A dog house is a necessary attribute if you want to get an animal in a private house. There is no need for this thing in the apartment, but in the yard it will be simply irreplaceable. Of course, you can buy it. But then you have to choose from what is offered on the market. In addition, in some cases, the prices are too high. That is why it is worth thinking about how to make a dog house with your own hands.
Pet Housing
Thinking about where to start construction, you need to determine the size so that the dog is comfortable inside. And if you find an original design solution, it is quite possible to make the booth not only functional in quality of housing, but also a great addition to the design of the yard.
After the object is assembled, you can also think about decorating. It is possible to apply various patterns, carvings and other elements decorating the doghouse.
How to make a design drawing
Since it is very important here not to make a mistake with the dimensions, it is strongly recommended that you first draw a drawing, and only then proceed to the practical part of the assembly.
It is worth noting here that it is not necessary to make the design too complicated - this will only interfere with the animal. The most suitable option is a rectangular kennel with a gable roof and side entrance. When drawing up and assembling, it is worth remembering that sometimes it is necessary to remove the inside, and therefore one of the walls or the roof must be removable in order to facilitate this process for the owner.
When assembling a doghouse, sizes need to be selected individually for a specific animal. To do this, you need to measure the dog in height at the withers, in length from the nose to the tail, the width of the chest, and also the height of the dog. With these options, you can start sketching. There are a few rules to consider:
- The width and height of the dog booth should be equal to the height of the animal plus 5 cm.
- The depth of the structure should also be 5 cm greater than the length of the pet.
- The width of the hole should be 5 cm greater than the width of the chest.
- The height of the hole should be 5 cm higher than the height of the pet at the withers.
What will be needed for work
In order not to encounter a lack of materials or a lack of tools during operation, it is worthwhile to prepare everything in advance. You will need dry bars with dimensions of 100 x 100 and 100 x 50 mm, edged board 25 mm thick, lining for cladding, sheets of plywood or chipboard, as well as bars 40 x 40 mm. In addition to the basic materials, you will also need roofing material, polystyrene, glassine. Since wood is used for construction, it is necessary to purchase antiseptic and protective agents for wood processing. You can arrange a door at the entrance to the booth to lock the animal during a meeting of guests, for example. Therefore, you need to have a knocker, door hinges, galvanized nails, sand on hand.
Further, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the whole tree is best processed so that the dog does not pick up its paws. It is more convenient to do this before the start of assembly. But to impregnate the material with chemical protective equipment is best after assembly and only from the outside. This is explained by the fact that the dog may refuse to live in the booth due to strong odors inside.
Beginning of work. Shed roof box
You can build a dog house with your own hands in several ways. The very first and simplest is a structure with a pitched roof. It is worth noting that large breeds of pets in the warm season can often lie on the roof of the booth. That is why a pitched roof is preferable. For convenience, it is best to arrange a slight slope for the roof, and also make it open. In order to create more heat in the cold season, the dog house is insulated. In addition, you need to place the hole precisely on the wide side of the rectangle with an offset to one of the sides. Then the closed side will be much less blown, and the pet will have a warm place to sleep.
Assembly instruction
First you need to start assembling the bottom frame. To do this, you need to take the bars 40 x 40 mm, cut them along the length and width of the dimensions of the structure. Further, the material is laid on a flat surface or, for example, on a table and connected to a rectangular structure. Most often, self-tapping screws or nails are used for assembly. If the breed of the dog is large enough, you can add one or two cross-members from the timber to strengthen the bottom. After this, you can proceed to sheathing the frame with boards on one side.
The next step is the insulation of the floor. The moment is very important. The already sheathed design is set so that the bars are on top. Further, when warming a dog house with your own hands, it is necessary to line the inner surface with a glassine. It is fastened with staples using staples, after which it is cut precisely to the size of the booth and fits tightly between the bars. It is important to note here that the height of the foam should clearly correspond to the height of the bars. When the insulation is laid, it is additionally covered with another layer of glassine. After that, you can start stuffing the finishing floor for the pet.
Housing frame
An inexpensive dog kennel is a makeshift option. And to make it, you need to clearly understand how to assemble the frame. And in such a way as to equip also a slope for rolling rainfall. To do this, you need to take a bar 100x100 mm and cut it into 4 parts. The length of the two segments should be equal to the length indicated in the drawing. The other two segments should be longer by about 7-10 cm. All 4 segments are mounted vertically at the corners of the finished bottom. Different lengths of racks are designed to form a slope. Two segments with a longer length are attached in front, segments with a shorter length, respectively, at the rear. It is important to note that each beam should be set clearly vertically. To do this, use the level. They are also fixed with screws or nails. In order to strengthen the joints of the frame, metal corners can be used. In addition, you need to fill additional horizontal bars. Two segments are stuffed in the center of the walls, and two more, but already smaller, on each side of the manhole.
