+79295600282

In private homes and country houses, owners rarely keep small and large dogs of different breeds in their living quarters. Even lap dogs go into the yard. And it’s not that dog bowls spoil the design of the room. The animals themselves live with great pleasure in the fresh air, where there is sun and soft grass. But the dog needs his own little home.

Dog house with gable roof

A dog house is protection from cold, wind, precipitation and scorching sun. This is a place where the animal can rest and sleep peacefully. Sometimes kennels are built to make enclosures more comfortable. For a kennel to become a real home for your animal, it must be made with the dog's needs in mind. The quality of the dog house is of considerable importance, because a dog house that falls apart when the wind blows will bring a lot of trouble to the owner. Of course, these days you can always buy a ready-made kennel from a suitable store. There are other options: hiring specialists, buying second-hand. However, even a person with minimal construction skills can create a kennel project and make it themselves.

Dog house with veranda

Choosing a place to build a kennel

Consider the following factors:

How to calculate the size of the booth

The first thing to think about when designing a kennel is its size. It directly depends on the size of the dog. In a room that is too small, the pet will be cramped and hot, and in a room that is too spacious, it will be cold in winter. If the dog is still a puppy, the house is built for growth, taking into account the size of the adult animal.

To optimally select the size, several measurements are taken from the animal:

the distance from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail - this will be the depth of the kennel;
height at the withers - add 5 cm to the resulting figure, this is the optimal height of the room. The hole is made 5 cm smaller in height, the dog should pass freely into it, slightly bending its head;
width of the chest in front - adding 5 cm to this value, you get the width of the manhole.

How to correctly take measurements to determine the size of a kennel

In regions with harsh winters, it is recommended to strictly adhere to the optimal sizes. The interior space is designed so that the dog can freely enter and lie down, curling up or tucking his paws. In the southern regions, the house can be made more spacious.

Features of calculations for large breed dogs

Kennels for dogs of large breeds, such as the Moscow Watchdog, Alabay, St. Bernard, Labrador, German Shepherd, Irish Wolfhound, are of impressive size. In order for the structure to last for more than one year, it is initially made with a margin of safety.

Approximate dimensions of a dog house for Alabai:

house height - 90 cm;
sleeping place depth - 130 cm;
kennel width - 100 cm;
the dimensions of the hole are 60 by 40 cm.

Kennel drawing for large breeds

A booth for a Caucasian cannot be smaller than the specified dimensions, because dogs of this breed are among the largest. For a German Shepherd or Labrador, make a slightly smaller room.

Sizes for medium breed dogs

Medium breeds include Rottweiler, Boxer, Shar Pei, as well as most hunting dogs such as huskies, hounds, and pointers.

Approximate dimensions of a doghouse for medium-sized breeds:

height - 80 cm;
sleeping place depth - 110 cm;
kennel width - 75 cm;
the dimensions of the hole are 50 by 35 cm.

House for medium-sized breeds

This booth is perfect for a husky or any other hunting dog. If the room is intended for a short-haired dog, for example, a boxer or sharpei, it must be well insulated.

For small breed dogs

For the smallest dogs, as a rule, small indoor kennels are built. Small breeds include dachshunds, Yorkshire terriers, pugs, miniature poodles, Chinese crested dogs, and Pekingese.

Kennel dimensions for a small dog:

sleeping place depth - 70 cm;
width - 55 cm;
booth height - 60 cm;
the dimensions of the hole are 40 by 30 cm.

Miniature kennel

When designing a house, be sure to take into account the individual characteristics of the breed. For example, it is obvious that a kennel for a dachshund and a kennel for a Chinese Crested dog will be different, although both breeds are small.

Decorative short-haired dogs such as Toy Terriers and Chihuahuas often freeze even in an apartment, so the home must be insulated or a thick mattress placed inside.

Design

A dog house can have almost any shape - the project depends on your imagination and capabilities. However, you should think about the structure of the kennel and choose materials primarily taking into account comfort from the point of view of the dog itself. You should not proceed from your understanding of comfort and convenience: your pet is unlikely to need a chic design and a magnificent two-story villa with a dozen rooms, artificial lighting and vinyl siding. But a simple rectangular dog house with a convenient opening will surely please your pet. Although the options may be different: unusual booths are becoming more and more popular every year.

A kennel with a vestibule is a slightly more labor-intensive project than a regular rectangular kennel, but such a dog house will provide excellent protection from cold and wind. If you additionally insulate the vestibule and also hang a medium-density curtain at the entrance, then your pet will not be afraid of the cold. Mineral wool or a layer of polystyrene foam can be used as insulation.

