Doghouse Construction Guide

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Frequently Asked Questions

 

Questions and comments about building dog houses and other pivotal issues of the millenium are welcome via email. Please read through the questions and look over the gallery. You may find the answer to your question is already in here somewhere.

 

 

Topics thus far:

What breed of dog is this house for?   you aparantly know little about dogs or good dog house design
Your website bites.   A new idea about where to put the door and the more on the hinged roof.
Ideas about flat roofs, hinged roofs, and interior partitions.   A note from the doctor.
Can I build a dog house that will keep my dog warm at forty below zero?   You must be a weenie.
Avoiding floor deterioration and dog houses on wheels.   I finally get another complimentary letter. I think...
Elvis weighs in on the website.   How much plywood did it take to cover the roof?
Can I have a specific materials list?   Dogs from Hell!
Insulation and hinged roof testimonials.   How much money it cost you to build the dog ?
Is Mr. Jones considered slow-witted by Spanish speaking peoples?   When did people become so critical and rude?
Questions persist regarding the mythical "deep winter dog house".   Watch out where the huskies go...
Rename the site.   Pandora's Dog House: The Ultimate Redneck Theory?
Your website is the ultimate evil.    
     


I love your doghouse construction website - the text is simultaneously informative and hilarious - but you left out one key bit of information that's keeping me on the edge of my seat (and it's not because I have a big behind, since it's been photographically proven that I have no behind): what breed of monster perros did you build this sucker for?-TL

Lana and Mavis are full grown females of the Rottweiler/Australian Shepherd breed combination, but the Black Forest chromosomes far outnumber those of the Outback. So they weigh about 85 and 95 pounds respectively. Check this page to see a sketch with approximate measurement in inches. (Sorry metric system stalwarts, but you just can't walk into a hardware store in Georgia and ask for a centimeter tape measure. "You want a whut, son?")

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Expecting to find: buxom women tied to small outbuilding in nothing but panties and a collar (then again forget the panties). Find: Small children and drunken ex NC State graphic designos creating a living space for canines. Imagine my shock and disillusionment. I'm going to report you to your provider so that you and your ilk can be removed from the internet (thus) providing more bandwidth to the pornographers and hustlers who deserve it. The conspiracy knows who you are and where you live (for now). -DJS

Outbuilding, is that some type of oblique reference to out-house? Shocked and disillusioned? I reckon I would be too if I had paid good money to study civil engineering in a building festooned wiyh concrete gargoyles, and then had to "surf the web" to try and figure out how to build a simple dog house. You know, if you don't stop spamming me, I'm going to tell mom that you are just pretending to be involved with the conspiracy of normal humans.
I'm sorry, what was the question?

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Nice site. One thing I did when I made my dog houses was to keep the roof flat. I pitched it enough for water runoff (of course I'm also in California) and kept it flat so that my dogs could use it as a sunning spot. I also hinged the roof so that it was easier to clean out the dog house. Also, for cold weather areas (although any dog shoud be brought inside if it gets cold enough especially if it is NOT a northern breed), you want to design the house with an interior wall, such that the inside space is just large enough for the dog to curl up in. That makes the most efficient use of body heat. The "front parlor" can be kept as large as needed for sprawling especially if the summers are also hot and humid. In other words, the interior wall partitions a smaller area for curling up and keeping warm from the larger area in front of the doorway that is cooler. -CTM

Shrewd observations, C. Although you don't mention the size of your dogs, their ability to leap onto the roof combined with the feasibility of a multi-room dog house in the Golden State suggests to me that we are not talking St. Bernards here. But this is exactly the type of site and canine specific innovation and that every dog house architect should strive for. It sounds to me like you took into consideration your dogs size and lifestyle, your local (dry) climate, and even ongoing maintenence (hinged roof for cleaning) which was something that I never thought of. Great ideas, I hope you can post some photos to the net so that the we can all see this technique.

