Dog Kennel Plans – The Requirements

The Important Requirements That Your Dog Kennel Plans Should Cover

Hi, my name is Moose, that’s a picture of me on the right, cute eh!  I’m here to tell you about how important it is to build your dog’s home using the best plans.

Unfortunately I see many of my furry friends living in their dog houses that are too small, too large, too cold or too warm. The owners think that they’ve built the perfect house for their dog but building the correct kennel for your pooch requires a good plan and the best materials.  Remember we have to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer and unlike our owners we can’t turn up the heating or air conditioning!

Dogs that spend their time outdoors have to rely on a home that will keep them safe from the elements;  wind, rain, snow and the heat of the day. So having the best dog kennel plans will ensure you can build your dog’s home that he/she will love and without the mortgage! It’s just the cost of some quality wood and few other items. You could go out and buy one of course but that’s no fun and which dog wants a house like everyone else has. We dogs have to keep up with the Joneses too you know!

So what should a really good set of plans provide?

Materials

The best instructions will tell you to construct the house out of wood. Forget plastic, a plastic house is too hot in the summer! The kennel needs to be a durable, rot-resistant and use an insect resistant material – cedar is probably best.  I don’t have to tell you that dogs chew, it’s just a habit we get into, not dissimilar to our companions biting their nails so make sure that you aren’t using pressure treated wood – it could poison us.

Size

It might sound obvious, but you must build something of an appropriate size for the size and type of dog that you own. Building a big kennel for a small dog is not a smart idea. You may think that you are being kind to my four legged friends by providing more room but build too big for a small dog and that means body heat loss. The dog kennel plans should provide you with the design for a house that is big enough for the dog to turn around in and, at the same time, provide a cosy environment for us to laze away our days and nights, something we’re very good at.

Heating

Dogs love to be indoors with their companions and I would whole heartedly recommend that you bring your dog indoors as often as you can,  especially during the winter months – we shorter haired breeds don’t tolerate the cold as well as our longer haired brethren.  There are a number of ways to insulate our house; Styrofoam, blankets, straw, cedar shavings and electric heating devices. If you do choose to electrically heat the kennel then don’t forget that we can chew and electric cables will give us a nasty, if not fatal, shock. You should allow for routing the cables out of the way.

This eBook “Easy Build Dog House Plans” gives you loads of information, plans and instructions for building your own dog kennel. You can download it HERE or by clicking on the picture.

Now, with all that said, building a house for your dog in the right way will ensure that your dog is carefree, happy and content – that is until our companions get home from work and it’s time to roll our eyes, look longingly, raise the paw, tilt our heads , ears back – and we’ve won!

Our post about building a dog house includes more information about dog kennel plans.