# Build Your Dream Doghouse...What's it Like?



## Crookedcreekranch (May 27, 2008)

If you were making a house for your dog what all would you include? Insulation, windows, type of roofing, siding, overhang? , porch, electric, ?.....Size? Door size? door treatment.....
What would you NOT do? and why? 
This is a house for a 95 pound male shepherd in Canada so VERY cold!!!!
Keep this in mind when offering suggestions.
What ,materials would you use?
Any photos of yours?


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

What I would not do is build a dog house LOL. I'd love to have one of those cute handmade ones that match the big house. *BUT* my dad built a really nice dog house years ago. It had his and hers sides for our Prince and Princess (that was really their names, brother and sister pair, she died before I was born). 4 dogs, none of them ever used it. We kids loved it as a playhouse, that was the only time the dogs were in there, to check out what we were doing then they left to go lay under the pool deck. They all loved the pool deck. Maybe it was the dirt floor.


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## Skye'sMom (Jul 11, 2004)

What would I do? A two bedroom, 2 bath log house in the woods, complete with kitchen, AC and heat.









What would I not do? Build an outside dog house - but I am sure you will find many who disagree with me.

For me - there is no reason to have a dog if it doesn't live where I do.

Not a judgement - my honest 2 cents worth.


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## Crookedcreekranch (May 27, 2008)

I knew after I submitted this I should have qualified.....this dog is INSIDE 90 percent of the time and the man takes him in his truck to his worksite everyday.

He asked about this best way to have a house for him on "the rare occasion" he will be not in the house and has him in a kennel run outdoors. It is important to have a safe haven /run for your dog outside as well I believe.

I know some of us have dogs 100 percent of the time indoors but I do both.....sometimes a dog IS outside and I want a nice place for them to be. Quite frankly I enjoy hanging out with my dog on his/her porch of the dog house it's fun! Call me weird but I enjoy it


My dogs LOVE underneath the pool deck as well....it IS the nice cool shady den like quality AND the dirt floor. We had to fence around it after 1 of the dogs was bitten by a brown recluse spider underneath it! YIKES! very nasty bite.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

I like these ones:
http://www.ashcustomwood.com/

True is, nothing fancy, I don't think I would put flowers at the window of one, not if they would survive a week. I prefer a flat roof, so the dog can jump and lay over the top if they want. I've always thought Snoopy may have really bad back problems. Two important things: separation from the "bedroom" and the entrance, and styrofoam insulation. I'm not sure if the ones of the link have that one.

Here you have plans for building a dog house in Canada weather
http://tidewaterkc.org/projects/insulated_dog_house.htm


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

I agree with Crooked creek, I love my dogs and take them everywhere but when they are outside and I"m going away they go in the kennel were they are safe and can get out of the wether yet still enjoy the great outdoors.
My dog house consist on a entrance in the wall of the garage, the actual dog houses are located under the workbench. They have a raised floor with a heat cable on the underside, it's the type used to melt the snow off the roof so your evetroughs don't freeze up. 
It keeps the floor at a warm temp and also causes radiant heat in the whole house so they are warm. Add the straw and they are as snug as can be.
Seeing how I do live in Canada I wouldn't go without the heated floor and insulated walls. I want to know if I'm delayed by bad weather the dogs will be safe and warm. 
As for the flat roof, if your friend is in an area with a large snow load then a slanted roof is what you want. A flat roof could collapse.
Some thing also to consider is a baffle, you want the entrance on one end leading to an inner entrance going to the sleeping quarter on the other end. This will prevent the wind from blowing in cold air and snow and keep the house snug. Also reducing the cost to heat it.
I beleive the houses in the first link that LicanAntai gave you have a baffle.
Hope this helps.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

I have the plans for the houses LicanAntai linked. I've been meaning to build one for about 2 years but never got around to it. When it gets below 40 the dogs really don't spend any time in their kennels so it hasn't been a priority. I am not going to do the fancy siding, flower box, or roof shingles. The roof will be flat so the dogs can lay on it and also because I can't get Home Depot to cut wood at an angle for me! I don't have to worry about huge amounts of snow so it'd be fine for me at least.

But maybe this year I will get around to it. There will be styrofoam insulation, it will be raised off the ground, and there will be a divider between the entrance and the sleeping area. 
You could get heating pads that plug into an outlet, but my kennels are pretty far from the house and I have a feeling the cord would get chewed up! So it wouldn't be safe for me.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I was going to say everything that crabby already said! 

If the dog is going to be mostly an inside dog, he won't grow in as much of a winter coat as a dog kept strictly outside. 

Some things that should be considered: a peaked roof to prevent snow accumulation.

Heating.

and a baffle entrance - like an igloo tunnel entrance. 

Keep the size of the dog house to as small as comfortable, keep the ceiling low - a bigger dog house will be harder to heat, and with a high ceiling, the heat will rise up over top to where the dog is, and the floor area will be cold. I really like crabby's idea of heating the floor. Then of course, you need fire-proof floor, and fire resistant bedding. 