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Thanks for the website. I really got some good ideas. I live in ( a New England state). We usually have a couple weeks of -30 or -40 degree weather in the winter. The rest of the winter hovers around 0-10 (degrees fahrenheit) . I've heard that a small dog house with a baffle (i.e. a partial wall to protect the dog from the wind) will allow the pet's body heat to keep the shelter warm. This does require insulation. Any thoughts on this? - JD

This question needed to be asked. I duly note that it is the middle of August when you pose the question, good timing.
I beg you to immediately forget about building a dog house like this. If you let your dog stay outside during these type of winter conditions, you will kill your dog. I mean it.
I too, have heard this apocryphal "body heat conservation" nonsense, do not buy into it, it is a death sentence for your dog. Thirty or forty below zero are would be considered harsh conditions on the Iditerod. I bring my dogs inside my house when it is forty degrees above zero.
"Not a fit night out for man nor beast" is a good rule of thumb. If you would not spend the night (or day) outside in a plywood shed, your faithful dog has the same thought process. But the dog is depending on you to open the door and toss another log on the fire. The dog house is a shelter against sun and rain, not extreme cold.

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I had my original houses built by (a freelance carpenter) over 8 years ago, but some fundamental things were lacking -mostly a decent foundation. Now, I'm having to replace them because of massive wood rot. When I built my present houses, we did use dog measurements; my biggest problem is moving them around for cleaning purposes. I think I might put this set of houses on wheels. My houses are under my deck and I like to be sure there is not any dirty stuff behind the houses and that there are not too many bug-things living back there around the houses. We're in Alabama and we get bad bug-things, the kind that will rot flesh. Do you have any ideas or suggestions as to whether large caster-type wheels might work-PW

Rotting of the floorboards. Insist on pressure treated lumber for floor constructions. I quote myself "Since this wood will be close to the ground and unsurfaced, pressure treated wood is mandatory. It is the only wood that will resist rotting and infestation." In addition, the wooden part of the house should be raised up above the surface on concrete or stone or brick. Cap blocks are inexpensive (less than a dollar apiece here) and work well.
Wheels on your dog house. I do not think it is good idea, for these reasons:
1. With large dogs (like Rottweilers), I imagine a 150 pound wooden skateboard piloted by an equally massed dog. I am troubled by the prospect of one dog slamming the house against the other dog, running over feet, etc. If you have kids or other small mammals nearby, they might also be at risk from the roaming residences.
2. Even if you used heavy duty lockable casters or chucked the wheels, the structure would be weakened at the points where the wheels were attached. Even with fortification the house would still be apt to blow around in strong winds.
If you want to move the houses periodically for cleaning, I suggest using the casters to fashion a heavy duty dolly that you could hoist the house up onto.

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Date: Tue, 28 Aug 1956 01:21:10 +0000
From: ELVIS
Subject: Thanks for the information

I enjoyed your web site and appreciate that you've made your dog house plans available for free. I can't believe the tone of some of the e-mail FAQs that you've posted on your site. Ideas like a hinged roof are certainly good, but don't people read your disclaimer before going on about cold-weather, parlor space, etc.

I always knew you were still alive, now I have proof. Well maybe. The pentagon invented the internet back in the fifties, and nobody really said what you did in the army. That punchcard e-mail is awfully slow. Yet I am still puzzled by how you anticipated the dog website some seven years before my birth. Guess that's why you're the king.


Give Old Shep a pat on the head for me, and thangyaverrymush.

PS. You can't believe the tone of my e-mail? Let me just say that the King of Rock and Roll chiming in from 1956 is about par for the course. TCB.

