How to make an enclosure for a dog with your own hands: dimensions, drawings

Where should a dog's enclosure be located?

The most important thing is to choose a place to build an enclosure on your site. You should not place the enclosure in the most remote part of the yard. There is a great opportunity to regret what you have done, because a dog that is isolated from society will worry and bark loudly.

A dog enclosure would also be superfluous next to a fence: in this case, your dog will be interested in people passing by. And if the dog is large, it can easily jump over the fence, for example, in winter, choosing a snowdrift as a fulcrum. This could end in trouble for both of you.

The best place for an enclosure is at the front of the yard. The dog enclosure will be located near the gate to the house and next to the path. This way, the dog will be able to observe what is happening around him, but at the same time will be quite isolated in his shelter.

Provide your four-legged friend with good living conditions. After all, building an enclosure is a serious matter and should be approached with special responsibility. Before starting construction work, you should consider:

• dog breed;
• pet's age;
• gender of the dog;
• location of the site;
• compass rose

Mistakes to Avoid

After building an enclosure, various problems may arise. It is easier to avoid mistakes if you know about possible difficulties in advance. Recommendations from those who have already built enclosures:

• forged decorative elements are beautiful, but can injure the dog. If possible, it is better to abandon them;
• The location of the enclosure should be chosen based on the view that opens. The more territory the dog sees, the more interesting it will be for him;
• When installing a door, it is important that it opens inward. Otherwise the dog will be able to knock it out. It is also necessary to install a lock or deadbolt;
• When using wooden boards, it is advisable not to nail them, because over time they will become loose and come out, which is dangerous for the dog.

The doors to the enclosure are installed last.

What should a dog's enclosure look like?

The main requirement for building an enclosure is as follows: remember that you are building a house for your dog and it should be comfortable, cozy and calm. In the enclosure, the dog should feel warm and dry. After all, the dog not only sleeps or eats there. He also plays there, rests, and guards the territory.

Your dog should have plenty of room to move around inside the enclosure, so:

• an enclosure for a beagle, spaniel, shiba inu or other medium breeds no more than 50 cm at the withers, the area must be at least six square meters;
• an enclosure for a husky or Labrador, as well as other dogs whose height at the withers reaches 65-70 cm, you need to build an enclosure with an area of ​​at least eight meters;
• the enclosure for a Caucasian or Central Asian Shepherd, Alabai should be very large: at least ten square meters. Preferably more.

We have decided on the size of the area. What about the gender of the animal? The requirements for a bitch and a dog are completely different. A female individual needs a maternity room and a vestibule, which will be located in the enclosure. It should be protected as much as possible from bad weather, because the bitch will give birth to puppies and they will not be in the kennel, but will begin to move around the entire area for their games.

A male dog needs a large and reliable kennel; he is physically strong and strong. A large and strong male is able to knock out a lock or break an enclosure, so he must be strong.

Special cases

Husky

This intelligent, loyal and disciplined dog is becoming increasingly popular. If reindeer-hunting huskies do not make watchmen, and hunting dogs are produced occasionally (although all of them are outstanding), then the husky can be called a jack-of-all-trades dog. However, a husky enclosure should have a number of features.

First, the enclosure for a husky needs a height of 2.2 m. The husky dog ​​is a very jumping dog; in their homeland they need it so much to look around over the endless snow. A husky jumps almost like a poodle, and he, for your information, jumps from the floor onto the cabinet without a run.

Secondly, the bars of the husky enclosure should be made not from rods, but from mesh. Jumping, the husky clings to it. If the bars of the husky's enclosure are made of twigs, then it will be impossible for the dog to do the physical exercises it needs. Finally, in mid-latitudes and to the south, it is better to have a husky enclosure facing north, northeast and northwest.

About the grid

Dog enclosures with mesh bars

A mesh lattice instead of rods is also suitable in an enclosure for dogs of other breeds. It is better to place a wicker mesh grille in the enclosure, pos. 1 in Fig. on right. For a husky, this is all the more good because the wires of the woven mesh are bent in a zigzag and are easier to cling to. But welded mesh will also work, pos. 2. In both cases, the wire diameter is from 4 mm, and the mesh is 10x10 cm for large dogs and from 5x5 to 7x7 for small ones.

