The Dog Friendly Home: DIY Projects for Dog Lovers

267 Pages·2011·26.24 MB·English

by  Ruth Strother

DOG
The
Friendly
HOME

DIY Projects
for Dog Lovers
by Ruth Strother
CONTENTS

Introduction
Building Materials for Your Pet Projects
DOGHOUSES
Custom Dog Castle
Basic Ranch Doghouse
Insulated Doghouse
Green Doghouse
DOG BEDS
Contemporary Dog Bed
Nightstand/Bed
Mission-Style Dog Bed
DOG TRAINING
A-Frame
Hoop Jump
Weave Poles
Invisible Fence
ACCESSORIES
Raised Dog Bowls
Dog Ramp
Dog Door
Toy Chest
Grooming Station
HOME & YARD
Creating a Dog-Friendly Yard
Dog Damage Remedies
Resources/credits
Index

Introduction
M
OST OF US CONSIDER OURSELVES TO BE DOG LOVERS. WE CARE FOR OUR DOGS BY
feeding them, loving
WALKING THEM, PLAYING WITH THEM, TEACHING THEM,
them—but we want to do more. The dog-friendly projects in this book
were created for beginning do-it-yourselfers who want to make
something special for their canine pals. In most cases, all you’ll need
are a few basic tools and your creativity. These projects are simple,
useful, and attractive. If you don’t consider yourself to be especially
handy with a hammer, saw, or drill, you can get a leg up (pardon the
pun) by taking a weekend course offered at many local home
improvement stores. You will find the brief introduction on materials
and tools that follows to be helpful as well.
This book is filled with tips on dog behavior, care, training, and fun.
Each project is accompanied by valuable information that will help
you acclimate your dog to its use, happily and without fear. You’ll
learn not only how to install a dog door, but also how to train your
dog to use it. Tips on how to get a reluctant dog to accept and use a
bed accompany information about the three styles of bed you can
choose from when you build your dog a special place. Included are
dietary information to help you fill the raised bowls you just built, and
information on grooming accompanied by instructions on setting up
your own grooming station—all this and more will help you develop a
dog-friendly home.
The information in this book spills out of the house and into the
yard as well. You can install an invisible fence and teach your dog
how to obey it, and create an agility course in your very own
backyard.
In addition, this book will identify toxic plants, offer you tips on
how to care for a garden in a dog-patrolled yard, and give you pointers
on ways to erase those dog-created brown spots in your lawn. Back
inside the home, brief and effective ways to repair dog-chewed
furniture and remove soiling accidents are covered.
All the projects in this book were designed with cost in mind. Less
expensive materials are used when they don’t compromise the quality
of the project, and more expensive materials are suggested when they
will greatly enhance the beauty and integrity of the project.
Making accoutrements for your dog is a great creative outlet. You
can take the structural fundamentals of most of these plans and
embellish them with your own designs, colors, and materials to make
them especially suited to your dog and the style of your home. Turn
the ordinary to the fanciful or dignify the piece with sophisticated
style; whatever you decide to do, by building and designing that
special something for your canine companion, you are taking that one
extra step to do more for your dog and show him how much he means
to you.
Building Materials for Your Pet Projects

Building homes and accessories for your pets can be accomplished
with many of the same tools and building materials we use in our
houses and landscapes. However, in some cases the fact that our pets
are more inclined than our children to eat their house does impact the
selection process. As with people-scale projects, you’ll select
materials for your pet projects based on safety, ease of use,
appearance, durability, and cost. And most of the projects in this book
can be constructed with simple hand and power tools that you
probably own already. On the following pages we review some
common materials with these considerations in mind. After that,
you’ll find a very brief refresher course on a few basic woodworking
skills you’ll need for even the most simple pet projects. Then, we
jump feet-first into the pool of pet projects.
Sheet Goods
Sheet goods such as plywood and medium density fiberboard (MDF) can be
shaped easily with a router and feature a smooth surface that takes paint well on
both faces and edges. Machining most sheet goods produces hazardous dust that
needs to be collected.
Interior plywood. Frequently sold with a smooth, finish-grade hardwood veneer
surface, plywood may be painted or sealed and stained. Plywood cuts easily and
is the easiest sheet good to fasten. Hardwood plywood is expensive and should
be sealed to protect it and to slow off-gassing of formaldehyde.
Common sheet goods that may be used for pets include MDO (medium-density overlay), MDF
(medium-density fiberboard), and hardboard (also available as perforated pegboard).

Veneer plywood offers a variety of wood species in a durable and cost-effective panel.

Exterior plywood. Panels are inexpensive and easy to fasten and cut. Exterior
plywood does not contain formaldehyde, making it preferable to hardwood
plywood for interior structures where appearance is not an issue. Surfaces and