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I own a Rottweiler named C and she is very sad for she does not like the rain. She has heard that El Nino is on it's way to California and she should expect many rainy, cold, and down right icky days this winter. She has submitted a request for a home of her own. I found your page and love the house you built (so does C). Anyway, what C does not realize is that her adoptive parents are spastic when it comes to constructing anything. We have a friend that will help but with the construction but I was wondering if you could gelp us with the materials list. Do you have the amounts of lumber and plywood you used? -JDH

It has been about three months since the page went online and I almost got away with the nebulous materials list. I left the details sketchy because I was focused on the technique, rather than trying to provide an exact blueprint of my specific dog house.Your question was inevitable. I will give you some more details, with the following admonitions:

1) My dog house was designed for two Rottweilers, who could have a couple of Mastiffs over for cocktails comfortably, if they only knew a couple of Mastiffs. If you have only one dog, you will not need dimensions this large, but do make sure she can comfortably lay on her side.

2) Any type of stylistic shortcuts or amendments you make will deplete from or add to your materials. I urge you to get graph paper to plan each surface (floor, walls, roof) and refer back to my picture pages, which show the actual usage of wood, before you show up at the lumber yard. My dog house floor is a four foot square. The house stands over five feet tall at the roof crest.

That being said, here is an approximate list of the materials in my dog house derived from my already published list:

1) treated lumber 2x4 (3) 8 foot long studs

2) plywood (6) 4X8 foot sheets 3/8 thickness

3) 2x2 lumber (12) 8 foot studs

4) 2x4 lumber (3) 8 foot studs

5) shingles or other roof material (at least 2 bundles)

6) assorted trim boards (corners, lattice, 1X6 as needed)

7) "L" brackets, nails, and screws (I bought "L" brackets until I ran out of money)

8) paint, caulk and roof cement

9) bricks or cap blocks (four should work if the site is level)

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Do you have any idea as to how one might make the roofs hinge-able for easy cleaning? My current roofs are removable, but too heavy to be practical. I'm nowhere near an engineer, I just know what I'd like in a house: warm, dry, roomy and easy to clean. I insulated my last set of houses with the pink stuff and thin plywood, worked pretty well. -PW

Hinged roof. A previous letter on the FAQ talks about this idea. My dog house is so big that my wife, daughter, both dogs, and I all fit into the dog house described in the webpage. I am six foot three and weigh 240. If the entrance is large enough for Rottweilers, it should be large enough for someone to get their upper body into for cleaning. A hinged roof, like wheels, are suspect in high wind conditions. A hinged front or rear siding panel might give you better access with less structural compromise.

I am interested that you used fiberglass wall insulation inside your old houses. I was afraid to use it for fear the dogs would accidently rip it or that future pups might unwittingly chew at it (the stuff is a major tissue irritant). Did you install interior walls in these houses or did your dogs ignore the insulation? Any insight you could give on this issue would be beneficial to a lot of people, I have not covered it.

I did use interior walls. My husband thought I'd lost my mind. These are, after all Rottweilers - German dogs with coats built for German weather - much worse than Alabama weather. But my old man Rottie at the time was 8 and I couldn't stand the thought of him even being chilly. So I did what I thoght was right - like I had seen done at houses being built. I got the pink stuff, installed it and cut walls to cover it. Then I caulked the seams with the silicone stuff. I thought it worked well. Dogs never acted cold.

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Subject: Mr. Jones

Forgive me and correct me if I am wrong but doesn't Pendejo mean stupid or idiot? Or is it Bendejo? A bit close for comfort. No? -Baking in Southern Cal

Yes. That is exactly what that means.

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(A certain website) claims that many breeds of dogs can live outside during the winter (even in the frozen north) if they are provided with an insulated doghouse of the proper dimensions. -CW

I noticed that the person who posted the web page you refer to did not sign his name or cite any credentials which would lead him to make such a conclusion. I have written the host to point this out, but the fact that the page was last updated during the Bush administration doesn't bode well for a prompt response.

Unfortunately, a lot of people believe what they read online. Even if this plan is totally do-able and safe, somebody would take a shortcut and end up killing their dog. This information would seem less cavalier if it came from an identified and accredited source.