It is not advisable to use chain-link mesh to lattice enclosures: even very calm dogs often injure their paws on it, and hair plucked by chain-link is a common occurrence in such enclosures. By the way, chain-link is safe for a husky, this dog is so smart. She is too smart for a chain-link enclosure: she unravels the joints, tears them off the frames and leaves the enclosure in an hour and a half. The only time an enclosure for a dog made of chain-link mesh is justified is when its area is more than 20 square meters. m, and the dog is a guard breed, i.e. very disciplined, and trained by a good dog handler.

For small and small

A puppy and a small but adult dog are far from the same thing, and they need different enclosures. First, there is no need to make an enclosure for puppies out of wood (item 1 in the figure below): they are still weak, but they will chew. The wood chips will be swallowed and get stuck in the ragged hole. Secondly, an enclosure for puppies needs to be made, taking into account that they have an insatiable curiosity, but their little minds have not yet developed. Scientifically, the full range of dog instincts has not yet been activated.

Enclosures for puppies and small dogs

Instead of an enclosure, suckling and stupid puppies should be kept in a playpen with soft walls so that there is no whining; a baby puppy feels abandoned if he cannot get used to something warm and soft. This is why puppies are often friends with house cats. A playpen for a puppy can be made from a cardboard box; For a couple more options, see the video at the end of the section.

When the puppy in the playpen begins to stand up, leaning his front paws on the side (pos. 2 in the figure), the soft upholstery needs to be removed and the puppy must be accustomed to the apartment cage made of mesh, pos. 3; It’s better to simply bend it from a piece of mesh with a mesh size of 3x3 to 5x5 cm, soldering the joint. A knitted joint is dangerous for a puppy.

Enclosures in an apartment for small dogs are generally arranged in the same way as for large ones, taking into account the low strength and insignificant love of freedom of the inhabitants. An enclosure for a decorative dog is the same set of beds made of vertical rods. Ready-made sections of mini-kennels for dogs are sold in pet stores; from them a dwelling of the desired size and configuration is assembled. But remember: for an indoor dog, an enclosure is something like a public garden with a bench or a bar. For permanent housing, a dog needs a house in an apartment.

Note: for lap dogs and other long-haired dogs, only welded sections of the apartment enclosure should be used. Braided dogs will pull out all the fur, especially since decorative breeds of dogs, as a rule, are no different in intelligence.

Video: puppy pen

Video: do-it-yourself playpen for puppies

For the pack

Aviary for several dogs

If the area is guarded by several dogs, a common enclosure for them should be made of sections with half-winter roads, canopies 3/4 of the length of the section, blank partitions between them and separate feeding troughs. Otherwise, bickering in your free time from work is guaranteed. In this case, 3-4 square meters will be enough for a large dog. m of area and sections as wide as the length of her body without a tail, see fig. on right.

Features of the structure of walls, floor and roof in a dog enclosure

If the enclosure is being built for a dog that will always live in the yard, it is important to protect it from drafts and lock the adjacent and rear wall of the enclosure. To build these walls it is better to use:

• wooden board;
• thick tongue and groove board in metal frames;
• brick;
• monolithic concrete;
• cinder block.

The open wall should face south, southeast, southwest. It is made from metal rods.

Important! It is better to use rods rather than mesh. It will be more expensive in price, but will last longer. The mesh will break after some time.

The gate is made using a metal frame and iron rods. How should the enclosure be closed? Remember, dogs are smart and cunning creatures. They open many locks with ease. The lock must be secure and located outside.

Provide your dog with a warm, dry floor. The best option for flooring is wood. A floor made of thick planks is durable and will provide protection from drafts. The base can be made of concrete, but in this case it is necessary to have a wooden flooring with ventilation from below.

Important! Asphalt, concrete and other similar surfaces can be harmful to your dog's nails and joints.

The boards need to be treated with special products to protect them from mold and rot, and care should be taken to ensure that there are no knots or nails on them, because the dog can get hurt.

You can make wooden flooring in the form of a panel structure. In this case, you first need to assemble a metal frame from a profiled pipe. Then cover it with boards at least 40 mm thick.

When installing the floor, pay attention to the fact that the boards should not sag and there should be no gaps between them. Otherwise, the dog will easily get his claw in there. The bottom of the boards should always be open, this will prevent rotting processes. It is best to waterproof the soil under the flooring using a material such as roofing felt.

