Pondered here:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=31885.msg2757958;topicseen#msg2757958
About three years ago I built a outdoor doghouse consisting of brick and a used truck tire I found on the side of the road. The dogs have an actual staircase to their den which consists of pretty much used pillows and sheets. It's filthy and full of dust, but the oldest two dogs love it.
When I was four or five, my dad built a doghouse for our dog. It was insulated with some of that aluminum-backed bubble wrap, and had a socket for an incandescent light bulb to keep it warm inside in the winter.
I don't think Fuzz went into it once. She just had no interest in it at all. I went inside it more often than she did, until one time when I went in there and somehow got stuck and my parents had to take the roof off of it to get me out (fortunately, it had been designed to come off easily so that the inside could be cleaned, so it didn't damage the doghouse any).
We kept the doghouse around for a few years until my dad wanted to put something else there. I'm not sure what he did with it. I think he might have given it to someone else's dog that displayed more interest in doghouses.
When my grandfather lived here we built a wooden handicap ramp for him. After he passed we dismantled it, and turned some of the wood planks into a doghouse for my dog. When I was at work he'd stay in it during a storm or on cold evenings until I got home. When he got cancer this year I started keeping him in the house, and then he died from it in April, and the entrance to the doghouse, which was near some bushes in the corner of the yard, started to get overgrown a bit. Yesterday I trimmed the hedges around it, and my puppy checked it out for the first time. She stayed in it briefly but followed me when I headed towards the house.
Tractor Supply has a decent selection of doghouses, kennels and pet carriers for every size. They sell expansion panels so you can make your kennel as big as you want.
Took a picture of the doghouse I built and mentioned in the OP:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52246701270_efeb98f6ba_4k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2nAS13j)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/2nAS13j) by Max Rockatansky (https://www.flickr.com/photos/151828809@N08/), on Flickr
I did really take down a five-foot-tall cinder block wall and gate. The dogs finally learned not to attack my wife's plants.
To me, it just seems weird to make your dog live outside. Like it's cattle or something.
Quote from: triplemultiplex on July 28, 2022, 11:55:35 AM
To me, it just seems weird to make your dog live outside. Like it's cattle or something.
When I met my wife she had two dogs and they lived outside. They didn't have much of a doghouse, so I built them the one above. I gradually fully housebroke both of them and now they live inside. The only time they get relegated to outside for long periods of time is during the daytime in Spring and Fall when the weather is super nice. My youngest dog has never lived outside and I crate trained him as a puppy.
I think with my wife it is a cultural thing that the dog/s live outside. All of her family members have outdoor dogs domestically and in Mexico.
All the same, I don't see having dogs living outside as being inherently cruel. Many breeds prefer to be outside given how much activity they require. As long as said dog is given proper access to things like water, food and shelter I don't see a problem. My wife's dogs were certainly happy and well cared when I met them, I just liked hanging out with them on the couch.
Quote from: triplemultiplex on July 28, 2022, 11:55:35 AM
To me, it just seems weird to make your dog live outside. Like it's cattle or something.
Many breeds definitely should live outside, especially if they're used for hunting, etc.
My old dog just liked being outside in the daytime. Even when he didn’t have to go to the bathroom or didn’t hear anything outside, he’d just want me to let him out.
My puppy stays in the kitchen for the most part. Neither my girlfriend nor I wanted her to stay in a crate all day, I know she’d tear up the house if she were allowed to roam it freely, and I don’t know how she’d handle being outside the whole day yet. While she’s small, the kitchen is a fine place for her, but when she gets bigger and can grab things off the counter (and at almost 3 months, she’s already getting close to that) I’m going to have to find another solution. I’ve gradually been letting her outside on her own more and more to allow her to become a bit more independent.
Where I grew up, I'd be worried about the doggo getting eaten alive by mosquitos if it had to stay outside during the spring and summer. With furry critters like dogs, the skeeters pretty much have to attack the face, too, so that seems like it would suck. (Yes, pun intended.)