Work with the walls of the booth
In order to sheathe the frame from the outside, a lining is used. From the inside, you need to take care of warming. First, a layer of glassine is laid, as is the case with the bottom. It is also attached with a stapler. After that, the free space is filled with either mineral wool or foam. After that, the glassine layer is again covered. The final wall sheathing may consist of sheets of plywood, chipboard or other similar material. As a fixation for plating, galvanized nails of small length are used. It is very important to drown the hats well so that the animal is not injured.
Shed roof for building
A warm dog house is excellent, but it is equally important to equip a good roof that will not leak. In order to collect a good roof of a single-pitch type, it is necessary to have an OSB sheet and 40x40 mm bars. From the bars you need to knock down the frame, which in size will be like the inner perimeter of the pet's dwelling. The same sheet is cut from the OSB and printed onto the frame. After that, foam is laid between the bars, which is covered with a film on top. To fix the film, you can take a stapler. After that, you need a sheet of plywood. It should be larger than the roof frame by 10 cm on the sides and back, and in front by 15 or 20 cm. This will create protection for the manhole and walls of the booth from rain. It is important not to forget that the roof should be hinged, and therefore it is attached with hinges, like a door. The final finish is lining with roofing material, soft tiles, etc.
After that, you can start decorating the booth. Outside, as mentioned earlier, the kennel is treated with an antiseptic and protective agents. Additionally, it can be painted when the protective layer is completely dry. The bottom of the booth is covered with roofing material. At the edges, this coating should rise 5 cm to the walls. On top of the roofing material you need to fix two small segments from the beam 100x50 mm. These items also need to be processed. After that, the booth is again turned over to equip the hole.
Gable roof option
If you choose this path, you will need to make certain changes to the assembly of the frame and roof.
For the manufacture of the frame, 4 bars of 50x50 mm are required. A rectangular bottom frame is assembled from them and additionally reinforced with one bar in the center. To assemble the gable roof, you will again need a 50x50 mm timber. Two identical segments should be interconnected at an angle of 40 degrees. Such blanks need to have two pieces. They are installed on top of the frame of the booth flush with the walls. It is very important to align the blanks for the roof vertically. After that, they can be fixed with nails so as not to hold. From above, both gables are connected using a longitudinal beam. On one side, this element should protrude 20 cm forward. Next, you need to cut two more of the same pieces and nail them to the lower ends of the rafters.
Dog enclosure
Not all owners want the dog to constantly run around the yard, but you cannot lock him in the booth, there simply is no place to move. It is in such cases that the aviary perfectly helps. It is spacious enough for the animal to move, but it will still be locked up.
Most often, such structures are installed if:
- the breed of the dog is too big, and if you build a booth for it, it will be huge and will spoil the design of the yard;
- it is very convenient if guests often come, any work is carried out, for example, construction, as the aviary is always closed;
- the enclosure closes the pet well from bad weather, while maintaining the ability to protect the site.
Many people think that the question of how to make a dog house purely technically is the most important. However, in the case of the aviary, another important fact is its location.
If you build it too far from the house, the dog will begin to worry and will constantly bark, attracting the attention of people, which can greatly interfere. If you bring the shelter too close to the fence, the pet will quite often bark at passers-by and, possibly, try to see who is going there, because of which it will always jump onto the wall, breaking the structure. For these reasons, the front of the yard is considered the best place. In this case, the dog will be close enough to people, which will relieve him of anxiety. At the same time, he will be at a sufficient distance from the gate to bark at suitable ones too close and ignore ordinary passers-by.
Aviary sizes
It is very important to remember that both an aviary and a dog house, photos of which can be found above, should be spacious. But if in the case of the booth the dimensions did not increase too much, then with the aviary everything is the other way around. For small breeds of dogs, the height at the withers of which is up to 50 cm, the aviary should be up to 6 square meters. If you take into account more pets, 65-70 cm each at the withers - these are huskies, labradors, etc. - then an area of 8 square meters is already needed here. For the largest animals, such as Caucasians, Alabai, etc., the enclosure should be at least 10 square meters. It is worth adding that 10 is the minimum, the more the better.
What to choose?
If you can figure out how to make a dog house, you can only spend a little time, before that you need to first decide what exactly needs to be built. After all, both an aviary and a booth can come up. In addition, it is worth paying attention to the fact that inside the enclosure you still have to build a small booth where the animal can hide during severe weather or frost. It is also important to note that in the case of an aviary and a booth inside, one must proceed not only from the size of the dog, but also from its gender. For female dogs, you need to equip the booth and the aviary a little more so that future puppies have more space. For males, a booth will be needed only for protection from bad weather. The most important thing when assembling a do-it-yourself booth for a dog is the size of the pet.