I recommend that you stay away from the "deep winter dog house" concept unless you could get your veterinarian to sign off on the exact plans. I seriously doubt she or he would endorse it, but let me know. I say bring your (Jane Dog) inside when it gets real cold. We used to confine our dogs to a locked hallway on cold nights when they were puppies, they were always raring to get outside in the morning. You might consider a laundry, bath, kitchen, or utility room inside the house where your young dog's destructiveness can be minimized.

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Your site should be called "This old Dog House"-JG

Maybe I can talk Bob Vizsla into hosting it.

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Subject: Your dog house website of hideous evil

Your website is the ultimate evil. Why would you dare to teach dogs to build their own homes? You are obviously a sick individual with a warped mind. When all of the good and decent people of Earth, and all of the mighty dolphins that rule the sea with an iron fist are forced to bow down to the evil dog queen, I hope you realize it is your fault, and your fault alone. YOUR INSANE PLOT WILL DESTROY ALL OF HUMANITY!!!!! You have betrayed mankind. Our only hope is that no dogs are able to obtain the materials needed to put these plans to use. YOU MADMAN!!!!!

Sincerly,

The Vice President of the United States

Quagilbly Barbleface

That's Mad Dog to you, buddy. When dog houses are outlawed, only dogs will have out houses. (Think about it.) So unless you want to find yourself piddling on the nearest fireplug in the canine-dominated future, I would suggest you immediately get to work building an immense dog house. Your only hope is that the structure will be so enormous, that your tail-wagging masters will be unable to locate you in its cavernous recesses.

Seriously Quag, with hominids like yourself a heartbeat away from the nuclear "football", will the destruction of humanity be my insane plot, or yours? Nice try at shifting the blame, though.

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you aparantly know little about dogs or good dog house design.

dogs perfer a flat roof, slightly lower in rear for drainage. they like to streach on the roof, also off kennel floor when wet or snow. if house is in an enclosed kennel it should be located away from sides to prevent jumping over fencing.

house opening should be offset to one side with a divider part way down. this prevents being exposed to wind, rain and snow. it is much warmer, gives the dog needed privicy. also opening should not be at floor level. floor should be raised to allow air circulation. a removable floor for cleaning is best.

there are excelllent factory models available, insulated with removable raised floor. they are used from the tropics to the artic. I have found them less expensive than building after taking every cost into consideration.

I am no longer in business, retired and almost 80. I founded and operated a 100+ kennel for many years and tried everything. -WL

What is the address of your dog house building web page? I include links to every other dog house page in the world, just to show that I am unafraid of the competition.

Why? Because I don't make any money off this, as a matter of fact it costs me money and time to do it. I do update the site frequently and answer every inquiry that comes in. I have put scores of hours into it. So ease up a bit, please.

Even though you opened up your dialog by brutally slamming me, you raise several good points:

The flat roof is very popular, I suggest it on the planning page for people who are looking for a structure that is simple to plan and build. People who own large, high jumping dogs are well advised to put the house a considerable distance from a barrier fence. This was overlooked and is now included in the "site considerations" portion of the planning page.

The interior partition idea has been addressed. I do not endorse it because I get too much mail from people in the frozen climes who think it might be okay to let their pet stay outside during a 40 below night because they built a partition. "Those frostbitten feet might leave prints on the linoleum" is all the consideration some people pay their canine compadres.

On the issue of factory manufactured dog housing, this is the "How to Build a Dog House Site" not the "How to Pick Up A Telephone and Order A Pre-Fabricated Dog House Site". Those folks are welcomed to contact me, though. When I first wrote this page, I imagined a solitary dog owner like myself trying to build one dog house specifically for his/her dog and his/her home. I did not foresee the amount of interest from professional breeders, though I welcome it. I am certain that manufactured dog houses are much cheaper than hand-built ones when you are buying them twenty at a time.

I respect your experience with dogs and dog houses, and sincerely thank you for taking the time to respond to my work in such detail. I welcome you to visit my site often and give me (guff) as you see fit.

