Dog House Ideas

A room of one's own. What is it about one's own room that is so seductive? And a whole little house? Oooooh, little houses. So adorable. I want this one. I love it so much! Mmmmmwah. Love you. This photo is from Summerwood Products, who designs beautiful little sheds and cabanas and all manor of delightfully diminutive dwellings.

Alas, such a human-size beauty is not in the Paulson budget (though I might start saving for one). But I think we could swing a corgi-sized pad. At Western Pet Supply, where we went on Saturday afternoon, they had several different sizes of prefab but very roughly finished dog houses for under $100, I think — I don't see any pictures of them on their web site, but they're very cute, though very rough. Absolutely begging to be painted or shingled or something. It has never occured to me to get the dog her own dog house before. I don't know why, because she really loves her crate. I think she would love a little housey, for when we're all outside in the yard this summer.

Thanks for the links yesterday! I love those Tumbleweed houses and the tree houses. I found this photo and article about building dog houses inspired by your own house from the This Old House web site this morning, and it's really cute with lots of good ideas (and some dog-house history). I don't think I'm up for building one from scratch, but I think I could easily swing decorating a prefab one. I'm wondering: Do other animals (possums, raccoons) tend to move in to dog houses? We have all manner of urban critters in our neighborhood. I can just see an entire clan of 'coons settling onto our property, huddling up in our pooch's shingle-sided condo.

Comments

[delta waters]

my experience is that the dog smell is so strong it keeps pesky critters away from the dog lodge...design wise, i think little red shutters would be adorable...keep dreaming--delta

[Melissa]

I just had the funniest mental image while reading your post. I picture a sort of frat house with all sorts of dogs and other neighborhood creatures hanging out, play cards, sharing the same water dish. It would be a literal Animal House! LOL! Happy day Alicia!

[delta waters]

my experience is that the dog smell is so strong it keeps pesky critters away from the dog lodge...design wise, i think little red shutters would be adorable...keep dreaming--delta

[Elizabeth Mackey]

Oh I can just see it now, a very cute little dog house decorated by Alicia!!Well you know you have to do it now because we all want to see what you can do with a dog house:) I think little miss clover would love it and enjoy it in the summer months.

[Betsy]

Dogs that we've have have never stayed in our doghouse, but I know whatever you pick/decorate is going to be soo cute, it won't matter if the dog stays in it or not..

[What Happens Next...]

Maybe a "doggie door" would be in order on the bitty house to keep the hooligans out.

Of course, then you would need shutters, also...

I'd go with the dog smell being a deterrant. :)
Can't wait to see what you do.

[Pesky Patti]

As long as you don't have food outside or in the doggie house, the mere presence of the dog should be enough to keep the raccoons away. Once you leave food out, they will keep coming back. I have three that come around and eat the cat food I leave out. The two outdoor cats are raccoon savy and just wait patiently until the coons are done. They can be quite mean and definitely do great harm to your animals if they get riled.

I admit, living in the city, I enjoy watching them come around. They are so cute, it's hard not to try and grab one and give it a big hug.

[Michele]

We kept a small cat (not dog) house outside some years ago for the local stray cat (she was in love with my indoor/outdoor cat and would wait for him to come out). We outfitted a box with layers of quilt batting and plastic (under the patio roof, where rain didn't fall on it), and found an old fake fur coat to use for the top layer. It folded around the box perfectly, and the collar, flipped up, made a perfect flap for kitty to use for a door.

Well, a possum discovered the box one cold, snowy night (we're in Oklahoma, this kind of thing happens a lot). Little Miss Possum thought she'd discovered the local Hilton and quickly settled in for the evening. Possums don't accommodate other animals very well-all I could do was wait for the cat to discover what had happened. The cat was very displeased when she lifted the fur flap, but didn't push the issue, thankfully. She apparently enjoyed a sleepover at a friend's house that night, and the possum never returned.

Short answer? Yes, prepare for a sleepover now and then!

[Cheryl (Copper's Wife)]

If the dog uses her house, the critters will stay out of it. Otherwise....well, they'll probably move in. Our silly black lab goes in her dog house, which is on the back porch, to pout. Silly thing!

[Abbie]

Aaahh... the doghouse.. I have been in it many times! ;) Our two little ones would never stoop to a house for dogs, they only sleep in our bed! (much to my dismay.. it would be nice to tangle my legs with my husband's instead my dogs..)
Have a lovely day!
:) Abbie

[Lilli]

When I think of dog houses, I always remember one summer when we cut Macko's fur in preparation for a hot summer. Macko (pron Mutsko) is Hungarian for 'bear'. She was a setter/samoyed mix with long hair. That first year the new clippers we bought didn't work the way we thought they would, and our doggie's fur ended up looking very choppy. She looked like she'd been through a thresher!

