How to make a dog house out of wood with your own hands

How to determine the size of the booth and manhole

The size of the wooden booth directly depends on the dog’s build. You need to focus not on a puppy, but on an adult animal. Depending on its dimensions, 3 groups can be distinguished - small dogs, medium and large.

Thus, the structure is a parallelepiped with approximately the same height and width. The length (depth) is slightly larger and ranges from 70 cm (for small breeds) to 140 cm (for large ones). The table shows standard data recommended by dog ​​handlers. You cannot reduce them (increase them too much either - the kennel will quickly cool down).

The nuances of making a house for a dog in an apartment with your own hands

The apartment does not require insulation of the dog's house, which saves building materials, finances and personal energy.

A coffee table-chest of drawers, emptied of its belongings, becomes a kennel for the family dog ​​in itself.

You can build such a house from scratch, using the recommendations for building a coffee table, but leave free space inside instead of drawers.

To make such a palace, sheets of plywood, an electric jigsaw, drawings and fasteners are used.

The structure is built in the same way as a wooden building for the street.

Another simple home option for a small domestic dog

For large breeds, it is easier to take any old chest of drawers and restore it to match the interior of the room by laying bedding inside the makeshift home.

Depending on the dog’s build, a niche under the stairs or any nook can be used as housing.

Drawings of wooden dog houses

There are quite a lot of designs for wooden dog houses. It is based on the simplest option - a rectangular box. It can have a single or gable roof. Common models:

1. Option for a wooden dog kennel for a medium-sized breed. Suitable, for example, for a German shepherd.

2. A similar version of a wooden dog kennel with a gable roof.

3. Drawing of a booth with a vestibule. In this case, bowls with food and water can be placed in the outbuilding.

4. A wooden dog kennel with a vestibule under a common roof.

Which option to choose is up to the pet owner to decide. Each building has its own advantages.

How to decide on the size of a doghouse

When you need a booth for a large dog of breeds such as Alabai, Tibetan Mastiff, St. Bernard, it is important not to make a mistake with the size: a growing dog should not feel like a salted mushroom in a jar in the house. And it’s not comme il faut for a small dog to sit in a huge building in winter - there’s no way it can warm it with its breath.

The size of the dog house depends on the breed. Taking these indicators into account, they design not only the external part of the building, but also make a discount on the insulation - it will steal a little space

We measure the pet - the length of the kennel should be +5 cm from the length of the animal from nose to tail. The width is indicated based on the height of the dog plus 5 cm. Now you need to measure the circumference of the chest: the gap should be wider by the same 5 cm and 5 cm longer than the height of the animal at the withers.

Advice! If the dog has not yet grown up, then you can rely on indicators from reference books.

The height of the kennel should exceed the height at the withers by 15 cm: the dog should not touch the ceiling with its head if it wants to sit inside. The depth is designed to allow the pet to lie comfortably on its side and be able to stretch its paws freely. The height of the animal at the withers is increased by 15 cm and depth is obtained.

When designing a kennel with vestibules, the dimensions of the animal are calculated: small breeds will be comfortable in a room 75 cm long, 65 cm wide, 65 cm high, but a shepherd dog will appreciate 120-125 cm in length. Very large animals will need a room length of 145 cm, a width of 105 cm and a height of 100 cm.

What tools and materials will be needed

To build a wooden dog kennel you will need the following materials and tools:

• wooden beam with a section of 15×5 cm;
• wooden boards;
• moisture-resistant plywood;
• impregnation for wood;
• insulation (mineral wool, felt, polystyrene foam);
• lining or siding for cladding;
• door hinges;
• self-tapping screws;
• metal corners;
• nails;
• hammer;
• screwdriver;
• electric jigsaw;
• roofing material, for example, corrugated sheeting;
• building level;
• roulette;
• pencil.

What material is best to build from?

In most cases, a dog house is built from wood, using the same materials that are used to build houses and wall cladding:

• bars;
• board;
• plywood;
• lining.

Wood is durable, environmentally friendly and retains heat well. However, it is not very durable due to exposure to water and microorganisms. Therefore, all workpieces must be treated with an antiseptic, and the walls must be sheathed on the outside with siding or clapboard. It is also better to paint a wooden dog house - not only for attractiveness, but also to preserve the surfaces.

Attention! OSB panels are not recommended for upholstering a wooden booth. The material releases harmful substances, which can have a negative impact on the dog’s health.

Another option is to build a kennel out of bricks. In this case, you need to make a small trench foundation with dimensions of 25x25 cm and fill it with concrete and let it stand for several days. Then lay the walls out of bricks, controlling the process using a building level. But wood will still be needed for insulation. This design will last for decades, although it will no longer be possible to move it from place to place.

