Many people have asked what it was like at Crag Crest? Many others just want to know what it was like in the old time big kennels?
Crag Crest was owned and run by Jane Kuska. She was about 60 when I went to work for her. A lovely lady with very definite ideas both about the dogs and about how a kennel should be run.
Crag crest was located on a 66 acre ranch in Colfax, California, about 60 miles E of Sacramento in the foothills. We housed anywhere from 60-80 Smooth Fox Terriers and a few Dobes, one or two wires. Many of the dogs were housed in the large house, crated and rotated out into large yards surrounding the house. 9 in the huge master bedroom suite. 15 or so were kenneled in “TheBarn” a large old barn that had been split into 6X12 stalls inside, two large box stalls for exercise on rainy days, and 6 large 25x100 paddocks for daily exercise. The “New Kennel” housed an additional 12, plus a puppy room with its own run. The 12 kennels were 6x10 inside connecting to 6x30 outside, these all going into a path, fenced of course, to 6 ˝ acre hillside paddocks for daily exercise. There was also “The Ark” a small 4 stall and attached runs building across the driveway, and the “New Barn”, a large metal horse barn with big stalls, all packed earth floors with shavings, used for exercise for the house dogs.
JK’s office and bedroom was located so she could see who was going where and
with whom. There was no such thing as carrying a barker out to the Ark and leaving
them there for the day. Jane was a perfectionist about the kennel. It was clean
and sweet smelling. The dogs all had fresh cloth bedding every day. In every
stall in the kennel buildings each dog had a crate, with the door propped open
by a brick, with a fluffy bathroom rug topped by a folded white flannel sheet
blanket. Each dog also had a bone. Often the bones were filled with fresh ground
beef, from cattle raised on the farm, to keep them happy.
The staff was 5 during the day and two on the evening shift. During the day there was a barn person, two house people, a new kennel person, and a grounds and outside utility person. At night two house people who also attended to the barn and kennel dogs. I was the new kennel person and also trained and showed the home kennel stock.
A typical day commenced at 7:30AM. The house dogs were carried out to exercise in pairs. Every pair was put out for 15 minutes, then brought back inside and given a biscuit in their crate. It took about an hour for a full rotation. This was continued every 15 minutes all day. While the dogs were out one of the girls took out the bedding, shook it out, and replaced the rug and put in a new, folded blanket on top. If it was wet or muddy the dogs were either rinsed off and toweled dry or rubbed off before going back in their crates. The Barn and kennel were a little easier. All the dogs were put out in their runs while the stalls were mopped with bleach water and squeegeed dry, the bedding was changed, water changed. All the dogs came in for a morning biscuit. The Barn dogs were then put out, in compatible pairs, to run and play in the paddocks. The New Kennel dogs were put out, also in compatible pairs, to run in the forest paddocks.
After their morning run and biscuit some of the younger house dogs were carried out to the Ark and later to the New Barn to run and play until feeding time.
Shortly before noon all the dogs were brought in from their exercise yards to settle down before feeding. The house dogs were all returned to their crates.
The dogs were fed KenLBisket, with canned meat, and always plenty of fresh raw hamburger. Every morning about 10 AM, Fred Kuska, Jane’s husband, would come down to the NewKennel and mix the feed. Into a large stainless steel tub would go the kibble, topped with the 8 cans or so of meat, I don’t remember the brand, and topped with very hot water. Then it would be mixed by hand and covered with white dish towels to soak. The 5 pound bags of hamburger would have been taken out of the freezers to thaw the night before. At 12 to 1 PM, Jane came down to feed. It was a rare day when anyone else was allowed to take over this chore. The social life of the kennel, always with much storytelling, happened here. All the help brought the bowls for their section to the New Kennel kitchen in covered baskets. They also brought reports on any one of their charges who was getting a little fat, who could use more food, who was in season, or any other changes. Jane filled the bowls, added a good drollop of meat, vitamins and oil, stacked them according to the order in which they were fed, and put them in their basket. The person in charge of that section then left so the food would still be warm and appetizing when it was served. After the dogs were fed, and the bowls picked up and washed and dried and returned to the basket, the employees would go to lunch and the dogs were napping.
 Around
2 the whole routine of 15 minute outs started again. All of the dogs were exercised
before the night shift came on. There were only two of them so it was more quiet
then. Before the 4PM shift time the kennel dogs and the barn dogs were put inside.
The shift change was orderly with a full report on bitches in season, any unusual
event, being given to the night manager.
There was quiet time from about 4 to 7. If any of the house dogs became restive the night manager would take them out to one of the outlaying sections. During this time the meat balls were made for all the dogs. Every section got one large meatball per dog, all made and placed in separate pans to be carried out to that section. Again this meat was hamburger organically grown on the farm and processed by a butcher in Auburn. The entire steer was ground into hamburger and placed into 5 pound bags. This is the same meat the household ate when they ate hamburger.
About 7 the night manager made the rounds and let all the dogs out into their in and outs. The old barn dogs into their paddocks or the box stalls depending on the weather. Speaking of weather. There were large thermometers placed 18” above the ground, spaced all over the ranch. Any staff member could tell from a distance if it was too hot or too cold for the dogs. Colfax could get hot and the runs were sprinkled down during naptime so it was a comfortable temperature for the dogs, measured at 18” not a 6’ above the ground.
At about 9PM the night manager put the new kennel dogs and the barn dogs to bed, each got a freshly folded bed and a large meatball. Then lights out for the night. Of course each still has a large beef bone in case they want to chew. The house dogs continue on the 15 minute schedule until 11 PM. Then all are put into bed with a meat ball, the 9 bedroom dogs are all let out for the last time and recrated with a biscuit.
All day and all night the washer and dryer ran. All bedding was bleached every washing. Every floor was mopped daily, and often more often. There was a groomer that came in two days a week and did baths and toenails. Every run was picked up at least daily. Bleached, mixed with water in a sprinkling can, daily. In the old barn there were wooden floors. They had been varathaned. They were also mopped daily and sprinkled with a bleach-pine oil combination. It smelled wonderful. In the box stalls there were clean pine shavings. When there was a wet spot the entire spot was picked up, not only the stool but urine as well, and the ground underneath was sprinkled with bleach and new clean pine shavings were put down. In daily use for over 20 years the stalls didn’t stink. About every month they were stripped, raked, limed, and covered with fresh shavings.
This article has run on long enough, next time I’ll tell about the dogs, the bloodlines, and all that good stuff.
Thc2002 |
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