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During the design and manufacture of a doghouse, two main requirements are imposed: convenience and suitable dimensions. Further, minor issues related to design, roof shape and other trifles are resolved. This also includes the choice of material. For a yard dog, it is customary to build a kennel made of brick, metal or boards. The first two materials are not always convenient for the manufacture of such a design. Usually the owner builds a wooden dog kennel, and it is such a house that provides maximum comfort to the dog.
What to consider when building a booth
Even before the start of construction, one important requirement must be taken into account: a doghouse built on its own is not just a kennel, but real housing. The dog will stay in this house all his life. In the booth, the dog will sleep or just hide from the weather. The home should be so comfortable that the animal itself will use it without being forced.
When building a kennel in the yard from scrap materials, they take into account the important requirements for the design:
- It should be warm inside the kennel in winter and cool in summer. Such results can be achieved with the use of heat-insulating material.
- Even if the house is made without insulation, they try to avoid the formation of cracks as much as possible. The booth should not be blown out by wind and rainwater.
- A kennel for a dog is made on a small elevation. From this, the bottom always remains dry, even during heavy rain.
- Young dogs love to frolic, and often jump on the roof of the booth. The structure must be strong enough to support the weight of the dog.
- Inside and outside the house, it is necessary to completely get rid of protruding nails, self-tapping screws, chipped chips and other sharp objects on which the dog can get hurt.
- Materials without harsh chemical odors are used as improvised means for building a kennel. The best material for building a dog kennel is a pine board.
- The dog is the guard of the yard. A properly made hole will help the dog quickly jump out and drop into the booth, as well as watch everything that happens around without getting out of the kennel.
The simplest built house for a dog must meet all these requirements, but at the same time a minimum of costs are allocated for its construction. The optimal indicator of a finished booth is simplicity, comfort, cheapness, aesthetics and inconspicuousness in the yard.
Choosing the location of the dog kennel in the yard
It is optimal for a dog to build a portable kennel. The landscape design of the yard may change over time, and the kennel will have to be moved. The dog cannot be placed anywhere. In this case, climatic conditions, the location of the yard buildings and the characteristic feature of the dog breed, that is, its habits, are taken into account.
It is good if on several sides near the made booth there is a fence, walls of a building or other structures that protect the kennel from being blown by the winds. It's good when a place with a do-it-yourself kennel is partially shaded. Early in the morning, the dog will be able to bask in the sun, and at lunchtime, hide from the heat in the shade.
The lowlands are not the best place for a dog kennel. During rain and melting snow, the house will be flooded with water or dampness will keep on the floors.
When choosing the optimal location for the house, one must remember the instinct of the animal. The dog is inherent in self-preservation and protection of its territory. Even without leaving the kennel, the dog should have a good view of most of the territory through the hole, including the entrance to the owner's house and the yard. Ignoring such conditions will lead to anxiety of the animal. At the occurrence of each sound, the dog will jump out of the kennel, rattle with a chain and bark, which will bring unnecessary anxiety to the owners. But it is also not worth it to place a dog kennel close to a path where people often walk. Constant noise and movement irritate the animal, from which constant barking will be established in the yard.
Determining the dimensions of the doghouse
Do-it-yourself construction of a dog house begins with determining its dimensions, and here you cannot be mistaken. The photo shows a table with examples of different breeds of dogs. The size of the booth and manhole should correspond to the size of the dog's physique. The animal inside the kennel is provided with enough space to sleep, turn around and stand up to its full height. However, you should not build a large booth with a margin. In winter, heat will be poorly retained inside such a house, even if the walls are made using insulation.
Performing several measurements of the dog will help to optimally calculate the dimensions of the house:
- The dog is measured by height at the withers. The result is plus 20 cm. This will be the height of the kennel.
- In the supine position, the dog is measured from the tip of the tail to the end of the front legs, extended forward. Add 15 cm to the result, determining the depth of the booth.
- The dog should be able to lie across the kennel to its full height. The width of the house is determined by the same measurements as the depth. That is, it is optimal when the booth is square.
