buried or underground dog house?

Philphine · 11-04-2009, 10:30 PM

compleat left field idea i got while i was digging out dirt for a pond.

while i was piling up the dirt for some reason i kinda wished i had stuck a dogloo i have under it. i'm thinking natural insulation.

in fact, i have two dogloos (got them cheap and was or still am considering having two dogs). i'm thinking it would be interesting to connect them to a larger common dome and make a mound of the whole thing.

the two things i'm wondering are, since dogloos come with a detachable base, i'm thinking i'd need to permanently seal the base to the top to prevent seepage into the dogloos. also i'd probaly need to be able to access the main dome somehow to clean it out or worst case senario, how dogs get sick and crawl into a space like that and die. not to mention how would i make the main dome.

so...? does it sound crazy?

travelover · 11-05-2009, 08:32 AM

Your dogs need a warm, dry and clean place to sleep. If you wouldn't sleep there, I don't think it is a humane place for the dogs, either.

Philphine · 11-05-2009, 11:57 PM

if i didn't care about it being clean and dry, i wouldn't have asked about how to keep it clean and dry.

travelover · 11-06-2009, 09:28 AM

I get the intent of the earth insulation, but if buried, I doubt that you can keep it dry in there and provide enough access to keep it clean so you don't have fleas and ticks breeding in the bedding material.

Maybe you could build an insulated structure above ground.

About midway here are guidelines for dog houses:

Do You Chain Your Dog? | The Humane Society of the United States

TxBuilder · 11-06-2009, 03:01 PM

I think you wouldn't want to seal it so that interior fluids could seep out. I think the only issue like you stated would be you access to sick animals. I would also worry about other animals attempting to get in it. But your dog should take care of that. Give it a try and post picks. Also I think you would have to figure out some sort of ramp system that wouldn't collapse. Good Luck

Plumbing And Lighting · 11-10-2009, 03:03 PM

Yea, I'm going to say that this sounds pretty crazy.

Why not just insulate an above-ground doghouse?

Is there any particular reason that you're considering putting live dogs underground or was this just a morbid flash of creativity?

Philphine · 11-11-2009, 12:20 PM

i just like the idea. people build underground houses for themselves, why not a dog?

i've backburnered it though. i picked up a skylight at a flea market over the weekend. i'm thinking a bolted down (sealed) exposed door in a center section. light and access. maybe set the whole setup on a layer of gravel or cinderblocks so the floor is above regular ground level. i'll just let the idea develope as ideas and usable materials come to me.

the idea came to me, but i realised it needed more thinking than just burying the doghouse. and i just thought on a forum like this, someone might have tried it.