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The doghouse

I am looking for some sort of dog box / crate-type / safe retreat place for my dog

10 replies

HopeForTheBest · 14/06/2013 15:43

Due partly to possible-second-dog coming, and partly to wanting to offer her somewhere safe she can retreat to whenever we have kids over and it gets a bit loud and noisy.

Up to now, I've just put her in our bedroom as necessary, but I've noticed that that seems to stress her out as she can no longer see what's going on.

So, anyway, something for the living room, where she can go as necessary. Should be comfy, have possibility for her to look out (though if it could also have sides covered that might be good too), and NOT BE A CAGE.

Possiblity of folding down in some way to take on holiday (or if visiting non-dog-people) would be an added bonus.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions (or tips/advice about this in general).

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moosemama · 14/06/2013 16:46

How about one of the canvas camping crates like these. There are loads on the market and you can get them on ebay fairly cheaply.

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HopeForTheBest · 14/06/2013 16:49

I was looking at them - are they any good? The only people I know who crate their dogs actually use a metal crate which I don't want.

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Steffanoid · 14/06/2013 16:57

all of my families just have their own beds to retreat to, my JRT has his under a table/chair, our Irish red setter has his between the end of the kitchen table and a bookcase, quiet comfy corners that they know are theirs and theirs only

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moosemama · 14/06/2013 17:16

We used to have a canvas one for our Soft Coated Wheaten girl. It was never zipped up, she was just the type of dog that loved to den and needed a quiet secure place away from the other dogs and dcs. Prior to that she had her bed under the dining table, but it was a bit of a pain when we all needed to sit to the table together.

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HopeForTheBest · 14/06/2013 17:17

That's the thing, we don't have quiet comfy corners (other than our bedroom) where she can retreat to. Her bed is in the hall, opposite the kitchen, which is where she lies a lot of the time, but it's not useful for when we have eg. loads of kids over, as they run directly past it going to ds's room, hence the need to create this safe space for her.

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idirdog · 14/06/2013 17:38

Can you do anything like these
understairs

or the Bassett bed

dog bed under your bed

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Vibbe · 14/06/2013 19:03

We don't crate our dog. She has a couple of baskets/beds all over the house.
She has a little tent like this: www.qualipet.ch/shop/swisspet-hundezelt-biwak-beige-blau.html but she doesn't actually use it much.

If she's in the office, she can sleep in the crate we got for the car (we use a doggy seatbelt in the car instead). More often she just sleeps on the carpet or whatever bag my DP has thrown on the floor.

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littlewhitebag · 14/06/2013 19:05

Can i ask why you don't want a crate? My lab loves hers. I have custom made covers for it and it is snuggly and cozy.

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Pandemoniaa · 14/06/2013 23:14

I have a canvas one for the Small Terrier. It is in a corner of the admittedly large kitchen and although not zipped up, he regularly uses it as his den and seems to feel particularly safe in there. Because it isn't as open as a cage, he isn't disturbed by anything going on around him. So I wonder if you could make a similar den where your dog's bed is now.

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HopeForTheBest · 15/06/2013 11:46

I want to offer her a quiet, safe space which is away from eg. children running back and forth. I am also looking ahead to if this works out with getting a second (younger) dog, she will want to be able to retreat, and I don't want to turn any part of the flat eg our bed, the sofa etc, into "her" area because those are parts which both dogs can use as they wish. Hence the idea of getting some sort of "den" for her.

I am not going to have anything that looks like a cage. The dog might not know the difference (though I agree with you, Pandemoniaa
about wanting something which isn't open all the way round the way a cage would be), but I certainly would!

There is a spot in our living room (in front of the bookshelves) that I think would be perfect - she could still keep an eye on what's going on, but nobody would actually be disturbing her.

idirdog if/when we redo any part of our furniture, I will DEFINITELY be looking at some of those ideas again - they are fabulous! But at the moment, though our flat is large, we don't have unused cubby holes or under-the-stairs cupboards etc.

Is the canvas one strong enough, Pandemoniaa? I have read mixed reviews of them. My ddog doesn't shred stuff or chew things or scratch the furniture in any way, so I'm assuming she wouldn't do that to her own den either.

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