The stall was escape proof with no dig around the perimeter. Our dogs are never free to roam without supervision and they are tethered until they have an iron recall. I’m a firm believer that it’s our responsibility as owners, especially of more controversial breeds, to represent our dogs well and safeguard them from situations where they may be compromised. I never in my life would have prepared for a situation where there was a convict on the run, stowing away on our property, being chased down by a SWAT team. I wasn’t going to ask my neighbor to interject herself under the circumstances either. Our dogs are overall very friendly and well socialized, but they have an innate instinct to protect their home. If they felt threatened, I wouldn’t expect them not to react. Although we have one who probably would have jumped in the van with them belly up. Thank goodness our dogs are solely pets, because she would have failed guard dog academy miserably.
Ok. I guess I missed what you were saying. Still not really understand how you thought your dogs would have ever been in danger then, if they were contained. My guess is that even a criminal on the run would find a better hiding place than with dogs. Even if friendly, they are typically noisy, and give away the position. And, even friendly dogs are not so much when someone is shifty. Sounds like a loud way to get bitten and alert the SWAT team at the same time.
You can buy an expen roof from Midwest. Amazon carries them. There are small sizes (I think 4x4) of the types of kennels @S1969 posted, with heights of 4, 5, and 6’. That would be sturdier for a Mal. I have crates, expens, and baby gates in the house and two kennels runs under roof outside. Any one of those containment options is the preferred choice for a given circumstance. All of it purchased used and saved from the landfill while saving some money.
We have done this. We have a dog that can’t be around other animals if you want them alive (including other dogs). He’s in a 12 x 12 stall in the barn that is solod to the bottom and has high walls with a 96 x 12 foot run that is 8 feet high and dig proof accessed by a dog door in the barn wall.
He tore a few crates to pieces when we tried to crate him during cold weather and ripped out his teeth so he has a heated dog house inside the stall and we blanket him. The stall front is full mesh so he can see out.
I wonder if you are closeish to me. D Cavalcante. He was literally 3.55 miles from my house where he was found
That sounds awful. Do you know why he is so savage?
He’s just a dog doing what he’s been bred to do.
When you wrote that he ripped out his teeth on a crate it sounded a little extreme…
That doesn’t sound like a dog as much as a liability. Yikes!
I’ having to convert my barn back from a dog kennel (which our tenants did) to a horse stall. So I can tell you how they had it set up.
They put in insulation between the studs and drywall, then a really large doggy door in the pre-existing Dutch door. This particular stall already opened out into a run that was about 40x40 feet. The run included stairs that go up to the barn loft. The dog apparently loved digging itself a hole under those stairs.
They put drywall all the way up to the rafters on all sides, and hung it up there as well. I guess to keep it warm. I personally don’t know why they thought they needed so much insulation – we live in a pretty mild climate and they had a big dog.
After seeing how it held up, I would say that I don’t think drywall is a good choice for a barn. If it were me and I felt the need to make walls, I’d use plywood.
Thanks! Yes, maybe drywall is not ideal. 
Poor pup’s bed exploded. Could happen to anyone!
your niece may want to talk to the vet about an anti-anxiety medication for situational separation anxiety. And to drop off some baby gates for when you have to leave. Something mild might take the edge off enough that they are just sleepy while with you. I would worry that being left in a foreign environment like a stall could make them more anxious.
They’re really not really anxious, but I’m thinking more of them cooped up in a small crate without the ability to potty if we have to leave for a longer while. 
Yeah, I have a bed ripper too. He’s not anxious. Just entertains himself. Smart dogs get bored and find ways to enrich their environments.
Some days I wish I had a camera set up to watch them destroy. 