In order to create the required gap, it will be necessary to raise the flooring onto a stand, the brickwork will serve as a support.

Important! The floor in the enclosure should be sloping from the side walls to the center and towards the front.

There are no special requirements for the roof; the only important thing is the presence of a large canopy. It can be made from absolutely any roofing material. For example, from:

• metal tiles;
• slate;
• soft roof;
• profiled sheet.

The best roofing will be one that not only protects the dog from precipitation, but also has high sound insulation. The slope of the roof should be in the direction of drainage. This way, water will not accumulate under the decking.

The general condition for keeping a dog in an enclosure is the presence of a place for walking and a spacious kennel. The kennel should not be huge, but nevertheless, the dog should sleep comfortably in it, stretching out his whole body. In cold weather, the dog should warm the house from the inside with its warmth. Having a place to walk is also necessary so that the dog can relieve itself. And also run or stretch. There may be a vestibule next to the booth: the dog’s personal belongings can be stored inside it. For example, toys, bones, bowls. There is also a maternity kennel for puppies.

Requirements for materials for construction

DIY dog house: drawings and dimensions

The construction of a dog enclosure is carried out in several stages. Each specific part of the structure is made separately from a specific type of material:

• the foundation is usually poured from a cement-sand mixture and reinforced with metal reinforcement;
• the floor is made of concrete or wood. It is necessary to make a flooring on top of the concrete, since the covering is bad for the joints and claws of dogs. In both cases, wooden boards are sanded, treated with antifungal substances, and varnished. The coating must be resistant to moisture and safe for the animal;
• Solid walls and partitions are made of wood. Suitable materials include lining, boards or sandwich panels. The wall for an open view in the walking area is made of chain-link mesh, profile pipes, metal pipes or forged elements. When choosing materials, you should pay attention not only to cost, but also to think about the safety of the dog. A mesh covering is cheaper than metal rods, but if a dog tries to chew through it, it can damage its teeth;
• It is better to make the roof from a soft, lightweight material that will not create loud noise and frighten the pet during precipitation.

Drawings for building a dog enclosure with your own hands

Once you have decided on the size of the enclosure, make a drawing. To do this, you can use a ready-made project or make it according to your own idea. After the drawing is ready, take care of the building materials to build the enclosure.

Making an enclosure for your favorite four-legged pet is not at all difficult! It will be great if you have welding equipment. However, you can also use an ordinary hammer drill.

To construct the structure you will need:

• metal corner;
• iron rod or ready-made forged lattice;
• roofing material;
• wood for decoration;
• dog house.

Photo

Elite enclosure designs: notice how beautiful they are!

We especially like the forged bars on the enclosures:

Modular:

With booth:

An original solution to build an enclosure made of bricks:

For a large dog, be sure to make a pen with a walk:

For two or three dogs:

The process of building a dog enclosure

The drawing is ready, the location of the enclosure and its dimensions have been determined, building materials have been purchased, which means it’s time to move on to the process itself. Construction must begin by driving corners into the ground along the perimeter of the future dog enclosure. First, weld the transverse corner horizontally. It is he who will fasten the vertical corners together. When installing the structure, remember that you need to choose a location for the gate. And also provide a cutout at the bottom of the grille. It is likely that the dog will have to be fed to strangers, and it may be aggressive.

Next, start building the floor. You shouldn’t leave it grounded because the dog can easily dig underneath and run away. The back and side walls will need to be covered with boards. The wall can also be slate or plastic. However, wood is the most reliable and environmentally friendly option. These walls must be constructed of dense material to avoid drafts and prevent the dog from catching a cold.

Next, install metal rods or metal mesh on other walls. You can make a roof just over the booth or around the entire perimeter of your pet’s enclosure. If possibilities allow, you can use a fence as two wooden walls.

The lattice can be welded to the fence. But if you don’t have a welding device, proceed as follows:

• drive the rods into the ground at a distance of ten centimeters between each other;
• purchase wooden beams and make notches on them, the depth of the notches should correspond to the width of the iron rod;
• attach the timber to the rods so that each rod fits into the notch;
• secure with a corner (we drill holes in the beam and the corner and fasten with bolts).

