Doghouse makes a pet feel at home
From the Detroit Free Press
Doghouse makes a pet feel at home
By NZONG XIONG
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Now THAT'S a doghouse! Guy Chick's Great Dane, Colonel, has a doghouse made of massive logs with a metal roof to match Chick's Clovis, Calif., home. (JOHN WALKER/McClatchy-Tribune)
For one man's best friend, her doghouse looks strikingly similar to the house standing next to it.
"I thought, if I'm going to have a doghouse, it should look like this one," says Guy Chick, 74, nodding to his 3,000-square-foot log home in Fresno, Calif.
About 5 feet by 6 feet, the Canadian-built doghouse is made of Douglas fir logs and features a green metal roof.
Chick put down hay on the inside. The large canine shelter sits between Chick's house and his Clovis, Calif., workshop in a corralled area that's just for his 5-year-old black Great Dane, Colonel.
"When I'm gone, she goes in there," says Chick of Colonel, who spends most of her time indoors with him.
"Every dog has to have a doghouse."
Well, not all dogs need a doghouse, but they do like to have a place where they can feel warm and safe. Some pet owners provide that haven with outside doghouses. From custom-built doghouses like Colonel's to a basic shelter, there are numerous kinds of homes you can get for your four-legged friend.
Whether you keep your dogs indoors or out, the animals like having a cozy place of their own, a couple of local animal experts say.
"Dogs are den animals by nature," says Jo Amenda, a dog trainer for 42 years and owner of Academy Dog Training in Fresno. "Providing a shelter is really, really important. Normally, they'd den together. That helps to keep them warm. In the real world, a dog wouldn't spend time by itself. They're pack animals."
Preferably, the dog would be at least sleeping inside your home, either in a special area of its own or in a crate that recreates the feeling of a den, she says. "They like the safety (aspect)," she says. "It has one way in, and that makes them feel secure."
She knows not all pet owners do that, though.
"People put them outdoors because they don't want them to destroy the inside," she says. "Some people have (pet) allergies. Another reason is because of protection, which really is a fallacy. Bad guys come through the front door, and the dogs can't do anything for you out back."
She discourages dog owners from leaving some kinds of dogs outdoors, especially small, short-haired varieties. "They're not bred to stay outside," she says.
Whatever your reasons, if you want to give your dogs a house of their own in your yard, you have options.
Many doghouses are made out of either wood or plastic.
"Plastic heats up, and it's not a good insulator, but it's durable and dogs are less apt to eat it," Amenda says. "Wood is a better insulator, but you have a better chance of a dog eating it."
You also might find a few doghouses made of tin or some other metal. Amenda doesn't recommend them.
"There's no protection," she says. "It's not very warm, and it's terrible in the summertime. It's too hot."