The entrance to the kennel cannot be a simple hole. The size of the manhole should be free for quick passage of the dog, and also not very spacious, so that in winter less cold penetrates into the house. The height of the manhole is determined by the same measurements of the dog's height at the withers with the addition of 12 cm. 10 cm is added to the measurements of the dog's chest in order to calculate the width of the manhole. In shape, the entrance to the booth is made rounded or in the form of a rectangle.
We prepare materials for construction
Most often, the owner of a summer cottage or a private yard arises the question of how to make a booth for a dog from improvised material so that it turns out to be strong, and at the same time incur a minimum of costs. So, the frame can be welded metal, but it is difficult to sheathe it. For these purposes, it is better to use a bar with a section of 50x50 mm. The flooring, wall cladding and roof fabrication are made of boards with a thickness of 20–30 mm. An OSB sheet is suitable, but chipboard cannot be used. From heating in the sun, the stove gives off an irritating smell for the dog, and when it gets wet, it swells and crumbles into small sawdust.
Outside, the walls and roof of the booth on top of the boards can be sheathed with galvanized iron or corrugated board with your own hands. It is unacceptable to use plastic lining. The dog will just tear it apart in a matter of minutes. In the manufacture of an insulated booth, all structural elements are made double, and foam or basalt wool is placed between them. Waterproofing is made from conventional, inexpensive materials. You can take pieces of roofing material, film, old linoleum, etc.
Step-by-step production of a doghouse
The photo shows a detailed diagram of what parts the booth consists of. Having decided on its dimensions, the drawing can be used in the manufacture of a structure with your own hands.
So, we figure out how to make a doghouse from wooden blanks:
- First, the frame is knocked out of the bar. She will set the dimensions and shape of the entire structure. The frame of the rectangular bottom is knocked down first. Four corner posts are attached to it, and two - forming a manhole opening. Top of the rack is tied with a bar.That is, it turns out the same frame as on the bottom. For strength, the frame is reinforced at the corners with bevels and jumpers are nailed. The corner posts of the frame can be extended 100 mm below the bottom frame. In this case, you will get a booth with legs, and in the future you will not have to put it on stands.
- The floors inside the kennel are laid from boards or cut from the OSB slab. If you make an insulated booth with your own hands, then you can cut a piece of OSB onto the bottom frame. Then another frame is stuffed from the rails along the edges of the structure, forming a void. Waterproofing is laid here, then thermal insulation, and floors are stuffed from the boards on top.
- The sides of the frame, forming the walls of the doghouse, are sheathed with boards or OSB. In the case of using insulation, the walls of the kennel are made exactly as the warm bottom was made.
- The easiest way to make the roof is to make a pitched roof. To do this, it is simply enough to nail a couple of bars to the upper frame of the frame opposite the manhole to make a slope, and then fill the boards. For a gable roof, you will have to knock down two triangular rafters from a bar, and then fix them to the upper frame of the frame. The resulting slopes are tightly sheathed with a board. It is better to cut triangles from the OSB slab on the gables.
- Regardless of the design of the roof, it is sheathed with roofing material, since even closely nailed boards will let water through. For roofing, it is better to use a sheet metal-based material. Galvanized or corrugated board is suitable. If you use sheets of ferrous metal, they will periodically have to be painted to protect against corrosion.
- The finished doghouse is painted with dim paint. The tree can simply be treated with antiseptic impregnation, and then with drying oil or varnish.
When the paint is completely dry, the booth is installed in a permanent place, and a dog is tied next to it.
The video tells about the manufacture of the booth:
Features of the choice of the shape of the roof
So, we looked at how to build a doghouse with a pitched and gable roof. However, novice dog breeders may have a question, what to be guided by when choosing the shape of the roof.
A gable roof is best done on small booths. Inside the house, this design increases the space, but makes the kennel itself heavier. A large booth with a gable roof will turn out to be heavy.
A pitched roof is easier to manufacture and much lighter than the previous version. The roof is suitable for a large booth. By the way, it can be made removable, which will allow you to better clean the inside of the house.
If the dog from the first moments positively assessed the booth assembled from improvised material, then you did not work in vain.
