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When making your dog house, be careful if you are relying on free dog house plans. I used some of them when I build my first one and I had to do an other one the following year because I did a lot of mistakes. I’ll tell you what I did wrong.

We suddenly realised that our dog was spending a lot of time inside the house while we were at work during the day. Since we have a fenced yard and he is not a barker, we taught that he would be a lot happier outside. So I decided to build him a dog house and give it a try.

I quickly went online and found some free dog house plans.They did not say much about what to use, in fact it was just a drawing with measurements and a picture of the actual completed project. I taught that would be good enough to built it.But there are things I did not know that I wish I knew so I could do it right the first time.

Be Careful What Material You Use

First mistake: I just bought some of the cheapest plywood to build my dog house.I did not realised that plywood is pressed wood and when it gets wet, it softens and bubbles. The layer on top separate from the middle.Next thing I noticed after a few months is a bunch of ants sharing the place with my dog. Besides my dog started to chew the corners and pretty fast the dog house started to look like hell.

Later I learned that only rot resistant, untreated,bug proof wood such as cedar should be used to built a dog house. That is a very good thing to know but my free dog house plans did not specified it. Remember that treated wood contains toxic chemicals that could make your dog sick if he is a chewer.

Make a House That Fit Your Pet

Second Mistake: The house I build was way to big for my dog.The perfect house should be just big enough for the dog to get in, turn around and lay down. If the house is too small, he will not want to go in after a while. If it’s too big, the house will not warm up in cold temperatures.

Build Your dog House With Insulation And a Compartment

The walls, the roof and the floor of your house should have a layer of styrofoam in between two layers of wood. This will keep it cool in the hot summer months and warm in the cold winter temperature. Also don’t do the same silly mistake like I did to put a large door right in the middle. The door should be on one side and there should be a panel inside to split the living area in half.Your dog has to find a place to protect himself from the wind and the rain.

So thanks to free dog house plans, I completely messed up this project and I had to redo it from scratch. Thank god I found some real good dog house plans and got it right the second time. To find those plans go to http://www.squidoo.com/simple-and-easy-woodworking-projects and enjoy building your project!

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