There are two types of roofs:

Flat, on which the dog can lie on warm sunny days. Pets love to climb onto such roofs, so if you want to further please the animal, we recommend making a flat roof. However, box-shaped kennels are usually not very attractive. When placing houses in enclosures, the shape of the roof does not matter.
Gable. Such a roof is much more preferable from an aesthetic point of view, and it can decorate the entire yard. The design can be matched to the architectural ensemble. This option allows you to equip a small attic for storing dog toys.

Summer dog house made of logs

Materials

Most often, booths are made of wood (and a bed is made from sawdust). Usually they choose coniferous wood (spruce, pine), since it perfectly repels insects with its smell, and the main characteristics of the material (strength, thermal conductivity, etc.) are very good. A dog house made from a log will be very durable and warm. It is important to plan and sand the wood thoroughly. The boards should also be treated with fire-resistant and moisture-resistant compounds (however, there is no need to treat the inside of the kennel). Booths made of brick and other materials of average cost are inferior in all respects to buildings made of wood. You can paint the outside of the dog house, but there should not be any toxic materials with a strong odor inside.

Dog house made of boards

To build a booth you may need the following materials:

lining, plywood, floor boards, original decorative slats;
roofing felt, slate, glassine, soft tarpaulin, polyethylene;
mineral wool or other insulation (so that the dog can comfortably survive the winter);
bars for the frame (standard sizes - 40x40 mm);
impregnation compositions;
nails;
straw, sawdust (bed);
sand.

Dog house with gable roof and clapboard

We make a booth with our own hands from scrap materials

You can make a beautiful and functional dog house with your own hands from any available materials. Wooden beams and boards, plywood, slate, and brick will be used. There are craftsmen who adapt even old car tires, refrigerator bodies and washing machines into kennels.

What kind of kennel to build from wood

The classic option is a wooden dog house. Wood protects well from heat and cold, it breathes and does not emit harmful substances, contributing to a favorable microclimate inside. The service life of a dog house made from boards is approximately 6-7 years, after which the material begins to dry out and requires replacement.

It is very easy to build a kennel from pallets or pallets. They are used as a finished frame, which is sheathed with plywood. The kennel can be made from ordinary pine boards at least 2 cm thick, as well as from pieces of thick plywood or OSB. A wooden structure should not be treated with any antiseptics or impregnations against bark beetles, because dogs have a very developed sense of smell and it will be uncomfortable for the animal to be in a strong-smelling room.

If your house is built of wood, then it is quite logical to make a dog house from the same log or timber. In this case, a chopped kennel will fit into the overall style of the site perfectly.

To save expensive building materials, you can build a dog house from simple boards, and then finish it from a blockhouse or slab, imitating a solid beam. Blockhouse is a finishing material made of natural wood that imitates solid timber. Croaker - the convex remains of logs after sawing into boards.

Wooden kennel

DIY wooden booth

Stages of building a plywood dog house with a pitched roof:

The base of the floor is made from 100x100 mm bars. Lay the frame on a flat surface and fill one side with a sheet of plywood according to its size. The structure is turned over and foam, polystyrene foam or mineral wool is tightly placed in the space between the beams. The plywood is also stuffed on this side. The floor is ready.
Install two vertical bars on the base along the height of the facade and two slightly shorter bars on the opposite side to provide a slope for the future roof. During work, check the verticality of the racks using a building level. The bars are secured with wood screws and metal corners.
Separately, three bars are connected into a U-shaped structure according to the size of the hole using self-tapping screws and metal corners. Screw it to the base in the required place.
The outside of the structure is sheathed with plywood or OSB. A layer of insulation is laid on the inside, just like on the floor, after which the interior lining is made.
The roof is made in the same way as the floor, but slightly larger in size so that it protrudes slightly beyond the structure. The finished roof is mounted on a kennel and covered with roofing felt or covered with slate.
Place the kennel on thick beams or bricks.

The process of building a house

How to build a brick kennel

A solid brick kennel is suitable for a large dog. This construction is very durable and will last for decades. Building a brick doghouse with your own hands is not much different from building other permanent buildings. The material for the booth is not only brick; it can be built, for example, from foam blocks or cinder blocks.

How to build a dog house:

The site for construction is cleared and leveled. The contours are marked, and then a trench of approximately 25x25 cm is dug around the perimeter for the foundation. Fill it with concrete and leave it to harden for several days.
Start laying out the walls. During work, be sure to check the verticality of the structure, as well as compliance with 90-degree angles. At the location of the hole, the required number of bricks are passed along its width. When the masonry reaches the height of the hole, a wooden block is laid across it and the masonry continues completely.
The finished brick booth must be insulated from the inside with wooden cladding, and a wooden floor must also be laid.
A ceiling is made of boards or plywood on the roof, after which the roof itself is installed, for example, made of slate.