How to insulate

In almost all regions, with the exception of the southern regions, the booth must be insulated on all sides - the bottom, walls and roof. For this purpose, artificial or natural materials are used:

• felt (upholster the internal surfaces);
• polystyrene foam, penofol, polyurethane foam (placed between the walls and on the bottom);
• mineral wool (film waterproofing must be installed): this is not the most popular option - upon contact with the body it can cause itching in the dog.

Foam plastic with a thickness of at least 50 mm is often chosen as insulation for the booth.

What materials are dog houses made from?

Let's figure out how to make a dog kennel with your own hands, and what materials you can use to build a good house. You can build from almost anything, but let's focus on the most accessible and common materials: wood and brick. Coniferous wood has proven itself well. And it is not at all necessary to build a kennel from treated boards; you can make a real log house. A very budget option involves the use of plywood and floorboards. To ensure that the wood lasts a long time, the outside is treated with an impregnating protective compound, and the inside is insulated, if necessary. Brick is more monumental: such booths are heavy and massive, so it is better to install them on a strip foundation.

Related article:

Enclosure for dogs : photos and types of structures with descriptions, what building materials are needed to independently build an enclosure for dogs, how to cover the floor of the enclosure and what is the best material to build walls from, the dimensions of street structures, their arrangement, how to make an enclosure for an apartment - read the publication.

What is the best place to build a booth?

When choosing a location for a wooden dog kennel, there are several important points to consider:

1. Good lighting - the animal needs sunlight.
2. Protection from the wind - ideal between sheds, next to the fence.
3. Availability of good shade in which the dog can hide in the summer.
4. Dryness - eliminate stagnation of moisture, puddles (the kennel is placed on a hill).
5. Proximity to the house - usually near the entrance, so that the dog guards the building and drives away strangers.

How to choose a location for a dog house

The choice of location is determined by the desire of the owners to create good living conditions for the animal:

• Do not place the kennel in an open sunny area;
• the place should not be at the crossroads of all conceivable and inconceivable winds;
• placing the booth close to a fence with gaps means getting a twitchy, nervous animal. The beast can be teased by children and simply annoyed by people walking by;
• the same applies if the street behind the fence is extremely noisy, it is better to install the building not close to the fence behind which there is such a loud life;
• When installing a booth in a lowland, you should be prepared for the fact that the dog will move into the house in the first spring, since its home will simply float in the water.

Our younger brothers have the same right to a decent life

How to make a simple dog house out of wood with your own hands

The simplest version of a doghouse is a lean-to design. You can do it literally in one day using this algorithm:

1. The bottom is assembled from two wooden beams (guides) and boards. The elements are secured using self-tapping screws.
2. Lay subfloor boards.
3. Screw the wooden legs to the bottom.
4. Assemble the back and front walls in the same way as the bottom.
5. They are fixed with metal corners and self-tapping screws.
6. They stitch the frame with clapboard, moving from bottom to top.
7. They make an entrance by cutting a hole on the front wall with a jigsaw.
8. The roof frame is assembled and covered with clapboards.
9. Install door hinges.
10. The roof is fixed to them - thanks to this, the roof can be opened at any time.
11. The top is covered with a soft roof or corrugated sheeting.

Attention! The dog's crawl space should be lined with a galvanized sheet, and the wooden surfaces should be sanded so that the pet does not get hurt.

Ideas for making a dog house with photo designs

When people build a house for themselves, they do not think about making it ugly and uncomfortable, and the same with a dog: a living creature requires good living conditions.

It doesn’t matter if the booth is for a small dog or a huge wolfhound - it must be a full-fledged home

Single-pitch structures are easier to make, especially in the absence of construction skills

The slope of such a roof is directed away from the entrance so that water does not drip onto the animal’s nose, protruding from the passage, creating a puddle under the booth.

Gable products are the most common

In the northern regions, roofs and walls must be insulated from the inside

A special feature of gable booths in harsh places of residence is the addition of an attic floor - this will minimize heat loss.

Advice! It is easy to provide storage space for dog supplies under the roof.

The angle of inclination can be different (5-60°)

The two-room booth consists of a vestibule and a sleeping area. Such buildings are especially popular in regions with harsh winters.

The convenience for a dog in a building with two rooms is that when it rains or snows, the animal can calmly survey the surroundings of the yard, and when frost strikes, it can sleep off in a warm bedroom.

