How to build an aviary and a booth for a German shepherd with your own hands

The German Shepherd is a versatile dog breed bred for protection and protection. An adult dog is usually medium in size. The presence of her coat with a thick undercoat allows her to be kept outdoors in all weather conditions. In order for the shepherd to grow up healthy, it must be provided with a special aviary with a booth where the dog should feel comfortable. If financial opportunities do not allow or you do not like finished products, then you can build a home for your dog with your own hands.

Do-it-yourself home for a German shepherd

We select the location

• The place for the aviary must be dry.
• Placement near storerooms and garages is not recommended. These places can smell like chemicals and gasoline, and this spoils the dog’s scent.
• The best option is the distance from the buildings to the enclosure at least 500 meters.
• Shepherd housing located must be outdoors. Darkness is bad for a dog’s vision. Lack of light can lead to a pet’s eye disease.
• It is not recommended to build an aviary in an open space where there may be drafts. The best option is considered to be areas protected from the sun and cold winds by shrubs and trees.
• The place where the pet is kept should not be flooded with melt and rain water.
• The best place for an aviary is considered little hillwhere the sun’s rays hit it in the morning.
• Sheepdogs are not allowed to be kept with other pets (in stables or pigsties). The presence of ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide in these rooms negatively affects the working capacity and health of dogs.

Enclosure for German Shepherd

An aviary is a large cage in which a booth for resting a dog should be built. It should be comfortable and protect the pet from harmful meteorological influences. There, the shepherd, fully moving, will be able to keep watch.

Dimensions of the enclosure for the German Shepherd

The aviary can be infinitely large. Its width must be at least two meters. General minimum cage area depends on the height of the withers of the dog:

• up to 50 cm – 6m2;
• from 50 to 65 cm – 8m2;
• above 65 cm – 10m2.

These are the minimum sizes for those dogs that spend a significant part of their time in a fence. If a shepherd dog moves freely in the evening and at night in the territory protected by it, then an enclosure of 6m2 in size will be enough.

We build an aviary for a shepherd dog with our own hands

Design features:

• Use only natural materials and as little metal as possible.
• When installing, it is advisable not to use nails. It is best to use self-tapping screws, nuts, bolts or welding operations.
• From the observation side of the enclosure to the full height, it is necessary must have a grid. This is done so that the shepherd does not live like in a box, she is comfortable, and she can keep watch.
• The coating of the grating is also important. Since the aviary is located outdoors and is exposed to atmospheric phenomena, the grating for it must be galvanized or painted.
• The dwelling should be as strong as possible so that the shepherd dog cannot break it and get out.
• It is desirable to make the floor wooden.
• The door must be hung so that it opens inwards.
• The valve must be powerful and well fixed.

Construction Stages

1. First of all, you should make a brick or stone foundation, on the basis of which to make the floor. It can be a cement screed or flooring made of durable boards.
2. Install posts around the perimeter of the structure. A cheap and reliable option is installation of iron poles. They are fixed in the ground with cement.
3. A mesh is stretched between the supports. To make it convenient to feed the shepherd, a small space is left under the net.
4. A ceiling made of slate or roofing sheets is installed on top of the mesh. To do this, support rails are attached to the pillars.
5. If the canopy is not planned to be made, then the upper edge of the grid should be closed with a corner. The Shepherd may try to jump over the fence and cut himself if the edges are left sharp.

Properly built enclosures serve as an excellent home for a shepherd dog. The fence does not interfere with the active life of the pet.

dog house for german shepherd

Warm booth, built from high-quality building material, will cover the dog from rain, scorching sun, frost and wind.

How to build a do-it-yourself German Shepherd doghouse

• First of all, you should decide on the size of the booth. Its depth should be 10 centimeters more than the length of the dog, the height should not be lower than the height of the pet to the tips of the ears, and the width should be 5-10 centimeters more than the height.
• The necessary materials for construction are selected: wooden bars of various lengths, insulation, floorboards, roofing felt, construction stapler, thick fabric, plywood.
• The assembly of the booth should begin from the bottom:
  • Saw off two bars along the width of the booth with a section of 40×40 and sew a floorboard onto them.
  • Soak the board with drying oil or tar.
  • Put in a heater.
  • Nail the lining.
• Install four bars at the corners, which should be 45 mm longer than the height of the booth. Where there will be an entrance, install two more bars and four intermediate racks.
• Nail the lining to the bars in two layers, laying with a heater. All boards must be well fitted and trimmed, without burrs. Nail heads should be drowned and closed with wooden plugs.
• To waterproof the bottom with a stapler, attach a roofing material.
• For a gap between the bottom and the ground, to improve ventilation, on the bottom nail two bars 100×50.
• It is desirable to make the roof flat and necessarily removable. Sheepdogs like to use it as an observation post. For the construction of a roof, a perimeter is knocked together from 40×40 bars. Then plywood is sewn into size, which should be laid with insulation.
• For the winter season, thick curtains are fixed above the entrance of the booth.
• Now it remains only to paint the booth on the outside. It is undesirable to do this inside.

Shepherd dog house ready.

The recommendations and tips for building an aviary and a booth with your own hands are universal. Each owner can adjust them for his pet, climatic conditions or terrain features himself or consult with a local dog handler.