How to build a dog house: Step by step guide

Not everyone agrees to keep a low dog, which plays the role of “signalling” to protect your home doesn’t it? Another thing is the large, strong and intelligent dog that well adapted to nature by living outside a warm room. One way, it inspires the respect and the desire to climb to another's territory.

Despite the warm undercoat and dense hair, a brave dog is not easy to be outside in the frosty night. Consequently, the most important task that required to be solved by the owner is the construction of a warm DIY doghouse.

Several useful rules for performing such an object: What to take into account?

Today we will take care of housing for our loyal friend if you have it. You ought to take into account a few moments.

• Firstly, what size ought to be the house and for which dogs. In that case, if you have a puppy, then the calculation should be made on the size of the adult, well, this fact is probably obvious.

• Secondly, in which region do you live, and whether the dog will live in this house in the winter. It is clear that the larger the dimensions of this building, the harder it is to heat it.

• And, thirdly: all living needs their own, personal, cosy corner, where it feels in complete safety. Consequently, the dog ought to feel snug and permissible in his home.

Regardless of which will be the dog, you need to take into account the basic recommendations for the size of the DIY dog house plan and its arrangement.

1. The inside size must allow the dog to return freely, to lie down. All animals love to stretch - they are after their sleep preparing their muscles for active activity. So, in a house, the dog should have this opportunity. Nothing should prevent it from reaching its full height;

2. The width must be at least 10 cm larger than the width of the adult dog's breasts;

3. The entrance height is slightly smaller than the height of the dog or equal to it, measured at the withers;

4. The inside height is determined as follows: height of the dog plus 4 - 6 cm;

5. The width should be slightly larger than the length of the dog, measured from the nose to the tip of the tail. Then it will be comfortable unfolding;

6. At the bottom it should be more height and width;

7. The entrance is better to do in a long wall, and it should be slightly shifted relative to the centre. The roof must be sloping that it does not accumulate rainwater.

   

The best material for construction is coniferous wood. In any case, all materials must be natural, as animals react very responsibly to any synthetics, etc. Particular attention should be paid to the floor - it must be as warm as possible. It is best to put the boards in two rows and to put an additional insulation between them.

The roof must be removable. It will allow to thoroughly ventilate the homemade dog house and without difficulty to carry out internal cleaning. You also need to warm up the roof inside.

Before using a tree in construction you need to treat it well. There are special impregnations that protect the board from rotting, from insects, firefighting equipment. Painting boards can only be externally finished booths, but not from the inside. It is necessary to predict the presence of a curtain, which will cover the entrance in the cold time.

You must install the house on a hill, otherwise it will stand on the puddle of rainwater and in the dog house will be continuously damp. It should be focused on the entire plot, as dogs like to keep track of the surrounding countryside.

Actually, it will be easier and more comfortable for a true dog to protect your property. When building a doghouse make a foundation, at least lay bricks - then it will stand firmly.

The work on building

1. Let's start with the bottom of the house

• The floor should be warm and dual. Separate two bars 40x40 – long and equal to the width of the house. Sew the floorboard on the bars, and turn the outgoing design.

• Install at the corners four bars 100x100 in length equal to the height of the house + 45 mm.

• In the place where the entrance will be located - install two 40x40 bars.

• Also, fix intermediate racks; equal to the length of the internal height of the house (they will keep the ceiling cover).

1. Cover the outside with a veneer (board).

• Use nails with a small bonnet at the same time. Carefully check the verticality of the racks.

1. Now we will make a lid-ceiling

• Like the roof of a house, the cover-ceiling must be removable. This is necessary in order to facilitate the regular cleaning and treatment of it from parasites by chemical means.

• The ceiling should be warm. Use 40x40 bars to make a removable cover. Shake the perimeter from them and put on it a sheet of plywood in size.

• If the house is large enough, then cut the intermediate bars in the middle of the perimeter so that the plywood does not sag.

• Obtained design wrap with paper and put inside mineral wool for warming. You can take foam too.

• Sew the top of the second sheet of plywood. For convenience, imagine about the handles on the lid.

  

1. We will make a waterproofing of the bottom of the dog house plans.

• Then, using a stapler, secure the waterproofing material and nail to the bottom two boards 100х50. This will allow the bottom to ventilate well and make the house even warmer.

