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How to build a dog house for your puppy
How to build a dog house for your puppy
If you're thinking of building a dog house, here are some
tips to remember.
by Stephanie Hetu
June 17, 2004
So you'd like to know how to build a dog house? Well, that
means we're talking to less than 50% of all dog owners. Why?
Because current survey information at OpinionTrone says most
dog owners (over 50%) allow their pets on the family couch.
Furthermore, if you allow your pet on the couch, chances are
that you do not HAVE a dog house!
But for those of you who do, there are really good things
to remember about how to build a dog house:
-
Any good how to build a dog house plan should begin by
making sure the house is big enough to accommodate your
dog's ultimate grown-up size. You would not like to live
in a house whose ceiling was below your head height--neither
would your dog. Most humans like about 2 feet of air above
themselves in a room in order to live without feelings
of claustrophobia! That comfort zone is about 1/3 of their
standing height. Allow your pet the same airiness. Figure
out how tall it will stand as a mature pet and make sure
the ceiling of the dog house is 1/3 again taller!
-
Raise the house a few inches off the ground to allow
air and water to flow beneath. Ventilation is important
for the health of your dog and to dissuade pests from
invading its home. A few nickel-sized holes in the walls
under the eaves should be sufficient. Install a wind block
inside the house so the dog can use the heat of its own
body to warm up the area if it is really cold and windy
outside. Any good plan for how to build a dog house will
have a house big enough so that a partial wall will allow
the dog to escape the elements. The dog can choose whether
to just sleep in the entry room or go around the inner
archway maze wall into the inner sanctum. Both areas could
have bedding or a pillow, such as one filled with cedar
chips to discourage fleas.
-
Make the floor just the littlest bit slanted toward the
doorway. Any good "how to build a dog house" plan will
make certain that any rain that does enter via the ventilation
holes or doorway automatically drains out. Make sure that
the roof is built at a slant, as well, for obvious run-off
reasons. Do not paint the inside of the house, but do
make sure that the house is well insulated.
-
Make sure the dog house faces away from the major storm
direction. In the U.S., most storms come from the south
and west. Not all, mind you, but most! So most how to
build a dog house plans will suggest that the ideal placement
of a dog house door is to the east. That way, even in
the wintertime, the cold north wind will not whip inclement
weather into the dog's entryway.
-
Finally, almost all how to build a dog house plans will
have you put hinges on the roof of the house for easy
cleaning. When you clean the dog, you should clean its
house and bedding--just as faithfully as you would wish
your pet to be to you!
- Stephanie Hetu
Stephanie Hetu is a dog lover and the editor of the
Cute Puppy Dog Newsletter. You can subscribe at http://www.cutepuppydog.com/cutepuppydognewsletter.html
(every subscribers get 20 exclusive puppy pics, 2 dog screensavers
and 3 dog ebooks).
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