If you follow the procedure in this way, the grill will come out strong and reliable. The door at the gate will need to be secured with hinges or bolts. It is worth making two locks: a latch and a padlock. The latch can be made outside and inside. For example, if work is being carried out to install a kennel and the owner will need to lock the dog inside the structure.

What can it be made from?

A lightweight folding and mobile fence can be made from a metal building mesh with fixed cells or a rod, and a more substantial stationary house can be made from wood. Plastic pipes also work great. All these materials are inexpensive and can be combined. For example, sections made of steel mesh are mounted on a frame made of wooden blocks or on a cage made of a metal rod; an old tabletop or a piece of transparent plastic is suitable for the roof.

The back wall is often made of plywood, and the sides and front are made of mesh or wooden slats. The material is chosen depending on the purpose of the enclosure, the size of the pet, it is desirable that the house looks harmonious and neat in the interior. You can arrange a playpen in a corner, niche or against a wall.

Kennel and place for feeding the dog

Be responsible when building or purchasing a booth. After all, this is your pet’s home, shelter and place to sleep. Consider the following nuances:

• the size of the booth should be suitable for the size of the pet;
• inside the dog should be able to turn around and stretch out;
• The dog does not need a lot of space, such a booth will be cold;
• use coniferous trees for the walls of the booth;
• if the climate is harsh, additionally insulate the walls;
• make the roof of the kennel removable, so you can easily reach the dog or get it out of the kennel in case of illness;
• It is better to make the roof flat - for the dog it is an observation point for what is happening;
• make sure that the dog does not leave the enclosure using the booth as an aid.

Set up a feeding area closer to the fence. It is better to make or purchase a special table with recesses for bowls for water and food.

How to care

In order for the enclosure to last for a long time, and for the dog to feel comfortable and healthy in it, it is necessary to monitor the cleanliness and order of the home. The enclosure itself and the surrounding area should be cleaned at least twice a week. Be sure to get rid of seeds and leftover food. Once a month it is recommended to carry out wet cleaning followed by disinfection inside the arena. In winter, procedures are carried out once every three months.

Important! You can let your dog into your home only after the surfaces have dried.

It is important for a large dog not only to have a personal space where he can rest peacefully, but also to have unhindered access to fresh air at any time. The enclosure not only represents the dog’s private territory, but also helps to protect the integrity of the surrounding area.

Dimensions

The size of the enclosure depends on the size of the dog: the larger the animal, the more space it needs.

The total area is determined by the height of the dog at the withers:

• 45–50 cm – at least 6 square meters. m;
• 50–60 cm – at least 8 sq. m;
• more than 60 cm – 10 sq. m or more.

The correct calculation of the height of the enclosure, that is, the distance from the floor to the ceiling, is also important. In this case, the height of the dog at the withers is not particularly important.

A person will have to enter the fence at a minimum to clean and feed the animal. Therefore, its height is calculated based on one’s own height.

Advice! When purchasing a puppy, it is recommended to clarify the parameters of the dog in adulthood, because based on these data you will have to calculate the size of the enclosure for your pet.

The height of the structure is made to be human height

Pet Options

In general, a dog enclosure can be useful not only for country people, but also for those who live in apartments. Such structures will be more modest, but they will also come in very handy if your pet needs to be limited in its movements around the apartment, if you want to arrange a personal cozy corner for it, in which the animal will feel comfortable.

Mini enclosure for puppies

A mini-aviary will be very good for puppies if the dog becomes pregnant. Also, after giving birth, when the pet has a feeding period, this will be a very good solution, because the dog will be able to feed there without unnecessary spectators in the form of other pets or small children.

Before installing an enclosure for your pet in your apartment, think about your decision several times. Is it really necessary to install it, or can you get by with a cage, a carrier, or just some kind of small house.

In an apartment enclosure, arrange everything as in a country enclosure, provided there is only less space. There must be space for rest, a diaper (in the absence of a latrine in the form of a platform) for the dog’s needs, bowls, all kinds of toys, and most importantly, soft and comfortable bedding.

Advice ! You should not punish the dog, this is its home. The dog should go to the enclosure in a good mood, be there in comfort and peace. You should also not punish or beat your pet in his home.

Now, having become familiar with the basic rules for constructing a dog’s home, you can easily equip your dog with a comfortable enclosure with your own hands. Finally, we recommend watching the video to see everything clearly.

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