Knowing from the beginning that handling dogs was where I received the most enjoyment and where my emphasis was going to be, Margaret and I decided to build a new home in the country with kennel attached so we purchased 10 acres of land on Lake Erie outside the small village of Harrow. We visited some local kennels, gathering ideas and sought the advice and expertise of some noted Boxer Breeders: Jack and Catherine Ireland and Keith and Cheryl Robbins. The information we gathered helped us tremendously and CinnRhee Boxer Kennels began construction.
We built an eight kennel building with indoor enclosures measuring 4’ by 5’ and outdoor runs measuring 4’ by 30’. All enclosures are six feet high. We put in a separate septic system with 4” troughs both inside and outside to help with the sanitary conditions and inside and outside hose connections every two runs to make it easy to wash runs daily. The kennel building itself is triple insulated and the tile floor is heated to a 70 degree constant in the cold weather. There are two in wall electric heaters to keep the kennel at 65 degrees during the winter and a separate ventilation system and ceiling fans for cooling during the summer. Attached to the outdoor catchall at the end of the runs is a 1,000 foot paddock for that extra exercise Boxers so badly crave.
Connected to the kennel inside the house is my office (grooming area) and the whelping room. The whelping room is unique in that it is completely tiled, both floor and walls. This room shares the heating system for the house but extra heat needed for the first few weeks of the puppies lives is derived from an overhead heat lamp and fan that is thermostatically controlled. This room when not occupied by puppies converts to a shower facility to bathe dogs complete with hot and cold water and drain.
Our home and kennel are situated on 10 acres of land so there is plenty of property to walk dogs.
Have a look in our photo album to see what a modern facility we were able to build and how efficient and maintenance free it is. We are extremely fortunate to have been able to make a dream come true.
