[freki]

Hey all. We've had our first real snowfall of the season here in Idaho over the weekend (about 3"), and although it's about 70 degrees today, I thought it'd be good to get a dog house built for Kenya for the winter months ahead. The plans I really like so far can be found here: Dog House Construction.

The only problem I with the plans is Kenya is a bit larger than 48". Curled up lying down (her favorite relaxed position) she's about 44", standing up she's around 60" (she won't let me measure too accurately).

My other thoughts for this dog house were to also mount fiber board to the inside of the doghouse and put a layer of housewrap between the inner and outer fiberboard layers for insulation.

What do you guys think? Any tips for dog houses you've found over the years?

[nrhareiner]

The one dog house I built for Bear is designed so that he can wrap back in and around to the wind can not get to him. Although it is kept in the barn so it really does not matter any more but it works really well. Double walled insilated and has a lot of straw in it.

Heidi

[poohlp]

At one point I was going to build a doghouse for Percy and went looking. This site had the best plan, in my opinion.

http://www.doghouseplans.com/about-the-dog-houses.cfm

It looks really useful. You have to buy the plans here, but I think after some looking I was able to find the same thing for free once I identified what I wanted. I think this was nice for cold climate because it has an adjustable roof and an insertable windwall that keeps cold air out. For the summer, you can lift the roof up some to allow for extra airflow. If I recall correctly, the plan also accounts fro putting some insulation in it. It also is built on a platform so if it rains, the floor won't flood. Also, it is supposed to be easy to clean.

I didn't end up building it because I realized:

A. my dog doesn't spend much time outside
B. Even when he does, he has never used ab doghouse made available to him, so I didn't want to waster my money.

[Cooper's Mama]

How much time does she spend outside?

[TooneyDogs]

One thing you might want to think twice about is the roof. My GSD spent almost everyday up on the hip roof dog house I built. He looked uncomfortable perched up there so I replaced it with a slant roof (only slightly angled) which he seemed to like much better.

[Taz Monkey]

My dogs house is about 2400 sq. feet, complete with carpet, cable television, heat and A/C, sofas, and plenty of toys....oh wait, that's my house.
I don't understand why anyone who want to leave their pets outside. It gets cold enough here that mine don't even want to go out to the bathroom, I would never leave them out all day.

[nrhareiner]

I have several dogs who prefer to be outside. It is hard to get them in in the winter.

Sometimes they just need to be out in the kennals as I am gone too long to leave them inside all day. They have dog houses inside the barn stalls so they can get in and out as they wish. Between the double walled insulated barn and the double walled insulated dog houses they are more then warm.

Out of all the dog houses I have built I have never used a plane from any place but my mind. Just think about the size of the dog and make it juse big enough for the dog to stand up and turn around in just like a crate. If you make it too big he will not stay warm in it.

Heidi

[jeffrey_sy]

you may want to visit this website to see some good dog house ideas and how to build them...

http://www.mikestrong.com/doghouse/gallery/index.html