dog house

Its coming to winter an its starting to get real cold out. I was thining of buy sasha a dog kennel but there around $300 odd. My question is has anyone every tried to make one them selves? It wouldnt have to be water proof as she sleeps under cover. Id just like it to be sturdy and non toxic. Im pritty good with my hand and have access to a large range of tools.
If any one has any suggestions on material i could use or tips on how to build it that would be great

Also I am away from Sasha for 8 hours a day during the week and im worried she gets bored so i am interested in getting another staffy for her. My sister in-law knows someone who is giving away a 1Year old male staffy. Do you think this will be a bad idea? and if I was to get another woud there be twice as much destruction in the back yard when im away?

Last but not least. This is directed to more the aussie dog lovers. Can anyone clarrify what the rule is about carrying your dog inside the car? I have read that you can get fined if they are not fasted on the back of utes or if they are on your lap while you are drive. The one thing I cant seem to find is if it is legal to carry your dog on the passenger seat or back seat un secured? I understand this isnt the safest option but My question is if its legal?

Thanks in advanced

When building a dog home, never use pressure treated timber. It has been treated with chemicals that can be dangerous to your dog, should they chew at it.
Best things to use would be exterior ply wood for the flat surfaces and untreated hard wood for the frame. Then use some roofing felt for the erm... roof
I would suggest securing the roof in such a way that you can take it off. That way you can give inside a good clean out.
Also, when its built, protect the wood with paint. Its suggested to use a wood primer, then an enamel undercoat and then a super gloss enamel.
Here are a couple of sites that I have found on how to build a dog home CLICKY Or CLICKY
Also, have a look on google images for things like 'dog home', 'dog kennel' to get some ideas.


If you are worried about a cold winter, you could insulate the home with polystyrene sheets. Build the home using a double skin and slip the sheets between.
Or you could build one that has a separate room like the one in the pic


I would say that getting Sasha a friend would be a good idea. Only problem is, they would have to get on really well. So you would need to spend quite a bit of time with them to see how they behave, before you leave them alone. But yea, expect twice the destruction
I'm not sure on your laws, but here, a dog has to be properly secured into the car and not be able to distract you.

I'v build a chicken coop a pretty large one too. I you want to build it out of wood like we did we then covered it in *felt*(When there is a little sun the felt warms up) i'm not sure if you guys have felt or its a different name, if you have alot of rain in your winters you may wants to put it on legs to raise it off the floor, your dog should be able to stand up turn completly around and stretch out so its gotta be pretty big escpecially for two dogs.start from the frame work using 2x4's or something a little thicking then add the walls floor roof etc with panels of wood. you may want to build an outa and inner shell so you can put insultation inbetween the two shells i.e. pack it full of sheeps wool which should be cheap enough to get and its a really good insultator, depending whether you will use *felt* or another water proof material to cover the kennel, you can have a flat roof, just make sure the roof overlaps the walls by about 2-3inches and the front of the roof is raised so its at an angle so water will run off towards the back. Pretty rubbish example i know but there are so many ways lol. Staffs don't have a high tolerance to weather so they get hot really quite and cold even faster, which is why i mentioned insulation. When it comes to bedding inside if your expecting rain don't put blankets in there unless you are 1000% sure there is no wind blowing the rain inside, use soemthing like paper shredding/hay/stray with all these material the top layer will always stay dry if changed regulary.
If your dog is social around other i can't see a problem with getting another dog, there be more destruction if you do not train them, if you can introduce her to the dog over a period of a few days before you take the other dog in this may help, set boundaries so both dogs know where they stand.
When it comes to your laws i don't have a clue but i think it may be illegal to have any animal unstrapped or unsecure in a m,oving vehicle.

WOW.. a couple of fantastic replies thanks guys this forum is great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJOI0I4gSas&feature=related
This is a pretty basic video and tells what things are called which i have no clue in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvRD0rZJkJg&feature=related

I have seen kennels made from insulated panels similar to what they use when they make cool-rooms. Just a thought coz it may help keep your dog cool in summer and warm in winter.
Another Idae is maybe have a look on Gumtree or classisieds in the papers. If you're lucky you may be able to pick one up for a good price. My Roxy loves her kennel, and also has a metal framed bed with a canvas cover fastened on with elastic rope. During the day she has the option of sleeping/resting where she is most comfortable depending on our Aussie climate but night time she sleeps inside the laundry with a nice cosy bed.

I have dug up some photos.........she is so much smaller there, only about 8 weeks old ......aawwwwww
Roxy in her kennel
Roxy on her trampoline bed (as we call it)

We're replacing the chicken coop down our allotments pretty soon building a new one, So the wood from the old chicken coop will be used to make a dog house for when its raining more for a shelter kinda thing

Too cute That house look fantastic. I am thinkng I will build one Ill enjoy the challenge

We also re-used a chicken coop to make a great kennel and sleeping area for our Bull Mastiff & my staffy Kita when I lived in Townsville. Upon return to Adelaide, I bought Kita her own insulated kennel that a guy used to make, was brilliant but not big enough for two dogs, although you couldn't tell Kita & Max the JR that!
I used to head out bush from Cairns when Kita was little to a "liveable shed" we had and we built them kennels out of old (thoroughly cleaned) drums raised off the ground. Last year after hubby & I got our 2nd staff Izzy, we bought a wooden kennel as we knew Izzy would chew it big time, and she did.
Lisa, we have two of those beds, that DH bought at "market city" here in Perth. They have lasted for over 6 months now as DH rubbed "vicks" on all the rubber ties. My "busy Izzy" had shredded every other bed of this type till now,so fingers X'd it lasts a bit longer. Not so sure about the mattress in the kennel though, I'm totally over ideas for that one

Good luck - I'm useless with things like that, but I'm glad some others on here aren't!!

Loopy wrote:I have seen kennels made from insulated panels similar to what they use when they make cool-rooms. Just a thought coz it may help keep your dog cool in summer and warm in winter.
Another Idae is maybe have a look on Gumtree or classisieds in the papers. If you're lucky you may be able to pick one up for a good price. My Roxy loves her kennel, and also has a metal framed bed with a canvas cover fastened on with elastic rope. During the day she has the option of sleeping/resting where she is most comfortable depending on our Aussie climate but night time she sleeps inside the laundry with a nice cosy bed.

I have dug up some photos.........she is so much smaller there, only about 8 weeks old ......aawwwwww
Roxy in her kennel
Roxy on her trampoline bed (as we call it)

fab pics