The veranda hides the dog from rain and snow, but does not protect from the wind. Although, if neighboring buildings perform a windproof function, then it makes sense to place such beauty in the yard

A country option that does not require the dog to live permanently on the street

Not everyone can build two-story palaces. And not every dog ​​will be interested in the second floor. For large animals such buildings are impractical, and small dogs can easily climb up to survey the territory. In this case, the sleeping place can be placed upstairs, and the bottom can be simply a shelter from the rain.

How to make a wooden booth with a gable roof

A gable roof is more complex than a single-pitch roof, but it does not allow rain and snow to accumulate, which provides additional comfort and durability. You can make a doghouse out of wood (pictured) with your own hands according to the following instructions:

1. Assemble a frame from four beams with a cross section of 5/5 cm. The result is a frame with dimensions according to the drawing.

2. Finish with a board.

3. Assemble the side wall frames and install them.

4. Install the rear and front frames.

5. The result will be a wooden dog house design like this (shown without finished floor).

6. Attach the rafters to the roof of the frame.

7. Install the rafters on both sides according to this pattern.

8. Cover the dog house with plywood or other material.

9. Apply insulation and sheathe the roof.

Building a brick booth

The brick booth is distinguished by its strength and durability. This kennel is suitable for a large dog. The materials for building such a booth can be cinder blocks, bricks and foam blocks. Stages of building a brick kennel:

First you need to clear and level the area for the booth. Then they dig a trench under the foundation of approximately 250x250 mm, which is filled with concrete and left for several days.

When laying out walls, you must carefully monitor the level and observance of right angles in the structure. For the manhole, the required number of bricks are passed along the width. When the masonry reaches the height of the hole, a wooden beam must be laid across it. They continue to lay bricks on top of it all the way through.

To insulate the inside of such a booth, its walls and floor must be lined with wood.

A wooden floor is installed on the roof and a slate roof is installed on it.

How to make an insulated wooden booth

For the Urals, Siberia and other regions with frosty winters, it is necessary to make an insulated wooden kennel. You can also take a lean-to structure as a basis. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. Select a project and calculate the dimensions. For example, if the length of the kennel is 120 cm, then the length of the bars will be exactly the same, and their cross-section will be 15x5 cm.
2. Make the base of the booth in the form of a shield from two beams and boards.

3. Make sides along the contour of the floor also from beams. This is necessary in order to lay a layer of insulation.

4. Place a layer of foam between the sides. The thickness should be at least 5 cm, since the main heat loss is associated with the bottom.

5. Cover the insulation with other wooden boards 1.5–2 cm thick (the width can be arbitrary).

6. The back and front walls are made of wooden boards according to the same instructions as the bottom. The frame is made up of beams, with the help of which the walls are fixed to the base.

7. Next, a hole is cut out in one of the walls - a hole for entry.

8. Side stacks are made. They are fixed with steel corners. Moreover, they need to be installed so that the recesses “look” outward. They should be left for laying insulation.

9. Polystyrene foam is again used as insulation for a wooden dog house. It is laid along each wall.

10. They make cladding with boards. The insulation layer must remain inside.

11. They make exactly the same wooden surface from boards as the bottom - this will be the roof.

12. They tie the outer contour to create a recess of 5–7 cm.

13. The last layer of insulation is placed in it.

14. The front boards are stuffed along the beams.

15. The roof is sheathed and the wooden dog house is ready.

Advice! The roof can be secured using door hinges.

Thanks to this, it can be opened at any time to conveniently clean the kennel.

How to insulate a dog house

Do you need a warm doghouse? If the animal is lucky enough to live “in the south,” then we can congratulate the owners on the fact that they do not need to bother with insulating the dog’s home. The northern regions will have to invest here again.

Sawdust, polystyrene foam and mineral wool are good insulation materials. The floor, walls, and roof are subject to insulation. Mineral wool, polystyrene foam or ordinary sawdust are used as insulation. Insulation is laid on the walls and roof from the inside. Then the insulating material is covered with a vapor barrier. The floor is insulated from below with ordinary sawdust.

How to build a wooden two-person booth

For two dogs, the width is multiplied by 2 (all other parameters remain unchanged). In this case, a double kennel consists of separate rooms separated by a partition. For example, if you make a wooden doghouse for two German Shepherds, the parameters will be as follows:

• length – 120 cm;
• width 160 cm;
• height 80 cm.

It is assembled in exactly the same way, but in the center you need to provide a partition equal in size to the side walls. The sequence of actions is as follows:

1. A supporting frame is made - the bottom from beams and edged boards.
2. Strengthen it by laying two intermediate beams at the same distance. All elements are fixed using self-tapping screws and steel corners.
3. Insulate the bottom with foam plastic or other material. It should be laid between sheets of plywood.
4. A frame is assembled from beams and edged boards. Fixed with corners and self-tapping screws.
5. They are covered with polystyrene foam or other insulation.
6. A partition is made exactly in the middle, separating the two rooms. There is no need to install polystyrene foam here.
7. Saw two holes for manholes. Cover the surface with a metal sheet.

