I needed to add another run and room for one or two more hounds but I wasn’t willing to spend hundreds to get it done right now. So I put my redneck on and looked around at material I had available and what I would need to buy.
The first issue was deciding where to put the new run. My kennel building as three 4×8 concrete runs on the North side, one 4 x 14 concrete run on south side, a 4×6 off the ground whelping pen on the South side and another 4×6 whelping pen on the East side. The West side is the entrance to the kennel building and wasn’t an option. I decided to add a new run on the South side between the existing 4×14 run and the whelping pen. The challenge here is that I have concrete extended about 18″ along the 14′ length. I either needed to pour more concrete or find another solution.
I considered setting some old pressure treated 4×4 posts as a perimeter and then shovel in river rock I have in abundance from some very old kennel runs I had in the 90’s. But I decided to re-purpose some old red clay colored concrete blocks that were once part of a good sized patio and have since been here and there for many different smaller projects. I did a little bit of shovel work, but I got lazy quick and decided i could live with an uneven floor for a while and placed two rows of those concrete squares to cover the 14′ length plus a little extra.
I also needed to decide how I was going to fence in the two sides of the new run in a way that is secure but doesn’t look too ghetto. So I rummaged through the stack of old horse panels that I once used for my old kennels for many years. When I tore down the old kennels and started from scratch a little over 2 years ago I stacked those old horse panels up and pull a few out from time to time when I need one. I decided to use part of a horse panel to close in the bottom of the 6 foot long whelping pen but I wanted to do something for the remaining 8 feet that would better match the adjacent 4×14 chain-link run.
I headed to the local lumber company and found a 4×12 chain-link drive gate divided into two 4×6 sections. I bought it for $99, removed the decorative stuff, and secured the chain-link to the frame a little tighter with the some fencing wire. Then I stood them on their ends and joined them with brackets to make a 6’x8′ section that finished out the 14′ span from the kennel building to the even with the adjacent 4’x14′ run. Then I fastened a 4′ wide x 6′ high chain-link gate to the end of the existing run and the end of the re-purposed gate sections to finish the outside of the run.
It is pretty redneck and my wife was more than a little worried as I described to her what I was going to do, but with such low expectations going in she ended up fairly pleased with the result. Although, I had to promise to come back at a later date and replace the blocks with concrete. ![[smile]](https://i0.wp.com/www.straightupthemiddle.com/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif)
At the end of the day I spent $99 for the drive gate and about $8 for a couple of 2x4s to frame out the fencing under the whelping pen.
Please pardon the dirty pens. I had not washed out the process Diamond dog food when these pictures were taken.
Belding's Country Oaks Beagles 