where best to kennel their working K-9 mantrailer.  Is it best to kennel your dog outside or keep him inside the house?  No doubt there are pros and cons of both arrangements and there are a few myths about the matter as well.  Let's look at both sides of this hotly contested debate and see if there is any reason in the ranting.

Supporters of outside kenneling believe that a dog that is kept outside year round will be heartier, more adjusted to climatic extremes and may also be more focused as a working dog rather than a pet.

Champions of the cause of inside kenneling feel that it is better that their dog utilize his food intake to build strong muscles and bones rather than just to maintain sufficient body heat. They also believe that by staying in close proximity to their dogs they will be more capable of accurately reading and understanding their dogs' body language.

One of the myths we mentioned suggests that a dog that is surrounded by human smell all day will 'lose his nose'.  Losing his nose means that the dog's sense of smell is either compromised or destroyed. Not only is this absolutely false, it does not stand up to reason.  Does a coyote lose his nose from being surrounded by wildlife smells all day?

But we believe that there is much more to consider about the issue of where best to kennel your working dog.

Perhaps the most significant factor to be considered is the matter of bonding.  There is virtually nothing more important to the success of the working K-9 team than the dog/handler bond. Bonding is not merely a matter of liking each other a lot. Nor is it simply a matter of maintaining pack order between Alpha-handler and Omega-dog. Bonding occurs when the dog and handler spend time together wherein each is able to understand, and be understood, by the other.  In its truest form, bonding is an almost mystical union between a human and his or her canine partner that can dissolve many of the barriers that would otherwise separate them. This bond cannot be feigned, contrived or simulated.  It must be authentic and genuine or it will never exist. 

Having a strong bond between you and your dog will affect a great many aspects of your dog's life.  It enhances your dog's desire to work for you, his determination to succeed at what you ask of him, and his willingness to follow your leadership without question.  But it does even more.  It also cultivates within you an earnest desire to understand what your dog is trying to communicate to you. 

Due to the communication barriers that exist between people and canines, we must rely on a vast, but unspoken language that, with proper understanding, can be accessible to the tightly bonded team.

Bonding, however, takes time.  It takes time spent together both doing things and doing nothing much. Play, touch and a desire to understand and be understood, facilitate and strengthen this bond. When you treat your working K-9 as a member of your family, he will also sense that membership in his own right.   When a strong, loving handler who understands his role as Alpha leader of the pack leads that dog, the pack order is maintained and the bond is strengthened. 

If, on the other hand, the pack order is altered by a handler who never assumes, or somehow forfeits the role of Alpha leader, the bond between the handler and the dog will be seriously compromised or even shattered.  Then it will not matter where the dog is kenneled because his respect for you will be absent regardless of his housing arrangement.

Can a dog be trained to do a job, become utilized and attain some measure of success without having much of an emotional tie to the one for whom they are working?  The answer is yes.  They can be dispatched to do their job, praised subtly and briefly, then be returned to their pen where they spend the rest of their day.  But this will not facilitate the kind of bond we are referring to.

Keep in mind that kenneling your working dog inside the house will not automatically facilitate a strong bond.  Bonding must still be cultivated and developed through time and commitment.  On the other hand, kenneling outside will not necessarily prevent a strong bond from developing.  If there is sufficient time, effort and attention given to that dog, a very tight connection can still evolve. 

The trite old saying that quality time is better than quantity time does not fly with your dog.  From the point of view of your dog, quantity time IS quality time.  Handlers who believe that the sporadic bursts of time they spend with their dog are sufficient to meet his needs are only kidding themselves.  And it will be that same handler who will pay the price with compromised performance in the long run. 

So which is best; kenneling inside or out?  The answer lies less in the location of his bed and more in how much of yourself you invest into your relationship with your working dog.  And anything less than that is just window dressing.

By Jack R. Shuler & Behesha H. Doan

Copyright © 2000 by Jack R. Shuler & Behesha H. Doan. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. 

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