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For a hinged roof: on a "Snoopy"-style house (the majority of doghouses), only hinge one side. For any type of doghouse, use a weatherproof "piano hinge" if one can be found, and no matter what kind of hinge is used, put a baffle underneath the hinge-- running the entire length of the doghouse-- to keep the wind & cold from seeping through the less-insulated hinged area. Insert screw-eyes on the underside of roof overhang on the hinged side and in the wall, then use a double-end snap to keep the roof from lifting in the wind. This can also be done with hook-and-eye closures, like the ones often found on bathroom and bedroom doors in older houses. It's important that they be weatherproof and made to keep the roof as tightly closed as possible, lest the wind manage to get underneath anyway and loosen them.

My other suggestion... Contrary to popular belief, the door should not be placed in the middle of the front wall unless the house is in a warm climate. It should actually be placed to one side of a long wall, if the doghouse is rectangular, and to one side of whatever wall will face front if the house is a square. It may not be as aesthetically appealing, but it's much more practical in a cold climate. It can also fit with the architectural scheme of an asymmetrical early Victorian like my house.-EC

Your hinged roof suggestions are right on, and should be the last word on that topic. In regards to your iconoclastic views on door location, my hat is off, shame on me for being such a Charles Schultz traditionalist. I know that I have finally begun to reach my target audience when I hear from a man who speaks of asymmetry and aspires to build a Victorian-style dog house.

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While simple hinges are certainly high wind hazards, if latched properly they can work very well. The only drawback is that with tall houses it is actually harder to bend over into it that it is to crawl in the front door.

Access panels can be good also, and they don't have to compromise the structural soundness if just cut into the ply-wood. Just make the panel itself slightly over sized and use weather stripping and a tight latch. This also aids in removing puppies to a more appropriate place for raising (other than the obvious dangers of exposure, I have seen many puppies squished accidentally by mom

It doesn't get cold where I live (the subtropical US), but we do have significant rain. So I find that the partition at the doorway does provide some shelter from the elements.

I also find that my dogs (greyhound in particular) tend to tear their boney selfs up without bedding. Just please DON'T use hay. It may be cheap and easy to change, but hazards range from allergies, to irritation (like eyes or sensitive bellies), to parasite explosions.-Dr. W. DVM

Your observation about the too-high hinged roof is so obvious I cant believe no one has pointed it out until now. I think I should go ahead and recommend that the hinged roof idea is probably only a good plan for small to medium houses. Your admonitions about puppies and bedding are absolutely correct and should be told to the rest of the world. Pay attention folks.

I asked this veterinarian for a statement about the ongoing controversy on this page regarding cold weather dog houses. I told him that I live in fear that some misguided jughead with a modem and power tools will unintentionally sentence poor Fido to an existence that would cause Jack London to shudder. His response:

Dogs (domesticated for how many thousands of years?) should be brought in out of bad weather.

Not much leeway there. Let's all be nice and let our dogs in.

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You must be a weenie. If you bring your dog inside at forty degrees. I sleep with my dog outside at forty degrees. In sled dog races when it gets cold out. They don't stop the race if it's cold out. Dogs like to be outside,even if it is cold out. -FO

A man defends the hot dog and gets called a weenie.

Gee, F, thanks for the observations, but my website wasn't directed at homeless people with telepathic pets. Perhaps you should pawn your computer and try to put together a security deposit on an apartment. Here's a pointer: prospective landlords (and employers) will be really impressed when you use complete sentences.

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A job well done in the design and layout of your website. It is nice to see someone who represents all of us - the weekend carpenters...dads...after work putzers......men of the 90's - who are not afraid of imperfection. In fact, I applaud you because of how you openly advertise mediocrity... Someone, not in the least bit interested in building a dog house, would find your site entertaining ... The info contained in your website, however, can get any bonehead interested in building a doghouse started in the right direction (barring cosmic interference, as you so astutely pointed out).

