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Howdy everybody :D

 

My name is Kevin and around new years my girlfriend and I got a puppy. 3/4 border collie, 1/4 aussie shepherd. Now he's about 4 months and is a very good dog. When we're around. He's in the kitchen, baby gated off from the rest of the house when we're not at home and lately he's been somehow grabbing things off the kitchen table that there should be no way he can get at, like stuff in the very middle of the table. Like my girlfriend's important work documents and more importantly my four wheeling magazines ( :rolleyes: ).

 

So the dog is getting booted outside during the day. I'm going to build him a dog house but I'm not sure what dimensions to make it. I guess his parents are largish sized border collie (and half collie) sized dogs, so that's probably how he'll turn out. The house will be a simple one room, little door, slant roof affair. So any suggestions on h/w/l and door dimensions?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Attached is a pic of my little buddy :D

post-7202-1173243487_thumb.jpg

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Welcome!!

 

What a cutie with those pink spots on the nose! lol :rolleyes: Have you tried crating inside instead of baby gating? It creates a more secure enviornment for the dog, but also, it keeps them from getting into and ruining things. Dogs should IMO earn the freedom to not be in the crate. It helps them and is safer too :D

 

Sorry I have no suggestions on dog houses though lol

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I'd also recommend getting him a crate instead of putting him out. If I left Dean in the house loose without a crate, he would redecorate the house, and if I put him out, he would excavate the yard. The crate keeps the house safe from him, and him safe indoors.

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Welcome to the boards. He's sure a cool little pup. I second that (or third I guess) getting a crate for him. It's always good to know he's safe instead of outside all of the time. Plus it's not all that hard to teach him to like the crate.

 

As far as the house I'm working on one now for Black Jack, but I don't have many measurements yet. When I do I'll put them up for you.

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I crate would be much safer for the dog. Anything can happen outdoors from the dog actually hurting themselves to someone stealing the dog, especially a cute puppy. If you could just crate instead that would be much safer. :D

 

Somewhere around maybe a 5 x 5 square, maybe 3-4 feet tall might be good. I don't really know I am just guessing and looking at my dog while I do it. :rolleyes:

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In my opinion the dog house should be large enough for the dog to stand and lay comfortably. You'd have to guess at his full-grown size at this point but I'd think that if you thought in terms of 30"x36"x30" you'd be in the ballpark. You want it to be a snug place for the dog to den up so making it too large defeats some of the purpose.

 

Having him outside is preferable to keeping him crated in a boring environment all day, IMO. He's a dog, not furniture, so I think you'd be taking the logical first step.

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How tall is your fence? My little girl can clear a five foot fence w/ not a moment's hesitation, so I'd be worried about leaving a pup outside in anything lower and ideally a fence that is buried as well to prevent digging out. As you may have figured out - BC and BC mixes are quite adept at finding their own fun when they aren't given a more human pleasing option. Have you tried giving your pup some stuffed kongs or marrow bones while you are gone and clearing the table before you leave? Seems like that would be the first step for me - and I have a counter surfer myself who has free run of the house. I have become a better housekeeper in the process lol. :rolleyes:

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My little girl can clear a five foot fence w/ not a moment's hesitation, so I'd be worried about leaving a pup outside in anything lower and ideally a fence that is buried as well to prevent digging out.

I'm sure our dogs could clear that fence, too, if they really wanted, but ours is 4' max. and we have no problem even with sheep and horses and rabbits and antelope and a multitude of other enticing creatures clearly visible the bulk of the day.

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I started out leaving my puppy Faith outside in a fenced run with a dog house during the day. I had to, because she was pulled from a shelter with parvo and coccidia, so she was crated indoors at night and outside in her fence during the day during her quarantine period.

 

It didn't work out too well. :D First, she managed to escape three times the very first day, because she was small enough to squeeze out the tiniest opening. We finally got all those plugged, and two large hawks started hanging around looking hungrily at her. So we covered the top of the run with poultry wire. Then she discovered she could dig. :rolleyes:

 

Plus, I got worried because an unusual number of dogs started going missing in the community, and I noticed someone advertising that they'd take giveaway dogs at the local store. So I was afraid someone might steal her. But mostly I just doubted she'd continue to stay in a run by herself all day and take off in pursuit of more interesting things.

 

I bought her a huge crate and now she stays in that during the day, beside my adult BC's crate so she has company, and I leave her safe toys like a kong and nylabones to keep her occupied. So I join in the crate recommendation - it's worked out a lot better for us.

 

And if I were you, I'd just buy one of those plastic Dog Barns from TSC. It'll be cheaper than building one, and they're easier to clean.

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I cant find a pic, but we got a really nice dog hosue from costco, it has vinyl siding and a shingle roof, it was around $170 bucks, but a lot better than the dogloo's , plus its raised off the ground and really easy to clean.

