Someone wanted to see what the "doggy man cave" looked like without all the snow not on it. The answer is pretty rough! This was constructed from stone at the back of the property.
From the beginning, the plan has been for ivy to cover the whole thing, and for potted geraniums to go on the top. By September, the dogs will simply be disappearing into the foliage!
At the bottom of the dog house entry, are two rough blocks of stone which slip out when the inside is cleaned. Inside, the floor is solid concrete, and sloped to drain (the stones fit into the drain ramp at the door). On top of the concrete floor is foam insulation which easily slips out, and on top of that are rubber mats, with a thick bed of straw on top. No dogs have ever been dryer!
If you look at the tree to the right of the doorway in the first picture at top, you can see a little black box, which is my Moultrie game camera which I use to photograph visiting yard fox.
For the record, the dogs have another doggy man cave inside the garage, which is also insulated and heated. At night the dogs sleep inside the house, in their own individual crates located inside the laundry room.
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5 comments:
VERY nice! What a great habitat for your guys. I see your perimeter fence, and you mentioned you have an invisible fence to complete your "belt and suspenders" approach to dog containment, but how do the fox get in?
Seahorse
My hard fence is mostly a "scrarecrow" for the dogs. What keeps them in is the Invisible Fence -- they never get close enough to the hard fence to test it. Fox come into the front yard up the driveway or around the edge of the house from the side yard where there is a gap. We have woods all around, and along the river below the house the woods stretch unbroken for over 100 miles. Deer just jump the fence, of course. Fox always go where they want -- they are as silent as ghosts, and can slip through a very small hole as easy as a silk scarf through a bracelet. I believe in Invisible Fences.
Patrick
Yeah, I believe in a few things I can't see, too! I just wondered if the fox had to climb, or if they had another path in. They are stealthy, for sure. In fact, I rarely hear wildlife, unless it's birds, but I SEE animals, mostly when they move. If everyone remains still, they are hard to find!
Seahorse
What will future archaeologists make of this? Tomb?
Should you ever leave that house, do bury some human bones in the dog shelter.
Add some kitsch to the tomb, too. A Pet Rock, a pink flamingo, a mood ring, all the essentials for a groovy trip to the next destination. Really make those archeologists wonder!
Seahorse ;)
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