Doghouse - updated with funny pictures
Some of you may remember that a couple of years ago we adopted a lovely little yellow lab/hound mix puppy that we named Stella. Turns out that I'm not the best person to cope with a toddler and a puppy at the same time. My mother-in-law and her husband were smitten with her, and kept calling and saying, "if you decide you don't want her, we want her!" After Stella attempted to disinter the remains of my beloved 21-year-old cat, I took them up on the offer.
Stella has turned into a lovely, lovely dog, sweet, good-natured, great with kids, mellow, and happy to be subservient in the pack ranking. In other words, the perfect dog for our family. Many times I've regretted letting her go too soon. Many times I've regretted losing my cool over her natural puppy behavior. And to make it even harder, Stella still adores me. I have felt a lot of guilt over the decision.
Meanwhile, my mother-in-law has decided to start breeding black Russian terriers, which are enormous dogs, and she asked if we'd like to have Stella back. We jumped at the chance - our son is 4 years old now, and ripe for tussling with a nice big dog. (He's starting to exhaust the cats!)
So, we will have our old dog back on Sunday. Woohoo! We're getting the place ready, but we do have a little problem. We live in Minnesota, where right this minute it's -10 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of -30. I can't leave her outside for any length of time without shelter. So what I'd like is an insulated doghouse that we can put on our back porch that she can huddle up in if we put her out for half an hour to an hour. And also, in the summer, I'd like her to have a sheltered retreat from the rain and hot sun.
Long, long, long story short, I need recommendations for an affordable (very affordable, please - things are tight post-holiday!) insulated doghouse that will fit the bill. I'd prefer plastic so it can be cleaned easily - dogs can get pretty filthy if it's muddy out. Suggestions?
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
- Dr. Martin Luther King
Install a webcam so that you can watch what's going on inside. This will make it easier to tell when it's appropriate to allow Elysium back into the house.
In Ultima Online I used to poison hams and leave them on the ground in cities for people to pick up and eat. I can't believe how many people thought street ham was a good thing to eat. -Elliottx
Congratulations on getting your dog back.
I don't know what exactly what your price rang is, but it looks like Petsmart does flat and pitched unfinished doghouses for pretty cheap (with free shipping). I'd imagine it wouldn't be too expensive to add some insulation, a door, and the right bedding yourself to make it more weatherproof. This website has some really nice ones as well that you can weatherproof for an additional cost.
One thing I did notice is that it's really important to not get a doghouse that is too big, the whole point of it is to trap the radiant body heat from the dog and the larger it is, the harder it is to warm. This website gives some ideas on the right size for different sizes/breeds (along with instructions for building). Good luck, just make sure you don't stick her outside this week.
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Although I commend you on taking the initiative to get some sort of shelter for outside, if you live in a cold climate like that, you will not find a fitting doghouse where you can leave her outside for too long in this kind of weather. Dog houses made for this kind of weather are really expensive. If you were to build your own house, I would suggest the following:
1. Make sure the door faces away from the wind. if you can, make it so that it is close to the house, with the door facing the house. This will prevent most drafts.
2. Have a walk in that makes it so she goes around a corner to get into the main part of the house. This too will protect from wind.
3. Pad it well. I would suggest a waterproof tarp on the bottom to keep it mostly dry. Then hay topped with blankets that you will want to change every couple of weeks or when the ground gets really wet.
4. The most important thing is to make sure the house is wind and water tight. Either of these will make your dog very uncomfortable.
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Looking at the title of your post I feel the need to ask what Elysium did to warrant a new doghouse.
I have nothing productive to add the the needs of canine living.
However feel free to pm me regarding husband husbandry.
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When we looked at dog houses for cold weather, what we found were not cheap. Our solution was to train the dog to stay inside when we were not home. If we were going to be gone a long time, we left him in the garage with a nice warm bed inside an old dog house (easy to clean up messes on the concrete). If you do find a heated dog house that is reasonably priced, please let us know what it is!
We have a Dogloo, it has an insulated floor and is supposed to be pretty good for colder climates. You can even get a clear vinyl door for a bit extra. Our dogs never use it, but we live in Louisiana so they don't really need to.
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While I generally defer to E Hunnie on canine knowledge, a trick my parents use to keep their dogs warm is to have deer and coyotes hiding just beyond the fenceline. We were out there to watch the football game last night and the dogs spent an hour out there in the cold, dead night sprinting back and forth after coyotes. We tried calling a number of times, but my dad ended up having to go out and grab them himself to bring them in at the end of the game.
So wild predators: I guess that's an option.
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Maybe I'm missing something here. Is the dog only going outside for a daily business and a sniff around the yard? If so, the dog house doesn't seem needed. It strikes me as something needed by people who keep their dogs outside all day.
