OTTAWA -- Ottawa resident Greg Thompson has a thick folder full of information on what makes a good doghouse.
Unfortunately, says Thompson, he was never able to find anyone in the Ottawa area who built the kind of snug year-round outdoor home he wanted for his hunting dog, Teal.
Mention the word doghouse and the image that comes to mind is a small shed-like structure in the backyard -- a simple affair with a shingled roof and an open, arched doorway over which hangs a sign bearing the dog's name. It's an image made classic by Bugs Bunny cartoons.
But Ottawa's climate, with its cold, snowy winters and muggy summers, rules out that kind of structure. To be comfortable here, a dog needs much more than that.
There are some shelters on the market -- for example, PetSmart sells simple igloo-like structures that will provide a space for a dog to curl up for a while.
But as Thompson found out, anyone who wants to keep the family pet in the yard -- and in comfort -- all year-round is probably going to make it into a do-it-yourself project.
The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals publishes a pamphlet on the criteria for the ideal doghouse for outdoor use in Ontario. The pamphlet is available through the Ottawa Humane Society (www.ottawahumane.ca/ or 613-725-3166) and gives instructions on doghouse construction -- such things as size of sleeping area floor space, height of sleeping area and overall dimensions, all of which vary according to breed.
It also provides information on such things as bedding, doorways and insulation.
For example, the SPCA criteria stipulate that the doghouses "should be elevated on bricks or cinder blocks to keep the floor dry, and it may then be necessary to provide a ramp or step so your dog can get over the raised sill while entering."
The doghouses should have a door of some sort to keep out winter winds, and bedding that can be changed. "Straw is the recommended bedding. It is not advisable to use blankets."
The Ontario SPCA also strongly recommends that dogs not be chained to their doghouses; it's better, says the SPCA, to fence your yard, because chained dogs can suffer psychologically and are 80 per cent more likely to bite.
And it's important, says the SPCA, to remember that dogs have to be acclimatized to outdoor living, that some breeds with short coats are subject to frostbite, and that dogs whose principal residence is an outdoor kennel will still need to be brought indoors if sick or old, if the weather is particularly bad, or simply to have some time for play and socialization.
Val Ducross, a former breeder of golden retrievers, is now manager of the PetsHotel at PetSmart in Ottawa, a 124-room facility that offers care to animals whose owners need to board them temporarily.
She says people who want to build a doghouse have to resist the temptation to impose human values and desires on their dogs.
For example, Ducross says many people, out of kindness, will want to make the doghouse bigger than it should be.
Actually, doghouses should not be overly large. One reason is that if the house is too big, the dog will be tempted to do its business inside the doghouse. The other reason, as the SPCA brochure notes, is that the dog needs to be able to keep itself warm with its own body heat.
"Think nest as opposed to big space," says Ducross. "A dog thinks of the place where it sleeps as a nest, and if you make the space too big, it might go poop in the corner."
Ducross says the doghouse also has to offer adequate protection against weather. An ideal doghouse, she says, is draft-free.
"I don't like seeing them go into a box with the wind blowing through an open door onto them," she says. "Dogs are pretty tough. They can tolerate a lot. But there's a point where it's just not humane."
"What makes a dog comfortable is pretty basic," says Ducross, adding that if you pay attention to the dog's behaviour, it will tell you how it's feeling by panting if it's too hot or shivering if it's too cold.
"A dog that's relaxed is a dog that's comfortable."
--Canwest News Service
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