March 8th Poo Poo, or a Day in the Dog Yard (again)

You wouldn't think that 15 dogs could poop so much. One day off left me what seemed like triple the work, sigh. No rest for the weary. Good thing I live out in the country and have places to compost poop. Wonder if it ever becomes fertilizer? Anyone else ever try to use dog poop fertilizer?

The dogs have also made a muddy mess of the yard. I'm beginning to think that 1 acre of fenced in dogyard is really no where near enough, so plans are underway to expand the dog yard. First up is to make 4 shaded kennels out back. I can get 20 fast growing poplar trees for just under $30, and I will plant them around the back and sideyard in strategic places to provide plenty of shade for my pups. Next is to make a hook-up corridor out the back gate, and out the front so that I can screen out the dogs and harness up those going for the run without worrying about the others getting loose. Then to make pens for the pups before the girls go in to heat. I can get 5x10x6' welded wire kennels for $67each with gates pre-installed. I'm thinking I can put two together and make some decent 10x10 kennels out the back (plan on making at least 4), but have to be careful of the creek's tendancy to flood. To combat this, we've been looking in to sandbagging the bank where the water overflows. We will still have room without the sandbags, but you can't be too careful where lives are at stake.

Also when it rains a lot, we will bring them in to the main dog yard where we have a couple of pens set up to separate the girls and the boys. I am also planning to fence in the 3 acres of grass field we have in the side yard. This will be where I plant the rest of the shade trees. I'll break up the area with kennels as needed, but I don't plan on keeping more than 8 dogs permanently. I thought it would be nice though, to provide space to house rescues until they can go to their permanent homes, and work with the local shelter to help keep huskies and husky mixes from being euthanized. This could be risky, as we know many rescues can have issues, but everyone tells me I have a way with animals, and can train any dog. This is what I may have been meant to do with that talent. Who knows?