Instead, think about using screenings, pea gravel, limestone, or gravel chips as the dog run’s foundation. These materials provide the necessary amount of drainage for the area while also being gentle on your dog’s paws.
Yearly Dog Run Cleaning and Maintenance
Consider your annual dog run upkeep and cleaning as akin to spring cleaning for your dog run. Why should your dogs be neglected when you’re spring cleaning your home and outdoor living spaces?
1. Don’t just clean your dog’s favorite toys; clean all of them. To make this task simpler and ensure that all of their toys are sanitized, use your washing machine or dishwasher.
2. Look through their toys to see if any need to be fixed or disposed of because they are no longer reliable or secure.
3. Consider replacing your dog beds. Dog beds left outside can get very soiled and worn out much more quickly than those kept inside. Even if you have been washing the covers once a month, you might want to consider buying some new beds.
4. Fix fences, concrete cracks, roofing materials, and any other structural problems that may have arisen in the previous year but did not need immediate attention when they were first noticed.
5. To protect the surface and enhance the appearance of your dog run, apply a fresh coat of paint or stain to any painted or stained surfaces.
6. Check your dog house for structural or safety issues. Once more, this is something you should be doing constantly, but now is your chance to look more closely and make sure you have not overlooked anything that might be a problem.
7. Refresh your ground covers. If your dog run is made of concrete, you just need to be sure to clean and fix any cracks. If your lawn is natural, all you have to do is keep fighting the brown spots. If you have artificial grass, all you need to do is your monthly maintenance. However, you will need to replace pea gravel, bark, or wood chips every year if you have them.
Daily Dog Run Cleaning and Maintenance
The majority of the time, all you’ll need to do each day is make sure your dogs have access to fresh, clean water and food. Some people prefer to pick up dog waste every day in order to keep it under control and prevent odors. You might need to clean up dog waste every day if your dog run is small or you have several dogs. Picking up the solid waste once every two to three days might be acceptable for larger dog runs with just one or two dogs. However, bear in mind that a significant factor will be the amount of time your dogs spend in their dog run each day. For instance, it would be unreasonable to wait three days to pick up solid waste if you have two dogs and they spend the majority of the day in a dog run of average size.
Always perform a quick safety check before putting your dogs in the dog run to ensure there are no potential dangers.
Monthly Dog Run Cleaning and Maintenance
How much time your dogs spend in the dog run will determine how frequently you need to complete these monthly tasks. You might need to carry out these tasks more frequently if they spend a lot of time in the dog run.
1. Make sure gate latches, locks, and hinges are in good condition and operating properly. Of course, whenever you open or close the dog run, you should be aware of any broken latches, but now is a good time to examine any mechanisms in more detail.
2. Wash your dog bed covers.
3. You will need to reseed your dog run’s natural grass on a monthly basis to try to prevent dead, brown spots from appearing.
4. If you have artificial grass, it probably already has a slight flattening where they like to play or relax. Fluff the grass monthly to help the blades stand erect.
5. If you have artificial grass, it’s also a good idea to spray the area with a vinegar-and-water solution every month (or more frequently if the dog run is frequently used) to kill bacteria and deodorize the restrooms. Because the vinegar will kill the grass, you cannot perform this action on natural grass. Consider using Urine Zero, which completely gets rid of urine odors by getting rid of them at the source.
6. Clean your dogs’ favorite toys. You can wash soft toys in the laundry to get rid of stains and germs. To remove dirt and debris from hard toys, it is frequently best to soak them in a tub or bucket of hot water containing a mild detergent. Toys can be cleaned and disinfected by soaking them in a solution of vinegar and water. Instead, you can sanitize a lot of hard toys by putting them through the dishwasher without using any soap. Simply select the sanitize setting, and the machine will handle the cleaning.
FAQ
How do you deodorize a gravel dog run?
- Remove solid waste and miscellaneous items. Remove any solid waste from your yard or outdoor area.
- Connect to your hose. Shake the hose-end spray bottle of Simple Green Outdoor Odor Eliminator thoroughly.
- Spray the area. …
- Spray the area with plain water. …
- Dry.
How do you disinfect a dirt dog run?
Hose down the run with hot water. Apply your preferred disinfectant to every area of the run, preferably with a sprayer. With a stiff brush, thoroughly scrub every inch. For the amount of time the disinfectant must be left on the surfaces, abide by the manufacturer’s instructions.
What can you use to clean a dog run?
Monthly Dog Run Cleaning & Maintenance Tasks You can make a deodorizer at home by combining vinegar and water. There is no need to rinse the deodorizer off the surface; just let it dry. Once it has dried, fluff up the fibers in your artificial grass with a push broom with stiff bristles.
How do you disinfect an outdoor dog kennel?
Empty all feeding and watering troughs, racks, and other equipment before disinfecting animal kennels. Use soap or detergent to scrub all surfaces thoroughly, then rinse with water. Surfaces should be thoroughly covered in the disinfectant for two minutes (for canine parvovirus). ).