Dog Houses
If you want your dogs to spend some quality time in the great backyard, they could use houses to protect themselves from the weather. They'll have somewhere to keep warm, keep cool, and/or keep dry. It's also nice for them to have places to call home outside of your living room. You know, let them ruff it.
You could spend
external links to learn more about your own construction projects.
Shape
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Material
Other Housing Options
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On Design
* A '''hinged or removable roof''' will make cleaning inside the house much easier but also susceptible to high winds.
** Depending on the size of your houses (and yourself) it might just be easier to crawl through the front door than to reach over the top.
* '''Doors on the side''' of a long wall are most practical for protection from cold and winds.
* A '''partial wall''' inside the house near the door closes off most of the house from the elements while still making it easy to enter and exit.
Houses Should Be
* Big enough to stand up, stretch, lie down, and turn around in, but not so big that it feels cavernous or gets cold in the winter.
* Ventilated in the top and sides.
* Warm enough for the climate. Live up north? A plastic house will keep heat in better. So will a door.
* Big enough for a
bed inside.
Make Houses Livable
* With water and food.
* Entice them in with treats and toys.
* Make sure they're not sitting at the bottom of a rainwater-collecting hill, near a stream, or in a flood zone.
* Are the dogs going to climb to the tops of the roofs and jump off, over a fence, into a ditch, or towards another hazard? Avoid that.
* Is the view attractive to them?
** Guard dogs will need to have a clear view of whatever they're guarding.
* Are they getting hit in the eyes by bright sunshine at hours when they wish they were sleeping? Are even the shady spots too hot? Remember how easily dogs overheat.
Do Not
* Leave your dogs outside unsupervised unless they can fight off all animals in the neighborhood. Bears, hawks, and other animals may come after your dogs if they have the chance.
