Building nice houses for our pregnant dogs that will keep them warm and comfortable was not easy. First we started be looking for a good design online, but we just could not find one that was warm enough! That is why I thought I might share our plans.
The whole project took about a day’s worth of work, 1.5″ staples, insulation (in our case this was wool, but you can buy standard insulation), foam glue (great stuff!), about 4.5 sheets of O.S.B (excellent, cheap, sturdy wood), and about 10- 8′ 1×2″ sticks of lumber. The whole house -this is enough material for a Golden Retriever’s house- would cost around $85 with new materials, but you can save a lot of money scavenging a junk pile, otherwise known in Stevens County as the resource pile!
The first house was for Lady, which was tricky because she is a big dog, and the house had to be able to fit into our kennels. Finally I decided on the internal dimensions of 3×3′ and the outer dimensions are a little bit bigger. This allows for insulation, which, in our case, was left-over wool (this has a great insulating value, even though it was a little smelly 🙂 ). If you don’t happen to have wool lying around you can find sheets of foam at most hardware stores.
The lid is also insulated but is not calculated into the overall height because it comes off. It is completely removable for easy viewing and cleaning. I have mine secured with a clamping latch, but if you aren’t worried about your dog pushing it up and off, another idea would be to tack a furring strip underneath next to the walls of the box on 2 sides.
The door was another thing; my dimensions of 18×13″ proved rather big, 
and I would do it smaller next time all around. You can also tack a blanket up over the entrance for extra warmth.
The completed box was very heavy, but Lady loved her new house! Later, Matt also built a smaller one whose internal dimensions were 28×26″ for his Beagle (this one was easier to move) and she really appreciated it, especially since she only has short hair!
Stuff your new house with plenty of straw for them to burrow into, and you will have a comfortable, warm, sturdy house, that will keep your dog warm through the worst of our Washington winters! It even makes a very good whelping box- Peppers pups have done very well in a insulated house!
~Ann
Rosehaven Homestead 