As an owner of a Newfi in the mountains of (a northwestern US state) I could very easily say "This dog is tough - she can take it" and keep her outside all the time. However, then my dog would turn into a jumping, whelping, whiner in dire need of attention. My family would not get to experience the close companionship offered by a "big dog". Continue your humane defense of canis domesticus, otherwise we might as well trap a few canis lupus', chain 'em in the backyard, and throw them a deer or elk carcass occasionally for entertainment.-BO

I will not openly advertise Mediocrity until the Mediocrity people send in their monthly dues. Why should they get a free ride when the fine folks at the International Brotherhood of Half-Assed Jobbers pay top dollar for the type of exposure I provide on an ongoing basis?

A jumping, whelping, attention-starved dog is not a good thing under any circumstances, but a Newfoundland in avalanche country... we're talking public safety issues here.

As for the entertainment value of chucking carci into the lawn: Yeah, I live in Georgia, but we did outlaw that practice last November and we're really trying to shake the old stereotypes. Give us a chance, man.

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How much plywood did it take to cover the roof?

If you are building the exact dog house that we built, the two roof decks are 37 X 60 inches each. This was done with four 37 X 30 panels but could have been done (more easily) with two 37 X 60 panels. Either way you are looking at two sheets of plywood. If you made your house a little less deep than mine (since yours is only for one dog) you could probably get by with one sheet for the roof. Math makes my head hurt.

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Who would have thought that going to Altavista and typing in "How to Build a Doghouse" would give us everything we need to build a small abode for two Jack Russell Terriers from Hell!

I strongly suggest you build a large abode for those Jack Russell Terriers from Hell! After all, they will need plenty of room to entertain their Demonic Doberman, Diabolical Dalmation, and Satanic Samoyed friends who'll be teleporting in from time to time.

Do not arouse their unholy wrath!

I realize now I wasn't tripping when I saw Eddie on "Frasier" do a 360 with his head.

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..... saw your dog house and dog house plans. I am needing to build a dog house for my 90lbs black Lab dog. Could you please tell me approx how much money it cost you to build the dog on your web site?

Let's see, I could take this three ways:

1. Literally (infering that the dogs themselves were the product of some bizarre suburban genetic engineering experiment). Don't you think I would get more chicks doing a website about cloning instead of carpentry? I suppose I open the door for speculation when I showcase the involvement of my mutant pal Pendejo.

2. Cynically The "dog" on my web site you refer to is the actual content of the site itself; in other words you think my site sucks the big one. In this case I would echo the salutation I gave to the horse you rode in on.

3. Pragmatically You really want to know how much it cost to build the dog house. Since I stole all of the materials off of construction sites, I brought this bad boy in for under ten bucks.

Seriously, the plywood was donated, but if I had to pay for everything it would probably be in the $90 to $110 range. You can probably come out cheaper with a somewhat smaller design since you have just the one dog.

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I'm amazed at some of the comments I read! When did people become so critical and rude??? No wonder my living companions are dogs! I may or may not follow your plans, or anyone else's for that matter, but I certainly appreciate very much that they were available when I went searching.

According to my research, the human race achieved it's current level of rudeness in mid July, 1994.

Don't despair. Most of the people who write me are nice, mentally stable folks who love dogs. The reason why I publish almost all of the nutcase and doofus mail is because:

A: I have a warped sense of humor

B: Controversy and conflict make for a more interesting and entertaining website

C: I hope that people that are on the bozo borderline might see how dumb some of those knuckleheads sound and opt for a greater level of responsibilty.

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When I was in the service in Alaska, we had 6 huskies that lived at our Coast Guard station. These dogs lived outside all year, even in -30 degrees with 25-30 knot winds, without any man-made shelter. These 6 dogs were made up of 2 generations of a family that had lived at the station (and may still live there for all I know) for many years. They were born outside, lived outside, raised their families outside, and died (mostly of old age) outside. Many were the mornings when we would go out of our nice heated buildings, give a whistle for the dogs and see these mounds of snow come to life where the dogs had lied down for the night and had been covered with snow. There were days when you couldn't even tell where the dogs were until they moved.