Unfortunately we laughed at the sight of it, and she slunk into her dog house. She didn't come out for 3 days. Every year thereafter, we cut her hair quite nicely, never laughing or even smiling. It didn't matter, because the memory was too fresh for her. She would retreat to her dog house to hide away in shame.

[Maggie Sumner]

My aunt in England has a "summer house" as she calls it at the bottom of her garden. It's like a tiny little one-room cottage, the perfect place for book reading or relaxing.

It's such a great idea. I wish I had room for one in my yard, but living in Chicago, it would practically take up the whole garden!

[Cece Marie]

We got our girls (pups Ginger and Poppy) their own houses. They look like Snoopy's dog house basically.
They love their crates so we thought they would be a hit. I outfitted them with cute little blankets and doggy bones but it is a no go. They will not go inside! I don't get it! I've tried to reason with them that they were $100 bucks a pop but they just aren't having it. Perhaps I can teach them to snooze on the roof the way Snoopy did?

[marné]

Our house came with a dog house, but no one seems to want to live there, not the dogs, not the geese, and not the chickens. We also haven't had any wildlife try to move in, but that could be the result of having dogs and geese.

[courtney]

I don't know if other animals will move in, but make sure you get a vented one, or they can get dangerously hot in there during the summer.

[Cindy]

No experience with other critters.

I would recommend that if you can run an electrical line to the dog house (that you can switch on/off from the house) do so. I had a friend who ran a simple 60watt bulb to his and it kept his pooch toasty warm during the cold (it was a large dog house with a coool plexiglass window so the dog could see out). The bulb provides just enough warmth if the house is insulated.

[Nola]

I made a dog house about a year ago. It was hard work but worth it. It is also super insulated, which keeps it warm until -45 celcius in winter and nice and cool in summer. At first my pupsy loved it, wouldn't even come in the house - at all. Then the mice moved in (nice and warm you see) and the dog decided she didn't want room-mates! Now we have a pretty house in the back yard that the dog won't go near!

[ani]

one of my dreams is to buy a plot of land and build lots of tiny houses all over it. my little family could go up for the weekend, each pick a house and then visit each other.

thanks for all the new tiny house inspiration!

[Dyan]

The Summerwood Houses are just amazing. I would love one of those, but first I need a yard (smile). Dog houses are kinda tricky you know, we once bought a house for one of my doggies and she only used it when she had puppies and soon both her and the puppies were hellbent on staying in the house- which left the doghouse abandoned until some neighbourhood kitties took it over aand then the dogs couldn't step foot in.It was a little funny. I hope Clover has fun in the one you pick out for her, even if it's just for romping in the summer- either way I'm sure it will make a cozy addition to the yard!
Hugs,
Dy

[Bobbie Lynn Duran]

How sweet and when you are finished you need to have a photo of you and Andy in there for her. What a spoild girl and that is the way it should be.

[Jenny Pocknall]

Those dog houses are gorgeous.
Our old labrador is so spoilt, he gets to sleep inside half an old mattress these days.

[Valerie]

Our doggies are a bit spoiled. We have five dogs, which, ahem, is over the city limit, so to keep everyone around us happy and not hearing lots of barking, we have a dog house in the back. It is basically a kids playhouse -- you know, like the sheds that are converted with a covered porch, window boxes, shingles, a little sleeping loft, etc. My husband went ahead and sheetrocked the inside, added electricity, had the cable guy hook it up with cable (um, it was all on the down-low, if you know what I mean, haha), and it has heat and air. So, yes, not only do our pooches have quite the humble abode, they also have a little flat screen TV showing Animal Planet 24/7. And they still get to come inside every night and sleep in our bed. Ha. Oh, and we have a sign on the doghouse painted to look like a vintage motel sign that says "Ruff Life Resort". :)

[Mary Richmond]

All sorts of interesting dog house stories. Have never had one myself but had a friend whose dog, a big ole bassett hound, slept on top of theirs just like Snoopy--on his back even! I think you should just have your own little house like the one in the picture to go play in when you want to....who says we have to give up having playhouses just because we're not in grade school any more! Clover could lie at your feet while you sewed or read a book or just daydreamed about your next project!

[Helena]

Oh! The travesty....punkin' is getting the boot?! Great dog houses BUT isn't the house a big dog house maintained by people? Clover let them know you are the boss...mesmerize them with your sweet gaze. It can happen. List of needs: air conditioning, scents of cooking and baking. Cats to pester and furniture. The good stuff. Good Luck, Clover, pup! XOXO

[Sally]

Only slightly in the same vein but ... Do you read the blog "The Hermitage"? She has a charming post today about *wheeled homes*. I love how she wrote about traveling across Europe in one with her parents who were woodcarvers. Woodcarvers! sigh. what a lovely occupation.

http://intothehermitage.blogspot.com/

I bet Miss Clover would love a room of her own! Especially one adorned by her Mom and Pop Paulson. Many years ago my Siberian Huskies had a dog house, they loved it so much and we never had a problem with uninvited guests.