Large Dog House Plans

The very first thing that you need to do is to measure your dog!

If your dog is fully grown, take measurements of your dog's length as well as the dog's standing height. The length measurement will determine the length and width of the dog house while the height measurement will determine the interior height of the house.

Once you have the measurements, add 3 to 4 inches to each of those measurements to give your dog some room to move around. These increased measurements are the minimum size you will be looking for when evaluating large dog house plans.

The doorway also needs to be wide enough and high enough for your dog's shoulders to fit through.

If your dog is still growing, you need to do some research for your dog's breed and use the average length and height measurements for the breed. You can find dog breed sizes here or you can ask your vet what to expect in the way of size when your dog is fully grown.

Here are some basic features that your dog house plans should have in order to give your pet a great place to live.

1. An off-center entrance provides better shelter from the elements. This will allow your dog some extra space to curl up away from the opening.

2. The design should have a good roof overhang on all sides with an even greater overhang at the entrance. This will keep out more rain or snow and will provide better shade during the heat of the day.

3. Using pressure-treated lumber for the floor frame of the doghouse will help prevent rot.

4. Depending on the doghouse plan and what you have on hand, you may be able to recycle some of your scrap materials such as 2x4 wall framing, plywood, and roofing shingles.

Where you place your finished dog house can have a huge impact on the comfort of your dog as well as how long the dog house will last.

If you don't want your doghouse to be a feature of your yard's landscape, place it behind some bushes or around the side of the house but keep these other things in mind -

1. Choose a shady or level spot away from any streams or areas that don't drain well.

2. Place the corners of your dog house on concrete blocks or stones to keep it above grade and to allow air and water to flow underneath.

3. To avoid rain from coming into your large dog house, use blocks or small pieces of wood to slant the house just a little bit toward the front. By having the back of the house slightly elevated, the door opening will be at a slight downward slant making it more difficult for the rain to come in.

4. Position the entrance of the doghouse away from the direction of the prevailing winds. In the US, most storms come from the south or the west so have the entrance pointing in a different direction.

5. Make sure there are no bright lights that shine directly into the dog house. This will allow your dog to rest better at night

Once you've measured your dog, then you need to get the dog house plans and start building. Once it's done, you can decorate to your heart's content.

Paint the exterior whatever color you want. Add your dog's name above the doorway. Heck, paint some fake grass and flowers around the bottom if you want to! There is no rule that says a dog house has to look B-O-R-I-N-G!!

Just be sure that you start with a good solid dog house plan like the ones I found here. If you have two dogs, they even have a duplex model. What is this world coming to?!

Now go get those large dog house plans and build that dog house this weekend! Your dog will love you forever for it.