Free Dog House Plans

By Finley Zhang

If you have a dog that spends a lot of time outside, you need a dog house. If you have a little do-it-yourself skill, you may be able to make your own with the help of some free dog house plans.

Making the plans for a dog house is easy. Decide how large you want the dog house to be. This is going to depend on the size of your dog. You want the dog to be able to move around inside and not be uncomfortable.

We will use a medium dog as our example for creating free dog house plans.

First you will need to make a template for the base of the house. This will be the entire floor space, minus walls, that the house will have. We are going to create a house that is 21 inches wide and 24 inches deep, a good amount of space for a small to medium dog.

Next you need walls and a front. The side walls are going to be 24 inches long (since that is the size floor you cut out, and 24-27 inches high, depending on if you have a tall or short dog. The front and back walls will be 21 inches wide and as high as you have decided the side walls should be. Remember, one of these pieces needs to have a door drawn in it that is large enough for your pet to climb through.

The pieces of the roof need to be created in a width and length to cover while allowing sloping to the roof. In this case we are going to use one piece that is 21 inches x 32 inches and a second piece that is 21 ½ inches by 32 inches. That extra half-inch is not a typo, it is going to be the space you need to attach the two pieces together.

Now you can decide how much wood you need to use for your free dog house plans. Add up the measurements from the free dog house plans you just made and decide how much wood you need to make it work.

If you want an extra strong house you may want to use 2x4s to make a frame that fits the shape and attach the pieces of plywood to it.

Put the pieces of the dog house together with decking screws. Make sure to do this carefully. While 5/8 inch wood is a good amount of space to work with, if you tilt a little too much one way or the other you could send a screw end sticking into the dog house, and injuring your pet.

Next put the two roof pieces together. You will attach the pieces at a right angle with the longer piece facing you, as the piece you will put the screws through the top of.

If you want to add a little more strength, you can cut some of the extra plywood into right angle triangles to offer extra support at the angle of the top. You should glue them in first then screw them in place.

You have two ways to put the top on the house. The first is to make it removable, by putting two strips of wood, spaced evenly on both sides, underneath the long sides of the roof. When it is set on the top of the house, those strips of wood will balance the roof on top of the house frame. If you would prefer to have your roof permanent, nail down from the outside of the roof and into the walls of the house to hold it in place.

NOTES:

It is important to select exterior woods, as the dog house will have to put up with the weather.

You may want to put shingles on the roof to offer an extra layer of protection

Dont use pressure treated woods if your dog is prone to chewing on things. The chemicals used in the wood can be toxic.

Use exterior paint on the outside of the house to offer an extra layer of protection against the elements.

Keep the doghouse off the ground. Either build it on cement blocks or use pressure treated 2x4s to create a rectangular base to hold it off the ground and away from any standing water. Just add this wood to your list of supplies from on your free dog house plans.

Finley Zhang is a dog lover, and he enjoy sharing information and knowledge to improve dogs health. He is owner of YummyHealthyDogFood. YummyHealthyDogFood has helped dog owners improve their dogs life by sharing dog food recipes and dog tips. You can instantly access the recipes and tips by visiting http://www.YummyHealthyDogFood.com/blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Finley_Zhang

Read More..

dork play in black cat in house

A dog trainer works to teach a dog commands used by its owner Training Tips Most dog training jobs require a training hopeful to have a high school diploma, ...

Read More..

House Training Puppies The Keys To Success

By Ben Sinclair

As a puppy owner one of your most important tasks is to teach your puppy not to use the home as a toilet. And believe me, house training puppies can be quite a challenge. Here are the keys to success.

Accept that owning a puppy is a major responsibility. Yes, they are cute and cuddly and fun to play with but you have to be a teacher too.

It takes time, patience and a consistent approach to potty train a child. Well, the same holds true when it comes to puppy toilet training. This is especially true for younger puppies as they will not have control of their urinary and bowel functions.

Your puppy should have its own personal space. The crate, also known as a cage, kennel or den, must be big enough for the puppy to easily stand up and turn around in. I hate the word cage as it makes it sound like a punishment cell and that is most definitely not its purpose. A puppy should be able to go to its crate whenever it wants during the day.

You have to consciously watch your puppy to learn its body language. This will give you clues as to when it needs to go to the toilet.

You have to praise your puppy every time it does the toilet outside. The tone of your voice should be really enthusiastic but keep it soft not loud.

But the top key to house training puppies is ROUTINE. That means within a 5-15 minute window the following happens at the same time EVERY day

* taken outside first thing in the morning;
* feeding time;
* taken outside 10-20 minutes after eating; and
* taken out last thing at night before bedtime.

Make sure you get puppy toilet training right. It is essential to a strong, happy relationship between you and your dog.

Discover the easiest and most reliable method for house training puppies. Whatever the age. Whatever the breed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Sinclair

Read More..

House Training Tips

House training a new puppy can be a treacherous chore. These house training tips will make things a lot easier than you may think.

