# Straw or cedar chips?



## tipup (Feb 9, 2008)

What would be the best material to put in my kennel box in my garage to provide some warmth for my labs?


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## woolie.222 (Dec 3, 2007)

I think the straw would be the cleaner choice. 
I used the ceder bedding from the pet store before which worked but left a big mess and alot of dust on my dogs coat. I then had the wife make like a pillow for the bedding but it didn't hold up to long before he tore it apart.


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

Iv'e used CEDAR SHAVINGS from Lion Country Supply befor and don't feel they had much dust in them but they were messy. Now they just stay in the house and share the pillow. :lol:

here is a link from another site that discusses this same topic..

http://www.retrievertraining.net/forums ... hp?t=32817


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## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

Straw! Wet... warm, dry.... warm, It is cheap, and easy to clean!

Straw!


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## ryanps18 (Jun 23, 2006)

http://www.gundogsupply.com/cranddoghohe.html

got tired of the mess that straw/chips produce, got one of the units above and a good rubber mat and will never look back.


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## Shorthair.On.Point (Nov 28, 2006)

Straw would be my vote


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## Labs4me (Mar 14, 2008)

flax straw if you can find it. Mice don't like it.


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## tammycarol1986 (Oct 22, 2006)

go tp your nearly new ,thrifty, whatever they call it were your at. cheap blankets, you can either wash them or throw them,they are like a dollar a peice. also can usually pickup good used travel kennels reasonable.


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## DakotaRidge (Nov 25, 2008)

use grass hay. It resists mold and dries quicker if wet. Try to avoid straw if you can. It will hold moisture and won't dry out if it gets wet. If your dog is a chewer I would avoid blankets or anything like that. They can eat it and then you could have some serious problems.


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## houndsman (Jan 30, 2006)

I used straw for many, many years. (and I still use it in the dog box that mounts on the receiver hitch of my truck)
But, in my kennels, I now use the cedar bedding. It's cheap, and since I started to heat my kennels, the cedar appears to allow the heat to radiat up better than straw did - and isn't as prone to 'rot' and break-down like the straw. (and it appears to be friendlier to my septic than straw - cedar just floats and doesn't make it into the drain field)

I think the biggest advantage to straw, and I guess I wouldn't be afraid to go back to it, is that it has nice thermal properties, and since it is cheap a person can change it often and keep parasites under control, etc.

Good Hunting


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## shrades (Aug 21, 2008)

I have just started using straw it is much warmer and cleaner then wood bedding.


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## giwoyna5 (Mar 5, 2008)

I second the grass hay! Best thing I've found, plus my old man bails the stuff so it's cheap! FREE!!!!


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## WI_Trapper (Jan 20, 2006)

Guys here is my .02, go with the grassy hay..... I use to use straw all the time. 5 or 6 years ago I had a special trained lab 3 year old he stopped eating dry dog food but was kenneled next to another lab and some times they would play, bite with each other though the chain link fence. Next day he ate part of his food and dumped the rest out. I was thinking he may have hooked a tooth and made it a little sore. I went to feed him a can of dog food at about 5 pm and he ran out of the kennel just like always .... marked all his favorite spots he cough a little, and I was planning on taking him to the vet the next day. I fed him and about an hour later I went back to check on him and he had died in the kennel. I took him to the vet the next morning and they did a post on him. They told me that he had inhaled a piece of straw and poked a hole in a lung from the inside. They said that it was only the second time they had seen this happen. They told me that if I had brought him in on the first day he stopped eating it wouldn't have made a bit of difference. They told me straw was small brittle steams and that what happen to him. I use grass hay and wouldn't take that risk again, but I farm so hay is ez to come by. Grass hay dose dry out a lot faster then straw and will not hold moisture. There is my .02 (rest in peace old "Buddy")


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## knutson24 (Feb 16, 2009)

I use cattail bales. They don't absorb water and very mold resistant. Just look around at all the dead cattails around sloughs. It last pretty long and real easy to clean up. hard part is finding someone that bales it unless you want to go and cut it down by hand I'm sure most farmers wouldn't mind you doing so.


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## honkerslayr (Dec 14, 2006)

I'm a straw man myself! :beer:


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## shrades (Aug 21, 2008)

I also use straw. It seemed like they couldn't stay warm enough this winter with wood chips.


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