I like to put some type of flooring for my 1 year old lab outside in his kennel without using concrete. any suggestions?

Believe it or not, for flooring, concrete is the best. Wood holds germs, absorbs urine, it splinters, and gives a place for fleas and ticks to hide. If the hardness of concrete is your concern, there are rubber mats made just for kennels. They are not solid so they allow circulation and they are much softer than concrete.

Dogs, themselves, prefer dirt and grass. Actually, they prefer to be with their "pack", but labs can be a handful. I know, I have 4. They are diggers, so that would be another reason to use concrete. They will still dig, bite and chew wood and dig through gravel or dirt to get out of the kennel. They are dogs that love humans and love to have someplace to run. They need lots of exercise.

My dad used concret on his and it works really well he keeps it all spayed off and the dog seems to like it.

Yep, I would go with concrete. You can also get a rubber coating to paint on the surface to make it more hygenic, because it does tend to smell a bit over the years.

There are the professionally laid surfaces which also curve up the wall slightly, if you wanted to go mad (and have the money) but if it gets damaged then it is expensive to replace.

As an alternative to concrete you could use flagstones, but the urine does tend to go down the cracks eventually.

Most dog kennels that I have seen have had concrete on them too. Even shelters use concrete on their floors and you would think they would know what was best.

Originally Posted by GreyhoundLover

Most dog kennels that I have seen have had concrete on them too. Even shelters use concrete on their floors and you would think they would know what was best.

I think that all the shelters that I have seen has concret flooring so I would suggest that this is the way to go.