When you first bring the new puppy home...and I mean immediately upon arrival...you must take her outside to the area you have designated as her toilet area. Gently set her down in the grass and watch as she circles and sniffs the area. Your doing this immediately for a couple of reasons. The ride home in the car was probably her first ride ever, and Im pretty sure the kids have met you at the door, all excited about the new family member. The ride, coupled with new sights and sounds will excite the puppy beyond control. She will want to, or have to, eliminate at once. Puppies have very small bladders and bowels, so her control wont be very good. By taking her to the new toilet area she can do her job in the right area the first time, and hopefully, every time!

Now, just placing her in the right area is not enough. When she actually begins to pee, you need to say things like, "go pee", or "outside", or "go potty", whatever phrase youre comfortable with. Use it each time she goes potty outside. When she is finished, make a big deal out of it. Pet her and say something like, "good girl...outside", over and over and maybe even give her a small treat. All dogs, regardless of age, want to please us. Giving her lavish praise and a treat lets her know you are happy with her.

Once you go into the house the training process begins in full! The easiest house training will take place if you use a crate as your main tool. Whats a crate? Just as it sounds, a crate is a small kennel that your new puppy will learn to call home. It should be just big enough for her to sleep in and stand and stretch a bit, but not big enough to run around in. Heres why. Dogs have a distinct dislike for eliminating where they sleep. If the crate is too big your new puppy will sleep at one end and pee and poop at the other. That will defeat the whole purpose of "crate training". If you want to get a crate large enough for her to "grow" into you will need to section it off so as to keep her on one end.

You will need to keep her in the crate at all times when she is not totally supervised. If she is allowed free roam of the house she will no doubt find a quiet, unoccupied part of the house to pee in. Once she has started to "go" inside it will be doubly difficult to teach her to do her business outside.

She may not take to the crate at first. To help matters, keep it in a family friendly part of the house. The kitchen, den or family room are great locations. Just because she is kenneled doesnt mean she cant be with the rest of the family. Being in the crate should not be considered punishment. Keep it comfy with an old blanket or two and you may want to toss in a chew toy or two. When she is not in the crate she must be constantly supervised. Watch for circling and sniffing the carpet. That is a sure sign she is about to go. Take her outside and repeat the "go pee" and "go potty" routine like you did when you first brought her home. Dont forget to praise her when she is finished.

The main thing to remember in crate training is that, as stated earlier, puppies have small bladders and bowels. They cant hold it in for long periods of "crate time". Take her out to her designated potty area frequently. How frequently? A good rule of thumb is the pups age in months plus one. For example, if she is 2 months old she needs to be taken outside for a potty break every 3 hours.( 2 months plus 1). When she is out of her crate for play time, especially while the excitement is new to her, more frequent trips may be necessary.

By using a crate, and following these few tips your new puppy will be house trained in no time at all.

Steve Kettle is a freelance writer and publisher of a pet website. You can visit it at http://www.pawspawspaws.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Kettle

Read More..

House Training Your Puppy Or Dog

By Abbie Frank

One of the best things about having a pet is the companionship they offer. Many of the idealized dreams of pet owners have been destroyed by the inability to properly house train a new puppy or dog. This is unfortunate because with very few exceptions, teaching a dog to relieve themselves outside is one of the easier things to do.

Understand that dogs are pack animals and in the wild, they choose to be very social and interact with a group. When you take on dog ownership, you are seen as part of the pack. Canines also prefer to sleep in a very clean, dry and warm place. This means that a dog or puppy will not purposely soil what they see as their home and sleeping area.

The key then is to take this natural preference and use it to develop a positive behavior of asking to go outside to relieve themselves. The absolute best way of getting the behavior you want is to use lots of praise and positive reinforcement.

Yelling, raising your voice, threatening and getting aggravated or physical with your puppy or dog will not nearly be as effective as positive reinforcement and consistency on your part. A dog simply has a difficult time associating an action with a consequence. Its their desire however to make you happy so anything like going outside to the bathroom should be seen as something that makes you happy. This means lots of praise will get your puppy housebroken a lot faster than getting upset.

It also means that if your dog has an accident inside your home and you do not see it while its happening, you should not scold or say anything negative to your pup. And even better approach when you have to clean up a pile of poo is to ignore the dog completely. You dont want to show your displeasure because your puppy will not have the ability to associate your unhappiness with the bathroom accident. The reason for this is that you dont want to interact with the animal after finding something that you dont like.

You should also face the fact that your puppy or dog will have an occasional accident during the training. Its just a fact that there will be times when your puppy will not be able to control their bowels or bladder. If you catch them in the act of relieving themselves in your home however, simply pick them up and say firmly "NO" and take them directly outside to let them finish going to the bathroom.

Stay there with them and pay careful attention to make certain that they go. While outside, if they do indeed go potty, its very important that you focus on that positive and offer them lots of praise and physical contact heading for doing a good job. This helps connect bathroom business with outside and pleasing you.

Its only through patience and understanding that you can successfully potty train your dog. Although it doesnt take a lot of time, its important that you stay consistent with your training and realize that accidents will unfortunately happen.

Abigail Franks and her family love dogs of all sizes. Find out how to be successful with puppy potty training and crate training for your dog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Abbie_Frank

Read More..