Cattle Mats in Kennel?

[LoudmouthSpike]

Hey Guys. I am going to be moving to a new house this spring and plan to put up a kennel. The dogs will have coops inside my barn with covered runs off the side. I have looked through several posts and have some good ideas. I understand some of negative effects of a concrete slab, however I need to be able to clean easilyand keep the smell down. I was wondering if anyone has put cattle mats on top of the concrete or even just over the dirt? Generally my dogs are hunted 5-6 days a week from june-october when our bear season is open so maybe I don't need to worry too much but other than the January cat season they will be kenneled most of the winter.Any thoughts or ideas would be great.
Thanks,
Dave

[Sask_matty]

Don't have much experience with dogs on mats, however I know a fair bit about mats for cows. If you wanted something that was fairly hard (for a dog), solid footing I would look for the rubber sheets that are used for flooring, usually found in the holding area before they enter the parlour. Other thing you could use is the Eva triple layer mats from Canarm, they come in pre-cut sheets that are likely about the size you want them. Think they are 46" wide by 72" long. They are a bit slippery when they are wet, but if your kennels are going to be covered it might not be a big deal. If I can recall, they are about $50-60 each. As long as your dogs have something else to lay on that is soft, they would be alright.

[LoudmouthSpike]

Thanks for the info. I figured that with a coop full of hay or shavings and plenty of exercise they wont suffer any ill effects. Thanks again,
Dave