Abstract Dogs living in groups should regulate their proximities and their distances. When living in a kennel, such regulation is often limited by the size of the enclosure. Previous studies have shown that a modification in the design of the kennel may induce a positive change in the behavior of the dogs. We evaluated the effects of 2 kinds of the same-size platform on the behavior of a group of 5 intact Beagle females. One platform was low above the floor, preventing dogs to lie under, but offering a surface above the floor. The second platform was high enough to allow dogs to move underneath. The 2 platforms were placed contemporaneously within the kennel allowing the dogs to make their choice. The experiment included 4 phases: a baseline, a phase 1 where the platforms were set within the kennel in a certain way that modify the space normally available for the dogs, a phase 2 where the platforms were arranged in such a way that they did not prevent the dogs to have an access to all the zones they normally used, and finally a new control baseline. Dogs significantly changed the way they used available space in presence of the platforms. Only the highest platform was used by the dogs, standing either on and under it. In condition 2, the highest platform induced an increase in the dog's visual attention to other cages. Considering these results, the highest platform could be referred to as an environmental enrichment for these dogs.