Outside doghouse ideas needed!

[LongTailedWinterBird]

I'm looking for inspiration for a doghouse to go in our garden. Before anyone panics, it wouldn't be a permanent home! Just a luxe space for our gorgeous, huge, scruffy lurcher to dry off after a wet and muddy walk.

At the moment, she gets a scrub and towel dry on the patio before going into her crate in our kitchen for an hour (and is then let loose in the rest of the house.) The trouble is, we're having our kitchen redesigned and I'm not planning to incorporate her XL crate (we only use it as a "muddy holding pen"!)

We don't have anywhere handy inside like a utility area/bootroom/shower - our kitchen comes off our hallway then leads straight into the garden. And we don't have a garage. We do however have a big garden, so I'm thinking of building a little house for her. I'm going to get an outside hot water tap installed when we renovate our kitchen, so could turn a whole area into a dog zone!

Has anyone else done this?! Where do you put/bathe your muddy pooches?

Mine just gets hosed off and put in a doggy drying bag/dressing gown so he doesn't get any mud on the carpet or furniture.

How would you heat it? Just thinking how you’d keep it warm enough to dry them off without them getting cold.
I’d probably just get the crate out and put it away after use if you have somewhere to store it

I also just put mine in a dog bag or drying coat , much simpler .

Agree you'd have to hear it or ddog might end up pretty cold and taking a long time to dry

*heat

Hose off and towel dry should do? Why the need for a holding area?

I just towel dry mine, she is really easy to clean and we walk through muddy woods and fields. l have no need for a crate or outdoor doghouse which l don' t think are suitable for lurchers, they need warmth , company and comfort. Mine would never stay outdoors without me, she is quite needy.

Thanks everyone. "Dog bag" might be a game changer!

To clarify a few points: I don't have anywhere to store such a big crate when folded. And she's not an archetypal lurcher, she's a total Heinz 57 rescue but lurcher is probably the closest! My issue is she's enormous, very hairy and prone to getting filthy, so a scrub and towel dry in the garden doesn't get her "living room ready"!

Of course I would heat any structure. I've actually been looking at garden rooms, which would make a rather fabulous des res for a soggy pooch. I just wondered if any other dog owners had created something similar - I know of a few people who've converted parts of garages/utilities into dirty doggy friendly zones, I just don't have that option.

Why don't you just get a small shed and hang a heat lamp?

I just let mine come in the house and shut off the areas with soft furnishings till dry. She is very hairy, very dirty and very doggy smelling but I can't be faffed with a pristine house.

I have a robovac and a steam mop for the worst transgressions. I mean, if your dog is ok in an outside kennel for a bit then I'd imagine there must be manufacturers of safe heaters for this sort of thing and actually I'm envious (!) Mine would bark the garden down, I wish she was less of a clingon!

I def wouldn't be getting a garden Room solely for a dog... They won't care whether it's a garden Room or a kennel as long as they feel safe and secure and warm. In fact mine would much prefer a cubby to a room away from the main house.

My stinky lurcher just gets put in the kitchen on some vet bed until he’s dry. He’s a bit precious though and won’t even lay alone in the utility room let alone in an outside house 🙄

Another vote for a doggy drying bag! Properly conditioned they work really well! I rub him down with a normal towel, drape that one over him and tuck it into his collar just in case he shakes before he gets in the bag, then the bag is laid out by the door and he knows to lie on top of it. He gets a treat for lying down and the. I zip him in. And then he dozes in it for an hour and I let him out. Genius!!!

I'm probably being really thick but is the doggy drying bag just like a towelling robe for a toddler that you Velcro round their neck or is there more magic to it than that?
Can they still walk around in it?

We also just let wet dog in the kitchen on the vinyl flooring to dry off and clean the floor later. He is massive and floofy but he dries off in 30mins or so. Maybe this is what we need? He really likes being dried but it takes at least 2 wet smelly towels.

@CovoidOfAllHumanity

I'm probably being really thick but is the doggy drying bag just like a towelling robe for a toddler that you Velcro round their neck or is there more magic to it than that? Can they still walk around in it?

We also just let wet dog in the kitchen on the vinyl flooring to dry off and clean the floor later. He is massive and floofy but he dries off in 30mins or so. Maybe this is what we need? He really likes being dried but it takes at least 2 wet smelly towels.

They're literally a bag you zip them into :) they can't walk in them properly but they can be trained to just lie in them in their beds for 15 minutes or so.

Or you can get robes (like Equafleece style) that are like doggy onesies.

Our dog loves his dog bag , it’s the Original Doggy Bag , he stands on it whilst I zip him in and then has a lovely snooze . I find that if you give them a bit of a rub with the bag before unzipping that he comes out looking like he’s been for a shampoo - all sleek and shiny .

I had to Google a dog bag and it also came up with a bag that attaches to a hair dryer. Extra floofyness

Hosepipe & towel dry here - live in wet muddy Ireland so mine are constantly filthy 🤷‍♀️

We stick a coat on our boy for muddy walks then just the legs and a bit around the bum to deal with, and find a towel is more than adequate (our boy is a total swamp monster and lies down in muddy puddles looking pleased with himself). We put the extra large fleece throws from Dunelm over our sofa so they can just be taken off and washed when they get stinky. I have given up on nice soft furnishings downstairs!

Just get a blaster drier.
I can have a leonberger dry and mud free in 15mins so I can imagine it would take you about 5 if that!