The Dog Room

We do not have a kennel and choose not to keep our dogs in crates, though we do believe they must be confined when unsupervised for their own safety, so we have a Dog Room. The Dog Room is part of our Family Room/Office Space. It is bright, comfortable and dog friendly. The "human" part of the room is divided by a barrier for those times when it is necessary to keep the dogs out of the room but not necessary to put them in their individual pens. Even if they are confined in the Dog Room area, they are in our sight and we are in sight of them. We enjoy the companionship of our dogs and being able to have the Dog Room as part of our Family Room/Office meets our need for being with them and their need for being with us. Nothing could be better than spending an evening watching a movie with an iggy or two or three or four sharing the couch with you, (and maybe a kernel or two of the popcorn!).  I also have a dog food preparation area in the Dog Room with microwave and refridgerator. The dogs also have a full bathroom in the Dog Room but they prefer the jacuzzi upstairs!

Each dog has its own individual pen which is 2 ft x 4 ft. Since it is winter, there is a blanket over the top of the pens to help keep everyone warm. On top of each pen is each dog's coat or sweater for going outdoors.

This is my grooming table area.  I groom, do table work and massage dogs here. I have dog beds all over the place because you never know when an iggy pup might need to lie down and take a nap and the floor would never do! That is Penny playing with a toy in the

"under the table" dog bed.

There is plenty of floor and shelf space to play!  I don't keep anything on the bottom shelves because the intact boys find those things irrisistable for marking, along with the corners of anything and all upright objects. That is Jack sitting on the shelf watching Vinny.

From the Dog Room looking into the "human" room, you can see my desk and computer.  You can also see Grayce standing on the couch looking out of the window. Next to the desk is Bob's Big  TV. It looks like we are watching Regis and Kelly. Mick dropped in to say bye before he left for work.

Each dog owner has to find the best way to keep their dog safe and out of trouble when they are unsupervised.  Crates work just fine if they are large enough for the dog to have some freedom of movement and if the dog is not left crated for hours without a break.  The pens make a nice, easy to clean, bright, airy alternative. 

The Dog Room