Dog Houses

Everyone needs a place of their own. Even your dog needs a place where he or she can retreat to.

There are many types of dog houses. Depending on the size of your dog, there may be large dog houses for your Great Dane or small ones for your Chihuahua. There are heated dog houses and those that come with insulated roofing and wall sidings.

These dog houses can be bought from your local pet store. However, if you come out cold, you can try shopping for the right dog house with the right price tag online. Many of these online pet shops offer items, such as a dog house, for bargain prices. If not, you can always try eBay or use an online shopping coupon.

Why Build One?
While there are certainly advantages to buying a ready-made dog house, you might also want to try building your own dog house. This is especially true if you are handy with a hammer and a saw.

The advantage of building your own dog house is the possibility of getting more bang for the buck. After all, what are all those left-over materials from your daughter’s dollhouse doing in your tool shed? With a little planning and some savvy, you can use these to build a shelter for your dog.

A dog house built with your hands lends a certain personal aspect to your dog’s shelter. You can even build the dog house to look exactly like a miniature version of your own home, using the same paint, roof shingles, etc.

Step-By-Step Guide
Dog houses are easy enough to build. Even those who have little to no experience building stuff will have little trouble following any of the number of free dog house plans available for download from the Internet. That or you can choose to follow the step-by-step guide of building a dog house provided below:

• The Planning Stage

This is the most important step in building a dog house. Everything – the construction, materials, dimensions, etc. – all point back to your original plan.

The first consideration is how big a dog house are you planning to build? This depends on a lot of factors, not least of which is the size of your dog. Take your dog and measure him or her while sitting on her haunches. The figure you come up with should correspond to the height of the structure. Next, measure your dog while he or she is sprawled in his or her most comfortable, favorite position. This should correspond to the width and breadth of the dog house.

When planning a dog house, remember never to sacrifice functionality for style. Do not attempt any fancy architectural styles if the dog house does not serve its purpose of sheltering your dog from the weather. Instead, focus on the function first before making the structure conform to your preferred style.

• Materials And Tools

Use your dog house plan as basis in getting the materials and tools you need for building the dog house. For starters, here are the basics: treated lumber (2 x 4), plywood (for wall sidings), shingles or other roof material, trim boards (assorted), “L” brackets, nails, screws, bricks, pain, caulk, roof cement, and cap blocks. You can add some of your own or substitute the others with your preferred material.

• Construction

The most basic rule in building a dog house, or anything for that matter, is to start from the bottom and work your way up. So taking your cue from this, the first phase of dog house construction should include building the floor structure and decking. This is followed by the side and back walls where 2 x 2 lumber should come in handy to provide integrity to the structure.

Next, fasten the walls to the floor structure using wood screws and nails. The trickiest part of construction is the roofing. But try to get some idea of the angle of roof pitch adequate for runoff by observing the roofing of your own home and applying what you learn to the dog house. Once you are done with that, the next steps of siding, roofing and finishing should come easy.