by Jan Fielden
I got the honor of preparing the doghouses for the colder weather that will be coming shortly. This is a major undertaking and one that I have only been allowed to do for the second time!
Tasha has an Igloo type and MO has the “Big House” with a hall and a bend that keeps the wind out of the actual sleeping place. Tasha’s room has a roof that comes off and MO’s has a roof that one half of it raises up so you can add hay and clean it out.
Most of the time they sleep in the “Big House” but every now and then they get in an argument as brother and sister are prone to do and she goes to her own residence.
So, the first step in this position of dog house cleaner is to be able to keep the dogs out of the houses, not let them get out of the gate, and also to keep the cows from following you through the yard gate because they want the hay you just put in the back of your truck for the completion of this task.
I must say, going in and out of the gates is the most difficult. I was in the front yard, the houses are close to the gate in the back yard and there is a gate on their kennel. I had all my tools, which consisted of a small rake and a broom, in the kennel.
After I got the old hay out the only thing left after sweeping the houses out was to put new hay in. That’s a task in itself! Piling the hay inside the houses to cover the floors, hall, and opening is a guess.
You know the Beagles will push it down the first time they go in but you have to put enough so that there it will be thick enough to keep them warm.
The next morning we had to wake them up to feed them!! They love having new beds and I guess now I have another job at the Red Oak Ranch.
