Finding Two Perfect Dog Houses

I was recently shopping for a couple of dog houses (I have an Irish Wolfhound and a Labrador Retriever), and was surprised about all that was available. Not only in styles and materials, but I also came across some unusual things.

First, I did not know that you could get an indoor dog house. Most of these are soft houses that are designed for small dogs, you can get them in a variety of colors and styles, many are cute. Other are made of wicker like a basket, and some are functional and will double as an end table. But none of these really work for my dogs, they are just too big! Inside they like to stretch out and be one of the family, it is for outside that I need a couple of dog houses.

The two main types of material that you find dog houses made of are plastic and wood. With plastic you can get different colors such as pink, blue, green, red and brown. They also come in many styles. The ones that I have seen around a lot lately are the igloo dog houses. You can also find houses in a barn type style, and the standard A-frame style like Snoopy has, and even one with a flatter roof line in case your dog wants to lay on top of his house like snoopy! Many plastic dog houses are insulated, so they keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They weigh less than a traditional wood house, and are really easy to clean with a garden hose. A plastic dog house can be shipped flat, and then be easily assembled in a few minutes by just snapping it together.

Personally, I prefer wood, I just like the look of them better. Most I found are made of fir, though cedar is also popular. I really liked the variety of styles available in wood dog houses. Naturally, you could find the A-frame style, but also the single slant roof design. One feature that I really like that you can find on either of these styles of dog houses is a hinged roof for easy cleaning. A raised floor is also important to help keep your dog cool in summer and warm in winter. Besides just getting the basic dog house, many companies also offer optional porches (some covered and some open), so your dog can lounge outside his door, or half in and half out of his house. I also found a house that had a flat roof with a balcony on top, so your dog really can pretend to be Snoopy! I did find an interesting option that I had not seen before, and that is a duplex dog house. The inner panel is optional, so you can either separate two dogs, or let them bunk together.

Wooden dog houses also usually ship flat and can be assembled with a screw driver. Most are finished to withstand the weather, and of course, a cedar dog house would weather nicely. You can find painted wood houses (often to imitate a country cottage), but most can be appreciated with a natural wood finish.

Well, it looks like I have many options, and I am mainly limited by the size of my dogs! But I think that I am going to go with two insulated wood dog houses with a single slant roof line, or the doggy duplex.