 

we have a 6 foot privacy fence and leave her outside, she only has 2 days a week that someones not at home though.

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Lily is an outside dog at heart, though she is allowed inside to be with us, for whatever reason - its not where she is comfortable, who knows what happened to her before we got her at the pound. So she does spend time in her doghouse. We have the tractor supply version - large dog. $50. she loves it. She is a very large border/aussie possible mix. 26 inches at the shoulder and 50 pounds, while still skinny.

 

If she were any larger it would be too small, but she likes the snugness, we had a larger one built before, and she actually prefers the plastic. She is out when not with us, or when she's had enough of us. Personally a hole or 2 is not that big of a deal. there are not more then 3 in our fenced yard at this time. She could could clear the fence, and actually has once - but the back yard is where she feels safe and comfortable, she chooses to go there when tired. It also helps that she can keep an eye on us from the back deck.

 

So, my advice is - some dogs would not be good back yard dogs - some will have the will and desire to escape, but that doesn't mean yours will, you kind of have to watch their personalities and find a good fit. Not all people want to work in an office - too confining. It might be the right choice for your pup, an in-house kennel might also work - we have those as well. Beagles love them, punishment for my free-spirt border girl.

 

Hope that helps

--Denise

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Welcome! Very cute pup!

 

I have to agree that each dog is different. I have a good-sized backyard, lots of shade, great sunny areas, 9 ft. rock and cedar fence, a large cabin-style dog house, heated dog bed under a sheltered cove area on the patio, wading pool, etc., etc.

 

My previous dog was in Doggy Heaven and loved to hang out in the yard, moving from sunny spot to shade depending on his mood or the weather. So, when we got Allie (who was then a 6 mo. old) we thought this would be the greatest for her. Well . . . $200 worth of electrical lighting, several hundred dollars worth of BBQ equipment, thousands of deep, muddy holes and pulled up plants and two escapes from the yard later (she found the one spot that the rock retaining wall was higher and would put her closer to the top of the fence), we decided that perhaps this was NOT a good idea and we have been crating her when we are gone ever since (she is now almost 2). :rolleyes: She is perfectly content and likes to be in her crate (this is usually 5 - 6 hrs., 4 days a week).

 

We are now in the process of building an outdoor enclosed kennel (w/doghouse) approx. 12 ft. x 6 ft. x 7 ft., with a permanent floor and chain link peaked roof with cover because we are going to adopt a second BC and have absolutely no room in the house for two large permanent kennels. I think this will be the best solution for us and the dogs. They won't be able to dig out (BCs are great diggers), jump out (7 ft., plus fully enclosed because BCs are incredible jumpers), will have great sun, shade and shelter, plus room to move around. We are very hopeful that this will be a great alternative for everyone. :D

 

I think the main thing is, you should be prepared -- your dog may love the backyard and have no problems with being out there alone, or, you may discover (as many of us have), that your pup is bored with no one to interact with and become very destructive and may vent his frustration in ways you won't like.

 

I wish you the best of luck!

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Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I failed to mention that my plan was to have him on a rope run in the backyard during the day, but have since thought better of it after seeing a neighbor dog on one at a job today. She just kept getting tangled up and got her rope all looped around her bed inside her house and ended up pulling it into the yard. And that would make him a little too visible from the street behind us for my comfort. Damned thieves anyway...

 

For me and my dog, crating during the day isn't really an option. I liked the comment above about collies being free-spirits. He's got so much energy even with walks in the morning, bike rides at night and plenty of room to play with himself (which is incredibly entertaining to watch :D ) during the day that I can't imagine putting him in a box all day. He's in it all night, that's enough.

 

So I'm thinking that I'll take an area of the yard between one shed and the hot tub with a gazebo around it that's next to a 6 foot fence bordering our good friend/neighbor's yard (an area that's not visible from the street) and put a fence around it. I think I'll mostly bury some cinderblocks along the edge of the fence to curb him from digging under the fence. The rest of that part of the yard he can go to town on.

 

As far as the house goes, I like building things and my time isn't worth as much as my money at this point in my life. So I'll lay it out with the 30 x 36 x 30 and see how it looks like that. Any ideas on the door? I built a play thing for the cat a while ago and had to recut the door twice cause the kitty couldn't get into the thing :rolleyes: So I guess I'm not that good at judging that kind of thing. I suppose I'll just start building and as long as I make it so I can enlarge it every once in a while as he grows, I'll be all right.

 

Sorry if this post was long winded, I've been sitting here watching a movie and writing it for about an hour or so :D Thanks for the welcome everybody, looks like a nice forum you've got going on here. I like all the pictures off your pooches in your sigs :D

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Why don't you just buy a tall XPen for your puppy? That way he can have freedom of movement and not steal things off your table. And not get stolen out of your yard (or have someone 'kindly' throw him some cooked chicken bones etc.) And then he is not crated.

 

RDM

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