I agree if you're just letting them out to use the bathroom they're a housedog. They'll spend their time outside running around and playing, they will not need a house to sleep in.
"You just checked in to Hotel Califoni-getyourasskicked!" Steely Dan said to The Eagles
Cheapest way is going to be to build one. Lay down a slab with a few posts and learn some carpentry.
*Legion* wrote:
If you or Ely is handy, you can build a really nice one (better than anything you can buy). I bought the plans for one here: http://www.doghouseplans.com/ and built the 1 Dog/1 Door Deluxe for my Malamute. He loves it.
I got the plans on pdf so if you want to "borrow" them (make sure you destroy the pdf after you use it) I can PM them to you.
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For all who live in such times, it is not for them to decide. All we get to decide is what to do with the time given to us
A lab mix, so the pooch is a short-hair? In those temps I don't see how the dog would be able to tolerate living outside during the winter. Only a limited number of breeds could do so, ones that come with thick fur and undercoats.
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*Legion* wrote:
Just because he has a big ol' bushy beard doesn't mean he's handy with a hammer & saw.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
Truly, this thread fails to deliver.
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Seeing how much money people spend on their dogs, I wonder if there's a market for me as an architect to design modern doghouses. They could be based on existing human architecture (eg. Fallingwater, Guggenheim, Barcelona Pavilion), or just unique modern houses that you'd read in Architectural Record or Dwell Magazine. And I won't even have to worry about Building Code requirements, or handicapped/ADA-accessibility.
Off to the drafting board!
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She's here! I'll post a photo of her in a bit, along with one from her puppy days. She's been so good this afternoon, very sweet and mellow. And she's been endlessly tolerant of Elysium 2.0. Not every dog will allow a four-year-old to hurl himself onto her back and grab her muzzle!
Stella will be living inside, but it gets so very cold here that I wanted to have a little shelter available inside of our screened porch for her to snuggle up in if we put her out to go pee and run around for half an hour or so. I hate to think of her shivering at the back door - I'd rather provide her with a snug and warm retreat if she gets chilled. I'd never try to keep a dog outdoors in Minnesota. I know people do, but pets who are left outside in weather like we've had lately can lose ears to frostbite, or freeze to death. I don't want that sort of thing to happen to our girl.
Sorry guys - for now Elysium gets to sleep inside.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
- Dr. Martin Luther King
So what the hell am I supposed to do with all this popcorn I made?
"Men like sex, thus boobies! Oogaba!" - dejanzie
"If ads put your sanity to the test
come on down to Rat Boy's nest!
light up a stogie, and soon you'll see
how rock can be commercial-free!
'I'd hit it!'" - HP Lovesauce
Hurl it at passersby while you criticize them?
McChuck wrote:
In Ultima Online I used to poison hams and leave them on the ground in cities for people to pick up and eat. I can't believe how many people thought street ham was a good thing to eat. -Elliottx
So, here she is with Elysium 2.0, in one of the funniest pictures I've taken:
And life is rough here in the Elysian household:
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
- Dr. Martin Luther King
Wow, your boy looks to have done some growing since the get together...
let's just say my brothers huskies loved being outside te last week or so, and their "home" is in the unheated garage when they aren't roaming the backyard romping in the snow (it's hilarious watch a husky run through chest deep snow BTW, they end up looking something like giant rabbits.)
Husky +snow (Note: not my brothers dog, but the same breed)
"Also, I have four legs and am covered in wool. Baa!" *Legion* reveals his inner furry.
Yeah, but this dog has very short hair, and it's just not an insulating sort of hair. Huskies have incredible coats. I wouldn't feel right putting Stella out for a long time in this sort of weather. We did take her out for about 15 minutes this afternoon, though, and we were all ready to come in around the same time. Brrrr!! Zero degrees Fahrenheit for a high temperature!
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
- Dr. Martin Luther King
yeah, oh and a trick: put vaseline or dog booties (if she'll wear them) on her paws (remember get the vaseline off before coming inside), this will help to keep her paws from getting frostbite.
"Also, I have four legs and am covered in wool. Baa!" *Legion* reveals his inner furry.
He looks so much like his father! And now, my traditional photoshop.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
Man, he really does look like Elysium. Even before the beard.
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*Legion* wrote:
In Ultima Online I used to poison hams and leave them on the ground in cities for people to pick up and eat. I can't believe how many people thought street ham was a good thing to eat. -Elliottx
As long as the dog isn't going to the bathroom in the house, I'd let her decide how long she wants to go outside when it's cold. My dog is a beagle mix/mutt. If it's a nice day outside she'll go out for hours. If it's frigid, forget it. She's outside, takes care of business and sniffs around the outline of the invisible fence, and is back on the warm couch within a minute or two.