1. Let's take on insulation of walls and floors

• Lay the bottom with a heater, fastening it with staples.

• If the house is large, then nail to the bottom of the additional bars, so that the finishing floor does not “walk” under the weight of the dog.

• Squeeze the clean floor. You can do the same procedure with the walls.

• Put on a floor and nail a sheet of plywood so that the claws of the dog are not stuck in the cracks.

1. Roof

• The roof is sloping or flat. The flat roof is a favourite spot for all dogs.

• But the sloping roof is best for rainy weather because there is no water left on it. Therefore, we will advise on how to build a dog house with the sloping roof.

Sloping Roof

• Start work on the roof of the house for the manufacture of gables. Make the perimeter of the beam 40x40. In the front pediment, provide a slit under the door of the attic. Cover the perimeter with a cloth and stack up to the parchment from the inside.

• Since the roof, as well as the ceiling, must be removable, do the following: at the end of the corner beams, pound (but not to the end) a nail with a diameter of 7-10 mm, pre-drilled holes under them, so that the bars do not crack. Scoop the hats with a hacksaw.

• You will get the pins on which you have to put the pediments. In the pediments, insert and drill openings under the pin. Install the pediments on the seats. Now you need to make a roof grid.

• It is more convenient to make a grid in right place. But first, you have to put the pediments strictly upright. Now it remains to “pin” the grid.

• It can be made of lining or trimming board, providing releases from behind and in front.

• At the end of the grid, nail the curtain, and from the bottom - make plywood.

• Cover the roof and lay the tile, fastening it with a stapler.

  

It remains to paint the outside of the finished house. Don’t paint it from inside! Under the roof rack, a small night-light flashlight will look great. In the dark time of day, such a decor will decorate it and the surrounding space. So, you can set it to a permanent place.

Place the booth on a small hill so that it does not accumulate rainwater, and there was plenty of room for ventilation of the bottom. It is best to bury in the ground four small foundation blocks, cover each of them with two or three layers of impermeable material, as a waterproofing, and set to be on top.

In addition, you must remember that dogs love to be aware of everything that is happening, so the animal ought to see the main area of the DIY dog house.

It is ready! In winter it will be warm enough, and in the summer it will be cool. However, in the cold season, it needs to be curtained with curtains of dense fabric. They should be done in such a way that, when the dog enters, they adhere tightly to the surface of the booth and block the entrance. To do this, they need to be clothed, sewing them low pockets filled with sand. So that the sand does not soak and does not cling to the frost - it must first be poured into a plastic bag and then put in a pocket on the curtain.

What else do you need to know?

 Let's start with the material that we will use. For the main material, it is best to take a whole tree. Since it is, in fact, a dog house, and the dog will spend a lot of his own time in it.

Speaking without jokes, in order to provide the dog with comfort, we need moisture resistant material that will not need to be treated with chemicals, since they can have a negative effect on the dog. Depression, of course, may not begin (at least initially), but health will fade. An example of such a beautiful, durable, moisture-resistant material is pine.

For the construction of any facility, we necessarily required tools such as:

• drill,

• saw,

• hammer,

• screwdriver.

For dimensioning we need:

• pencil,

• line

• roulette.

During the assembly, we will also need nails and screws.

Further care of the building

One of the main tasks of the homemade dog house is cleaning. Cleaning should be done regularly, at least once a month. Most likely, a rug will lie on the floor, which should not be particularly strong attached, because it will be contaminated. The rug does not require special care, so you can simply wash it or throw it away, replacing it with a new one. For complete confidence during cleaning, it is necessary to use special preparations which you will easily find in any veterinary shop.

Our life cannot be imagined without animals. They complement and bring diversity to our being. But it is unlikely that we can find a good and reliable friend for a person than a dog. This animal helps people to obtain food in hunting or protects the house from uninvited guests. Therefore, they also need a house and, unfortunately, not all people can put the dog in their homes.

But in order for our friend to be comfortable and warm, we need a special dog house. Straightforward, a dog cannot build a house in itself, but you have hands and a head that is likely to work more productively than your pet, so we need to help him in this. To build a house for a dog, you do not need to have special skills in building crafts. Just need a little desire and inspiration and you will give your pet something that will be most necessary for him in the winter. Trust, he will be very grateful.