Tips on Cleaning Your Kennels
Good afternoon all,
Over the past week, we've put out a number of advisories around staff welfare and best practices on personal and workplace hygiene. What we haven't yet touched on is how to keep our greyhounds healthy and their environments hygienic not just during Alert Level 4, but year-round.
We gathered together some tips from Chief Veterinary Advisor Dr Malcolm Jansen BVSc and Greyhound Care and Standards on how to keep our greyhound kennels clean and hygienic.
- Clean and disinfect all kennels and runs regularly (at least once a week). If there is a change in dogs, the kennel should be cleaned in between one dog leaving and the next arriving.
- Wash all greyhound feed bowls separately - bowls should also be disinfected on a regular basis. Each greyhound should have its own feed and water bowl distinguished from other greyhounds to eliminate the risk of contamination.
- Food preparation and storage areas must be kept clean and feed utensils should be cleaned each time after use
- Faeces, urine and food wastes must be removed at least once a day from all facilities, with faeces disposed of in a hygienic manner.
- Wash your greyhounds used bedding frequently, each greyhound should have its own bedding to eliminate the risk of contamination between your greyhounds.
If one of your greyhounds is sick, here is a list of recommended protocols to follow:
- Isolate the affected greyhound in a kennel where washing water etc will not run through other kennels containing unaffected/healthy dogs.
- Feed the affected greyhound last and pick up and clean their feed bowls last, and separately from the other feed dishes.
- Take the affected greyhound outside to empty out last, and pick up their faeces and dispose of them.
- If possible, also change footwear between dealing with healthy greyhounds and the affected greyhound.
- Wear washable gloves when dealing with the affected greyhound and wash and disinfect thoroughly when finished.
- You should disinfect more often than once a week to help prevent the spread of disease and to reduce the contamination of your kennel environment.
Why Do I Need to Disinfect?
Each day a greyhound’s immune system is exposed to a variety of germs and viruses from exposure to other people, dogs and their environment. Proper vaccination, wholesome food and clean water can all help the greyhound to fight off disease, but we need to ensure we don't allow levels of disease-causing microorganisms to build up, which is why we need to disinfect regularly. For more FAQ's and on how to disinfect, click here.
What should I use to disinfect my kennels?
The following list of disinfectants can be used to disinfect against bacterial and viral strains:
- Dettol
- Hypochlorite (bleach)
- Betadine/vetadine
- Bisguanide (chlorhexidine)
- Virkon
- Trigene
Make sure you read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure that you are using the product safely and correctly, and that you are storing it in a way that does not make it inactive. You will also need to follow all of the safety instructions in regard to handling the product.
Please note these tips are consistent with our own Welfare Standards.
Thanks,
The GRNZ Team