Real brick house

Quick cardboard solution

If the owners are faced with the question: how to quickly make a booth for a small dog living in an apartment, then one of the possible options is a cardboard house. Probably everyone has unnecessary boxes of household appliances and appliances. It is this thick cardboard that will make a good quick booth.

Materials and tools that will be needed for work:

thick cardboard, the thicker the better;
tape measure, scissors, pencil;
wide tape or large stapler;
leftover wallpaper or pieces of fabric to decorate the outside of the house.

How to make a dog house from a cardboard box:

First of all, you need to draw a template. First, a small copy is drawn with an exact indication of the actual dimensions. After this, the pattern is transferred to cardboard in full size. For convenience, you can cut out a pattern from paper, and then draw cardboard blanks along it.
Cut out the parts with strong scissors or a construction knife. It is better to make the bottom and walls one-piece with folds - this way the house will gain additional strength.
The next step will be assembling the booth. The cut out parts are connected into a single structure using wide construction tape. First, only the corners in several places are fixed with pieces of tape so that the house does not fall apart. After this, glue the adhesive tape along all the seams in several layers. The edges of the opening are also covered with tape.
The finished house has a rather unsightly appearance. For beauty, its outer surface is covered with wallpaper or covered with upholstery fabric. A mattress with a removable cover is placed inside.

Cardboard kennel

A self-made cardboard doghouse is unlikely to last long. But it’s easy to make in just an hour. Instead of tape, you can fasten the parts with thin wire or even a simple stapler.

Tire bed

It’s easy to make a dog bed for a medium-sized dog from a car tire. To do this, the inner edges of the tire are carefully and evenly cut off, and then painted in the color you like. A round mattress is placed on the bottom. The resulting bed is quite capable of replacing a full-fledged kennel for your pet.

You can also make a booth for a yard dog from an old wheel. Several tires are stacked on top of each other and connected to each other with strong wire. The resulting structure is placed on its side. On one side the hole is covered with a piece of plywood, and the opposite side is left as a hole. A board made of boards is placed inside such a homemade booth so that the dog can lie comfortably.

Tire bed

Kennel dimensions

A kennel that is too spacious does not retain heat well, and a dog will not feel comfortable in a small kennel.

Approximate dimensions of a dog kennel
When calculating the dimensions, you should adhere to the following principles:

The height of the dog house should be equal to the sum of the height of the animal at the withers, the thickness of the bedding and an additional 10-15 centimeters. Your pet should move around inside the kennel with its head bowed, and lie down and sit without touching the top of its head to the ceiling.
The optimal length and width of the structure will allow even a large dog to lie on the floor with its paws extended.
The width of the vestibule must be sufficient for the free movement of the animal. The vestibule can be designed to be as spacious as the main room, so that on warm days the dog can lie in it on its side with its paws extended.
The size of the entrance to the kennel (manhole) may be slightly less than the height of the dog at the withers (by 5 cm). The width of the opening should allow the dog to freely enter and exit the kennel. The optimal solution would be to add 5-8 centimeters to the width of the animal’s chest.

Booth in an enclosure for a dog

General requirements for a dog house

Some people prefer to buy ready-made options, while for others, a do-it-yourself dog house is a more acceptable option.

In both cases, it is necessary to adhere to certain requirements for this structure.

The location of the booth should not be lower than the general ground level on which the estate, cottage, etc. is located. Having chosen the desired height, the booth must be installed at least 10 cm higher, as if on legs. This way, you will protect your dog from moisture and insects that can enter his house from the ground. If it is possible to raise the kennel 50 centimeters above the ground, then you will provide the dog with a place protected from the scorching summer sun rays.

Design with a gable roof and an open terrace

The entire yard should be clearly visible from the area chosen for the booth.

If you plan to keep your dog on a chain, make sure that there is no vegetation or objects near the kennel that the leash could catch on.

Make sure that your pet's home is protected from the wind as much as possible.

The dog house should not be located next to the abode of other pets; it could be a chicken coop, a barn or a cow barn. The fumes from their waste products can greatly undermine the dog’s health.

Indoor and spacious dog enclosure

The kennel should be spacious enough for the dog to sleep comfortably in it. How to calculate the minimum housing size for a dog?

For height we take the height of the dog, plus 10 cm.
For depth - the distance from the tips of the paws to the withers when the dog is lying on the floor, plus 10-15 cm.
Width is the distance from the nose to the tailbone of the dog, add 10-15 cm here.
The width of the hole is equal to the width of the chest, plus 5-10 cm, the height can be different, its smallest value is the height of the dog at the withers, minus 5-10 cm.

If you live in cold latitudes, it is advisable to not increase this minimum very much, otherwise it will be difficult for the dog to warm up in a spacious booth.

Mobile house for your beloved pet

To calculate the size of housing for small puppies, you can take the parameters of their parents as a basis.

