My Dogo Argentino's New Custom Made Dog House and Run!

I am building a custom dog house for my Dogo Argentino's. I have to have a place to put my dogo's when my females are in heat and also a safe place for them when it's nice out. When Faith went into heat last month I had no place to put her and my male Dante to keep them out of trouble. Dante went nuts and he should not have been around my kids. So I had to convert a dog house that my nephew used when he was staying with me into a safe shelter for my dogs. The old dog house had no front so I installed one and wrapped heavy duty plastic around it to keep them warm and dry.

This is the makeshift dog house I through together, Dante started to remove the plastic.

So today I started to build my dog's a new house. You want to face the front of the house to the south and the back to the north. That way the cold northern winds will not blow into your doghouse and the sun will hit the front.

I want the house to be eight foot by four foot because I'm and going to make a place for two dogs, so the each have there own space.

Here is the 4'x8' frame made from 2'x6's

I started off making the floor frame out of 2x6's with the slats being 16" apart so I can install R19 insulation.

I installed  4'x8' thick plywood on the bottom to hold in the insulation and keep the dogs from getting at it.

I installed the R19 insulation and sealed all the seams so no air bugs can get in.

Than I installed another piece of plywood on top.

Dante checking out my work.

 I had some vinyl flooring that was given to me, it is really good stuff and I have used linoleum before and it just will not hold up to a big dog within a year you will be replacing it, so you will want to spend the extra upfront to get the good stuff. 

 I built the rear wall 3' 1/2 feet high and installed it onto the frame. I had to install the plywood before I put it up because the frame is hooked to the fence so there would be no way to install it later.

built tapered walls for the sides the back being 3' and 1/2 feet and the front being 4' and installed them. This was all I got done today but I will keep posting so everyone can see my progress.

Dante and Faith hanging out in the dog run, soon to be a nice kennel.

I framed out the front of the house, I went to Lowes and purchased the doggie doors so I would know what size to make the openings.    

I framed out the roof on the grown with 2x6's and split it in half because I am only going to insulate the half over the house and than I slid it up onto the house.

I screwed the roof on.

When I first started to build the house Dante kept jumping up on the floor and hanging out, so I got the ideal of installing a covered deck, so he would not have to lay on the ground.

I framed out the deck with 2x6's and than installed it onto the house. I used two scrap boards to hold up the deck and than installed the 4x4's to hold up the roof and the deck.

Than I laid down the decking planks.

Front view of the house.

I started to put the plywood on the sides.

I installed plywood to the underside of the roof and than installed R19 insulation to the half of the roof over the dog house.

I installed the plywood to the roof.

Inside view of the house, before I started to add the inside walls.

when I installed the center wall, I left a spot to install a heater and a light.

Front view of the house.

The Heater and the Light before I installed wire mesh so the dogs can't get to it. I covered the shelf with metal so that the dogs won't chew on it and so that the heat will not start a fire.

I insulated the inside with R13 and started to add the flooring to the walls. I used flooring because it is easy to clean and my nephew had a bunch of extra flooring that he gave me.

I added the wires to install the flood light.

I installed the flooring on the walls and the mess over the heater and the light. The light is a 40 watt 20 year L.E.D. light.

Inside of one half of the house.

As you can see I did not put plywood on the front yet, because I wanted to run wires for the lights through the wall, also it made it easier to install the flooring I used for the inside walls.

Flooring installed on the outer wall.

Here you can see that I have painted the top to make it easier when I install the metal roof, I also have installed the electrical wire, light on the inside with a 40 watt LED bulb, an LED flood light and a heater inside.

I installed the insulation and cut vent hole at the top to vent out the warm air in the summer

Here is a front view of the house.

I installed the plywood and the roof which I had left over from when I roofed my house. Than I painted and calked the dog house.

I installed the vents

The metal roof.

Installing the doggie doors.

The doggie doors installed and working on the steps.

Painted view of the back.

The run and house are in a well shaded area, to keep the dogs cool in the summer.

Steps installed and building a small ramp off to the side for puppies.

My nephew had some metal fencing left over from a job and let me have it to split the run in two. It also looks really nice too.

We rebuilt the fence around the run and installed new door hardware.

Back view of the run, I used wood fence panels on the north side to block the north winds.

Side view of the run and I installed skirting around the dog house to keep the dogs warm in the winter.

Built a second door for the other side of the run.

Inside view of the run.

The black fencing looks really nice.

Front view of the run.

Inside the Run.

Finished! I still want to cement the run to keep the dogs clean. I want to be able to put them in the run and them not get all dirty. What do you think of the run? If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will help you in anyway I can. Thanks for looking!