Advice! In regions with frosty winters, it is better to decorate the entrance with a felt curtain. The same material can be used to upholster the inner surfaces of the walls of a wooden doghouse.

How much does a dog house cost - price review

You can buy a dog house inexpensively from craftsmen, or find a ready-made option that is suitable in size. There are various houses for home guards available on the internet. Wooden products start their prices at 3,000 rubles. The presence of insulation increases the cost. The price is affected by the size of the pet - a booth for a large security guard will cost 8,000-12,000 rubles. Let’s not forget that the comfortable living of our little brothers depends only on us. It’s worth devoting time to arranging your pet’s home and making a good home - the dog’s grateful eyes will thank you.

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If you are going to get a dog or you already have a pet, then your four-legged friend needs his own corner in which he will relax, hide from the weather and warm up on a cold winter night. The article talks about options for making a dog house - its dimensions, materials used, construction stages, drawings. Examples of beautiful and practical ready-made structures are given - interesting ideas for design.

A dog house is its home, which will protect the animal from the weather and allow privacy, and it must be reliable

How to paint a wooden dog house

Paint not only adds visual appeal, but also ensures the durability of wooden surfaces, protecting them from moisture, direct sunlight and temperature changes. When choosing paint for a dog house, you need to consider safety and aesthetics. Paints with a strong odor (on drying oil) and with toxic substances that will be released during evaporation are strictly not suitable.

Therefore, dog handlers recommend using water-based formulations - this could be an antiseptic or Penotex. You can also use water-based paints, but the dog can be allowed into the kennel only after it has completely dried. For beauty, you can decorate the surfaces with siding or clapboard.

Double kennel

A kennel for two dogs is an excellent option for owners of two pets at once. It means 2 separate “rooms” under one roof. Most of these booths are one-story with 2 different entrances. Inside, the oblong kennel is divided in half using a vertical partition. In general, the assembly and insulation of such a kennel is not much different from a regular kennel.

The “house” for two owners is assembled in the same way, but there is a partition between the two “rooms”

This might be interesting!

In the article at the following link, read about the project of a miniature house on the water.

The most beautiful and cool wooden dog houses

You can take any project described above as the basis for a wooden dog kennel. But to make the booth more attractive, you should think through the design in advance. You can consider the following options:

1. Dog kennel stylized as a castle. Quite spacious, with small “vestibules” on the right and left, where you can put bowls of water and food.

2. A wooden dog house, designed as a “hollow” or a house for “gnomes”.

3. Kennel in Art Nouveau style.

4. A variant of a brick building with a tiled roof. It looks especially beautiful against the background of a stone wall or brick fence.

5. Wooden kennel in Russian motifs (from a barrel).

6. Double dog house with 2 floors.

7. Kennel with enclosure. This is a full-fledged house with a summer walking area and a recreation room.

8. Capital dog kennel made of wooden frame. It is built on the same principle as ordinary houses. It is better to make the roof gable and insulate it inside. The walls can be covered with felt (and in the middle zone and especially in the south it is not necessary to do this).

Again about the drawings and other nuances of making a dog house with your own hands

Not everyone understands the value of a good drawing: the more carefully the details are worked out at this stage, the less chance there is of an error during construction. You shouldn’t rely on your hands to feel the material themselves—if you want high-quality, durable work, then you shouldn’t neglect the drawings and step-by-step instructions.

Recommendation! To create a drawing, you can use the services of architectural programs.

Site layout

We have already discussed above where the kennel should not be placed. Let us clarify that not every site has a free suitable place, but that’s what human hands are made for, to correct shortcomings. Any place can be brought to mind: to combat dampness, drainage and raising the ground level are used. A drainage trench will also help here. Ideally, a house with a platform can be placed on stilts.

If the dog will sit on a chain, there is the option of installing a long steel wire for greater freedom for the pet. The chain will slide along the wire, the dog will be able to run at a distance of the extended chain and return to the kennel. You can concrete the area - but keep in mind that dogs love to dig holes and hide bones there. Therefore, if you want to leave this opportunity for your pet, then you should concrete the space around the booth, otherwise the dog can dig up the foundation, and in the spring it will be washed away by streams of water.

Preparatory work and pouring the concrete layer

The roots of stumps and trees are removed from the territory, the area is leveled, a trench is dug (for a strip foundation) or holes (for a pile foundation). No difficulties are expected at this stage.