The insulation of the booth must be appropriate if you plan to make it a permanent home for your pet. When the dog lives in a house with its owners during the winter, you don’t have to focus too much on this point.
The material of the dog house must be harmless to their health. When constructing a kennel, wooden planks and/or metal are used. The first is preferable because wood does not get so hot in summer. It is better to choose coniferous boards, they are reliable, and the substances they release repel harmful insects. Chipboard is absolutely unsuitable due to toxicity and low moisture resistance. The last characteristic is characteristic of plywood and fiberboard, so we exclude them too. Brick and foam blocks deteriorate over time and are also not suitable.

Small flower garden on the roof of a dog house

You can only paint the outside of the booth, since inside the dog can be poisoned by fumes from the coating.

Comfortable pillow for a cute dog

Slate, boards or roofing iron work well for the roof.

As insulation - sawdust, mineral wool or polystyrene foam.

Closed house built into the bedside table

Construction

After you have decided on the dimensions of the kennel, you should prepare (cut, saw, plan, etc.) all the necessary parts. Don't make any mistakes when sizing parts (especially small ones). And after that you should start assembling the booth. Just don't forget to stock up on the necessary tools.

Frame and bottom

The floor of the future kennel can be raised above the ground with the help of additional bars (or it can be made in 2 layers). Plywood or similar material should be laid on top of the boards so that the animal’s claws do not get stuck in the cracks. At the corners of the bottom it is necessary to vertically fix the bars, which will become the basis for the walls. We install horizontal ones between the vertical bars. It is better to drive nails from the inside of the frame, and screws can be used to strengthen the structure.

Dog house with veranda

Small dog house

Walls and ceiling

We cover the outer side of the frame with clapboard. If the booth will be located under a canopy or placed in enclosures, then it is better to combine the ceiling with the roof. And if the dog kennel does not have additional protection, then the ceiling and roof must be built separately. The ceiling is assembled from two sheets of plywood and blocks. Soft insulation is laid between the sheets of plywood. It is best to make the ceiling removable, so that it is easier to clean the doghouse, and if necessary, it would be possible to provide veterinary care to the animal. If there is no separate roof, then it is best to lay roofing material on top or lay bitumen shingles (the design is at your discretion).

Beautiful dog house made of clapboard

Unusual wooden dog houses

Insulation and waterproofing

First you need to turn the structure over and thoroughly treat the bottom with the necessary compounds. Then you can cover it with roofing felt and nail down several bars that will serve as the base of the booth. It is best to line the bottom of the kennel with glassine. Soft insulation should be placed between the layers of glassine, and the floor should be laid on top. It is advisable to insulate the walls in the same way, after which they should be lined with clapboard from the inside. Then you need to make a frame for the entrance hole.

Large dog house

Original dog houses

Roof and manhole

The first step is to attach the roof gables. Bars are used for the perimeter. Glassine is attached to the inside, and the structure is covered with clapboard on top. The size of the hole is calculated according to the above scheme. For the winter, it is best to close the hole with a special tarpaulin curtain. To prevent the curtain from opening from the wind, you need to sew pockets to its lower part and fill them with sand. The result is a portable dog house that you can move anywhere if you wish.

Brown and white flat roof dog house

Double dog house

Arrangement of the booth and its care

The animal needs a bed. The bottom of the kennel should be filled with straw, hay or softwood sawdust. The best option is a sawdust bed. It is necessary to regularly clean the booth. In addition, the premises must be disinfected once a season (3 times in summer). During disinfection, as well as until the compounds have completely dried and the room has been ventilated, dogs of any breed are prohibited from entering the kennel.

Kennel with a small veranda for a dog

Use only natural materials. Approach the construction of the kennel as responsibly as possible. You are not creating just any barn, but a small house for your pet, which will help him survive the winter comfortably.

Plastic dog house

How to treat the booth

Everyone knows that dogs of all breeds have a very sensitive sense of smell, and their vision does not allow them to distinguish colors, so many dog owners who want to paint their dog house in all the colors of the rainbow often pursue the goal of decorating their garden plot as brightly as possible. Before using paint and varnish products to decorate your booth, we strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the composition of the paint. It is strictly not recommended to use paint and varnish products for finishing work that have a strong odor or contain toxic chemicals. In the best case, the dog simply won’t fit into the kennel, and in the worst case, the pet can get poisoned or even die. Experienced dog handlers recommend using a water-based antiseptic or Penotex. A booth treated with these compounds will retain the original texture of the wood and will be reliably protected from mold, mildew and other negative factors. It is not recommended to allow the dog near the booth until the above compounds have completely dried and absorbed. It is advisable to treat the interior space of dog apartments only with a water-based antiseptic.