Also, I would include a heated water bowl to keep the water from freezing. 

So I know that if money was no object, they would like to build a palatial, roomy dog house with lots of windows for a nice open feeling, but for winter conditions, a smaller, low-ceiling, closed-in dog house would actually work better.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

This is a photo of a 4 x 8 foot shelter:










This one currently has a dog house inside and a cot. The shelter is a raised platform with a roof and enclosed on three sides. I can put extra straw in it in the winter, It shelters the appropriately sized house for the dog, which allows the dog to use its own heat to keep itself warm. 

The dogs also jump on top of these and lie in the sun. In fact they LOVE to be up on top of them. 

The cot provides a place out of the rain to sleep. I have the cedar dog house as well in there.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

I tought of a flat roof because I'd put the house in a roofed area anyways, I'd not leave it in the middle of the yard or dog run, for me a kennel has to always have at least part of it roofed.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I have a problem with the peaked roof. Snow is a great insulator. Why would you want to prevent accumulation. It should be built to be able to handle the snow load, but the dog will be actually warmer with a ton of snow on top of and around the house.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

My kennels are not roofed, but I have the shelters in there. The kennels are covered over by fencing, and in the summer time I put a sun screen up over each one. 

My dogs are out all day all year. They come in at night, in a room I do not heat specifically, but that does get heat from the rest of the house. In that room their crates are, but they are not the type that would hold heat in. 

My dogs grow a thick undercoat and are toasty warm all winter long, even if it gets to be zero or below. In recent years we rarely get below zero though, except at night. I put straw in their houses for bedding. 

There is nothing in my house that my dogs need when I am not there. They are safer and far more comfortable out in their kennels that stuffed in crates.


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: Castlemaid
> I really like crabby's idea of heating the floor. Then of course, you need fire-proof floor, and fire resistant bedding.
> 
> Also, I would include a heated water bowl to keep the water from freezing.


The heating cable that we use is available at most hardware stores, it only heats up when the temp drops below a certain degree(32) and only warms to a certain degree (@45), so the floor it is attatched to is actually plywood. It would never get hot enough to cause a fire. It would be too hot and uncomfortable for the dogs.

Yes, I forgot to mention the water dish. Ours is made out of metal with a stock heater put in it when the weather turns cold.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

In the area that I live in, I get _four to five feet_ of snow over the winter. Over the winter, the snow packs down hard as more snow falls on top - so not all fluffy and light and airy snow four to five feet, but dense, heavy solid frozen water, which weighs a TON!! 

Better to use building insulation materials in the roof, and have a pitched roof.


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

What Selzer said. Flat roof that can take snow load is more insulating! To be honest, a friend in Canada has a superhuge Dogloo brand doghouse with several heavy old woolen blankets inside it. Know what? That doghouse is WARM!! I dunno if Dogloo makes different modely, but that is one snug, warm dog in there.


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## Crookedcreekranch (May 27, 2008)

Selzer.....how tall are your kennel fences? I have a couple jumpers who if given a flat doghouse to get up on would be up and over the fence in a heartbeat....of course if you have a top on the kennel this would not apply.

I like the links to the wooden houses...nice and especially like that you can raise the roof to clean out. Something I like to add is a porch or deck in front off ground the same level as the house.( I have used pallets with nice tight boards so little paws don't slip through... It keeps the front of the house from getting messy/muddy (if on grass/dirt) and the dogs like to lounge on their porch...also have put an awning or roof over it for shade as well AND the awning helps shade the entrance (if not already placed in the shade) and provides a nice clean area for me to sit down and snuggle with the puppies. It is the cutest thing when all the pups tumble out of the house onto the porch just to hang out .


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Mine are six feet tall, and yes, they are fenced over, so no escapies. 

However, when the snow falls and packs down, I end up smacking my head on the two by fours. I just need to remember where they are and bend down when snow is higher. I am about 5'6, but even packed by the dogs, the ground level is often higher than six inches in winter, and we have been known to get more than two feet overnight. 

Yes snow DOES weigh a ton. But I build mine with that in mind. I generally have a dog house inside the shelter and one outside the shelter and the dog can choose which they feel more comfortable in. Whatever the case, they stay pretty toasty. 

Wool blankets are cool. I wish I could find a bunch cheap. Wool is one of the only materials that will continue to provide insulation when wet. I think it would be easier to maintain than straw. 

I am STILL picking straw out of the cracks and crevices, under the wood slats between 4x4s, and once, I made the mistake of transporting a partial bale in a camaro. For YEARS there was still straw back there. I finally gave that car to my brother, and it still had straw in it.


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## Crookedcreekranch (May 27, 2008)

Thanks all for suggestions and information....I will forward this to the owner in Canada.


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## jgmeeks (Jul 7, 2009)

You can find wool blankets cheap at army surplus stores, I use it for the WW2 re-enacting I do in the winter because we have to have period correct items when we are out there sleeping on the ground.


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