As far as bringing the dogs inside, it was a Standing Order that the dogs were never to be brought inside during the winter months, an offense that was punishable by court-martial under a 'cruelty to animals' rule. This rule was put in place after a tragic event caused by someone who thought he was being nice to one of the dogs. He brought the dog inside where the dog got nice and warm. When the dog was put back outside, the warmth melted the snow that the dog lied in and then the snow refroze when the animal cooled off. He was found dead the next day, frozen to the snow, with his head bleeding where he had smashed it on the ground in his panicky attempts to free himself.

From what I remember of my time in AK, huskies all over the Great White North spend their entire lives outside regardless of the weather. I'm certainly not recommending this for anybody's pet, just simply pointing out that are breeds that can handle it, if it is all they ever know. -DM

Although I did not mean for my site to become a forum about deep winter dog ownership (I live in Georgia), this has been an emotionally charged issue that just won't go away.

Your point is sincere and well stated. A year ago I probably would have been apprehensive to publish your letter because of the fear that it would be misinterpreted. But I feel now that it is important to present all viewpoints.


I am the proud companion of a brindle female "Pit Bull" that tips the scales at just over 80 lbs. Pandora (Pandy for short) is a well mannered, good tempered dog (unless the UPS man comes by or another
critter is near.) and was in need of shelter where we lived in (the Southwestern US) I opted for the
single level, flat (slanted) roofed jobby with an offset opening in the front.

Since Pandy has been known to literally climb trees when showing an interest in a feline, we had to keep her "staked" up when she was outside since she would scale the fence with no effort what so ever. When she was first staked out there, I had her fastened to a logging chain that was wrapped around the front axle of a 72 GMC "Jimmy" 4x4 (sans the engine and tranny) and since it was lifted 6" and had 33"
tires , she made a comfortable spot underneath it where she could rest in the shade. Since Sir James (the "Jimmy) had been there for some time, the tires were all sunk into the ground by about 6" so it wasnt going anywhere, that is until another dog went by. Pandora (in 2 lunges) pulled Sir James out of the holes it resided in and tried to drag it across the drive to the fence.

Keeping these abilities in mind, when I designed the house for her I also designed some key features to keep both her and the wood loving insects at bay.

(1) The 4 "legs" that the house stood on (2x4's) were cut 2' longer than necessary and had spikes driven through them sideways. When the house was "planted", they were buried into the ground and "insta-crete"was poured around them.

(2) The bottom of the floor and the 4 legs were coated with a spray on vehicle undercoating so as to aid prevention of rot/insects. (Available in spray cans at your local auto parts store) I would suggest doing the spraying at least a day before the canine is to take residence to allow proper curing, more or less time may be needed depending on where you reside.

and finally (3) a piece of 1/2" rebar was bent in a "U" and installed through two pre-drilled holes in the front frame of the house, after it was threaded through the chain. After it was pushed through the ends were bent over to prevent it from being pulled through.

Now I know this must sound like the ultimate "redneck" theory of building a doghouse, perhaps it is, but I wanted to share this with you as others may be in the same "monetarily challenged" situation I was in while building Pandy's condo.

Side Note: Pandy was an indoor dog except when we went to town, she was placed out there to keep watch over the Chevy's so they didnt walk away.

Second Side Note: After residing in that condo for 4+ years, Pandy and I moved to the (big city). I had to remove the house so the new owners didnt have to deal with it. (Older folks, just tryin to be considerate) It took me the better part of 1/2 a day to get the house up out of the ground and since I built it using ONLY dry wall screws (2 to 4" lengths) it was a terror to dismantle as well.

I could have really used Pandora's skills when I was helping my friend Pendejo rid himself of a P.O.S. '83 Sentra that had rusted stiff in his backyard. If this is dog house building's ultimate redneck theory, then I say people should crack open a PBR and listen up.


People should use good judgement and solicit common sense. The fact that you are checking out this website is a good sign that you are on the right track.

-Keep 'the letters coming. I try, but none of the stuff I make up is as good as the stuff that comes in.


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