Gardening and Animals

1867

A Dog-Kennel

A great many boys own dogs, some of them very nice dogs, and valuable ones too; but they do not all live in good kennels, while perhaps a great many of them have no houses at all, but crawl into a turned-over barrel or an old box; or they may sleep in the barn, or in a chicken coop. Almost any sort of a kennel will do for a dog if it is large enough and has a tight roof so that rain will not leak through. To house a dog properly, his master should give him a kennel and a warm straw bed, which he will appreciate, just as a boy likes to have a nice room and a comfortable bed to sleep on.

A very good dog-house can be made from a dry-goods box roofed over and with an opening cut near the bottom so that the dog can do in and out; but a more substantial structure and one that will look more like a house can be made from matched boards, so that it will appear as shown in Fig. I. The dimensions of this kennel depend, of course, on the size of the dog it is to house. For the average dog of medium size a kennel 36 inches long and 24 inches wide will be quite large enough for a comfortable shelter. From boards with tongue-and-groove edges, make a front and back each 22 inches wide, 36 inches high to the peak and with the sides 24 inches in height. These boards are held together with a batten nailed across them just below the angle forming the pitch of the roof, as shown at A in Fig. 2. An opening 9 inches wide and 14 inches high is made in the front end for the doorway; or, for large dog, the size can be increased.

Make a bottom of narrow boards, 34 inches long and 22 inches wide, by nailing the boards fast to three battens which extend across under the bottom, as shown in Fig. 2. The front and back of the kennel are then to be nailed to the ends of the bottom and held at the top by a piece of joist 34 inches long, which will act as a ridge-pole. The sides are then formed by nailing matched boards tot he sides of the bottom and edges of the front and back, as shown in Fig. 2. The boards run lengthwise in a corresponding manner to those forming the bottom, and when both sides are laid up to the tangle the roof boards are cut and made fast to the ridge-pole and to the upper edge of the top boards forming the sides.

The roof-boards should be cut long enough to extend about 3 inches beyond the sides, and at front and back they should hang over at least 2 inches.

Bore two holes 3 inches apart near the top of the front and back and saw across between the holes. These will make ventilators to take off the hot air in summer-time, and in winter, when a flat-door is hung in the doorway on leather hinges, these openings will ventilate the interior.

A few coats of paint will improve the appearance of this kennel, which when completed should make a very good home for a pet dog.

A piece of old carpet, some straw, or an old quilt, will form a soft spot for a dog to lie on, and in the winter-time plenty of straw will be welcomed by the occupant of this kennel.