Building a Dog Kennel in Less Than One Day

By Russ Hines

Building a dog kennel is not difficult if you put your mind to it. In fact, you can build an awesome kennel in a couple of hours if you follow a good quality building guide. This article provides you with some homemade dog kennel ideas, and helps you get the ball rolling.

Dog Kennel Sizes And Styles

There are typically 3 main types of dog kennels:

- A medium, single dog house. These are obviously best for small or mid-sized dogs, like Dachshunds or Jack Russell's. These kennels tend to get pretty hot inside, so you'll probably need to include some kind of extra ventilation.

- A large, single dog house. This kennel is larger than the previous, and will house big dogs like a Doberman or Golden Retriever. If insulated properly they will stay cool in summer and warm in winter.

- People who own more than one dog might like to opt for a duplex dog kennel. These are great if you've got a pair of dogs who enjoy each others company. With a duplex dog house, you can include a removable wall so your pets can sleep together if they like.

Extra Dog Kennel Tips

After deciding on a size and style, it certainly pays off to keep the following tips in mind:

1) Many dog house plans come with a "pointy roof" design. I definitely don't recommend this type of dog kennel, as the "point" tends to attract wasps and hornets to build their nests there.

2) If you live in a particularly wet area, it's important to build an easily draining roof. There are plenty of schematics on the internet that show you how to do this.

3) The dog kennel should be elevated about 2 or 3 inches from the ground. This will keep your dog cool, and will allow for any water to flow freely underneath the kennel.

4) Include some hinges on the roof. This will make cleaning an absolute breeze, and you won't have to actually climb inside the kennel to get out all the dog hair!

5) Measure your dog before cutting lengths of timber. Most plans can be easily adjusted depending on how big your dog is.