How to Make a Dog House

Make your dog’s life more comfortable by making him a place of his own. Don’t let your dog lie anywhere to rest. Here are some steps you can follow to make a dog house.

Materials and Tools You’ll Need

• Exterior plywood sheet
• untreated board
• Pressure treated board
• A quarter of paint or wood stain
• A box of 1-5/8″ galvanized nails
• 1 bundle of rook shingles
• A tube of roof cement
• Tape Measure
• Drill and screw driver bit
• Miter saw
• Paint brush
• Pencil
• Hammer
• Caulking gun

Steps

1. Base the size of your dog house on the measurements of your dog, like how tall and how wide your dog is. If your pet is still small, you might want to consider making an allowance so your dog has enough room when it grows.
Make the base of your doghouse using the pressure treated board.
2. Drill a couple of holes on the sides of the base. This will take care of the moisture from the ground. Put screens over the holes to prevent small animals, like rodents from going in the holes.
3. Make the floor using a half an inch thick of untreated plywood board. Use a solid wood to make the frame. Screw an untreated plywood board on the solid wood. Your floor should be about 6/8 inch thick.
4. Make the wall frames using studs. Have 2″ x 3″ studs for the sides and 2″x2″ studs for the front and back of the doghouse. Put these together with screws.
5. Assemble the side walls.Put the untreated plywood boards to the studs. Remember that your boards should be as long as your floor. Use 2″ screws to secure the boards.
6. Get another board that has the same length as the floor. Divide this board into 2. These pieces will be your front and back wall.
7. Mark the area of the board to show the angled peak of the doghouse. Cut through the line that you made.
8. Make the roof by measuring the length from the front to the back wall.
9. Get a ridge board and using your measurement, cut the board into 2.
10. Measure the angles for your rafters. Cut the rafters using a miter saw.
11. Secure the ridge board to the beams using screws.
12. Get the board for your front and back wall. Draw the doorway on your front board and cut.
13. Attach the boards to the studs and to the house.
14. Secure the roof.
15. Paint or stain your doghouse.
16. Wait until it dries completely before letting your dog in.
17. You can also put door flaps on the doorway.

Tips

• When planning on the size of your doghouse, make sure that your dog has enough room to walk and stretch his body when he’s inside the doghouse.
• Remember that the doghouse will keep your dog comfortable on cold months and on warm months. If you build the correct doghouse size, your dog will stay warm during cold months as he’d be able to generate enough heat to warm his house. On warm months, a spacey doghouse will let enough air in so your dog won’t get hot.
• Ventilation is very important. You can make small holes on top of the walls so air can also come in from above.
• Having a base is very important to prevent the doghouse from rotting quickly because of the damp ground.
• Be careful of the materials you use. Treated boards contain chemicals that may be harmful to your pet. Pressure treated boards shouldn’t be used on areas that your dog may come in contact with, like the walls and floor. Only use pressure treated boards for your base. If you think that your dog may chew or scratch on the base, you can cover this with scrap untreated plywood sheets.
• You can add cushion pads to make it more comfortable for your dog.
• To extend the life of your doghouse, make sure that you clean it regularly.