How to Make a Large Dog House

Building your own large dog house

Building a large dog house for your pet provides them with a safe, large, outdoor living space. Building your own dog house is a great way to save money and polish up on repairing and building skills. Each dog house will be different according to your pet's size and your preference. This activity can be done alone, but feel free to include helping hands if available.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Plywood
• Duct tape
• Screws (size varies)
• Saber saw
• Shingles
• Screw gun
• 2x4 pieces of wood

Instructions

1. Measure your dog's length, width and height in inches. The dog house's length and width should be 10 to 18 inches more than your pet's length. The height should be 5 to 10 inches taller than your pet's height.

2. Cut the 2x4 pieces of wood to make the base of the dog house align with the previously found measurements. Fasten the 2x4 pieces together with screws. Cut a piece of plywood with a saw that fits the base and fasten the plywood to the 2x4 pieces with screws as well.

3. Saw the plywood with the saber saw to make the sides of the dog house the needed and desired size. Refer to your initial measurements for the dimensions. Prop three of the sides up on the base of the dog house and use duct tape to temporarily hold the dog house together. Make sure each side of plywood is completely touching the neighboring sides of the adjacent plywood. Screw the sides together. Make the dog house more secure by putting 2x4 pieces of wood on the inside corners of the dog house and screw them into the plywood.

4. Prop the fourth and final wall up, and draw a door on the front side of it. The door should be in a rectangle or a half-oval shape and should be 3 to 5 inches wider than your dogs width. Cut out the door with the saber saw and attach the front side to the rest of the dog house.

5. Cut the roof out of plywood to make it slightly hang over each wall of the dog house. The extra length is for rainfall run off. Carefully screw the roof into the walls of the dog house making sure the nail goes through the top of each wall. Once the roof is fastened, cover it with shingles to make the dog house more water resistant. Make sure you use shorter nails for the shingles so you do not endanger your pet.

Tips & Warnings

• If desired, you can paint a water resistant coating on the dog house, but make sure the paint is not harmful to your pet.

• Working with these materials could be dangerous. Do not use the saw without previous experience or unless additional supervision is available.

References

• How to Build a Custom Dog House
• Building a Dog House Step by Step