Monday, April 22, 2013

A Safe and Clean Design for a Canine Castle Which Won't Drop Your Property Values

           





   In many places, there was a late Spring.  We are now either officially in Spring, or almost there for some of us.  It's time to turn our attention onto Spring cleaning, and assessing whether we should buy or breed new animals, or perhaps, keep the numbers stable, and assess their living arrangements.   Many people have expressed to me the desire to improve the living arrangements of their outdoor dogs, especially with all the unusual weather of the last couple of years.  In prior posts, I have discussed dog kennels and commercial kennels, and shown my own.  However, most people don't need all that. They might need something called a canine castle.  This design is better than a dog house, but not as pricey or as monumental a task as an actual kennel.
                These are actually designed for one dog, although I do know people who comfortably house two dogs in these, and then let their dogs run on their property when they are home.

  


Notice that this structure sits up off the dirt, and has a doggie door which allows the dog to go inside during rain and snow.




     The roof is pitched not only to match the owner's house, but to accomodate snowload, which can slide off the roof without collapsing it.  Even in the American South, we need to pay more attention to snowload than we did in the past.  We have had some very wet and heavy snow this past season.





   This is the back of one of these structures which accomodates an adult entrance.  This is especially helpful if your dog has new puppies inside or if your dog is ill.






   The inside of this one is not complete, and that's why there are some things which should normally not be stored within a dog structure, but you can see the conventional construction and the dog door from the inside. 

      In our area, these can be built on your property for about $1300. US .  However, you can certainly design and construct your own for much, much less.  You might try locating the kennel panels and gate for the front first and design your plan around their size.


Prior posts of  mine on the subjects of kennel construction can be found at:

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/01/notes-on-building-kennel-or-kennel.html


My posts on dogs:

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-value-of-dog.html


http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/05/is-it-canine-dementia.html


http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/12/angus-and-follow-up-to-canine-dementia.html


7 comments:

middle child said...

That is one very cool kennel! Our dogs have and will always be inside dogs but there are those who leave their dogs outside with nothing similar to this. I kinda wish there was a law saying that everyone who has outside dogs must have this type of shelter.

Linda said...

That would make a good chicken house, too. Just add roost and laying boxes.

JaneofVirginia said...

I have seen some fantastic chicken homes which I think work better than this kennel would. Perhaps I should do a post on them soon.

JaneofVirginia said...

I don't think a building alone meets the requirements for caring for a dog. I have seen people with these leave dogs inside them day in and day out, and I think that comprises neglect just as much as inadequate housing does. At best, these structures are a good place for a dog to go during storms, bad weather, or certain times a year. I don't like that some people buy the building and think they don't need to walk their dog, or change his perspective, if only if moving him for a day and tying him with water and food to another area of the property. I change my dogs scenery frequently. They are healthier and have better alertness as watch dogs with their assignments changed.

Dani said...

Briliant kennel - and it could double as a chicken coop also LOL

JaneofVirginia said...

Dani, Yes, Linda, who is a accomplished chicken person, posted the same thing above. There are structures, I think made by the same company specifically for chickens. I will profile those another time. Thank you for posting !

JaneofVirginia said...

THANK YOU ALL FOR POSTING ! It's good to know that people are as excited about good dog or animal housing as I am ! Best wishes.