Does anyone still use doghouses anymore?

Never used them. The meat just rots in it. I just put the dog meat in the freezer.

More dogs than you can possibly imagine or would ever want to imagine are banished to the back yard either in a house or under the house or some with no shelter at all.

I absolutely do not understand why anyone would ever want a dog to chain to a house in the back yard. If you don’t want it to be a member of your family why bother?

(@ragingloli – very insightful answer, oh well it is in social…..)

I sleep in a doghouse. :) Kidding.

@rooeytoo Maybe she misread it as smokehouse, or something. or it was another case of [redacted] fluthering. ;-)

I’ve always had small dogs that are cuddly and spoiled (even allowed in the bed sometimes!). They don’t need their own house – they take over mine.

I tried, once. The dog preferred sleeping under the porch. Never went inside the thing, so we painted it white and pink and gave it to a friend’s 2 year old daughter as a playhouse.

They are still used. Unfortunately.

My dog lives in my house with the rest of the family. I did consider getting one though, because she like to be outside a lot but doesn’t like the sun very much (she’s a black coated retriever and she overheats easily). I thought it would be a nice way for her to be able to stay out of the sun. I never bothered in the end though, she can always find a shady spot somewhere without one.

My cousin owned a Newfoundland and built him a Mcmansion to use during the winter, which was most of the year in northern New Hampshire.

The dog preferred, happily, to sleep on the nearest snow drift.

I have one for the husband and the kids. Seems someone’s always in it!

Our last dog was a small short haired dog that suffered from the cold in the winter. We bought a little shelter made out of cloth and foam for her. It reflected her body heat and she loved it. Right now it’s a toy chest for our new dog. She prefers to get her warmth from on top of us!

We never had a dog house in the traditional sense, but as a child, I was always a bit jealous of a dog that had one. It looked like a dandy playhouse!

My dogs have houses, but they prefer to pull the bedding out of the house and sleep under the stars, especially in winter when it is cold. They also have access to the house through the doggie door in the porch.

They sleep in the porch in the summer to take advantage of the AC.

I built one out of old windows I salvaged from a window installation job many years ago. It’s on our porch and our old dog loved it because she could lay in there and still keep an eye on things without getting out. I had a couple brooder lamps inside that kept it surprisingly warm in the winter. Our son used to call her the “broasted chicken dog” because at night the red heat lamps looked like those glass warming cases that the quick- mart have to keep their fast food hot. Our present dogs go inside it from time to time but not as much as ol’ Moonie.
This summer I blocked off the place under the house with wire fencing so our dogs could go under the steps and take advantage of the cool air under the house.

My entire house was the dogs house.

I’ve a little house in the garden for my cats…. :-/ when they refuse to come in at night they use the cat house as overnight shelter. In the winter though they never venture too far from the back door…. Years ago people had dogs, not as pets but as guard dogs & would often have them tied up outside their properties….. I worked on a farm years ago that had guard dogs tied up around the place with their own houses to shelter in……

When my deceased border collie was a bad dog, he stayed outside and in his wooden doghouse. He did not appear to mind that much, since his doghouse was small and he felt secure inside it. He passed away and I now have a Lab. She is an inside dog. She runs outside twice a day. One time, I caught her mysteriously looking at the doghouse and wondering what the heck that was.

My Lab has not used the doghouse, yet. But, it’s there for her, when she disobeys. Is this a form of punishment?

Maybe.

@John

I’m glad to hear about your lab. Of course she can never replace your beloved collie but it’s nice to have a new family member.

I have a doghouse in the backyard. I think it’s occupied by wildlife but I’m not sure. I never go near it and neither do the sofa-dwelling dogs.

Never had one, never will. I have nothing against dog houses if they’re used as a temporary shelter while they’re playing outside, but I think it’s cruel if that is their only home. Dogs are pack animals and they look at us as a part of their pack. The worst thing for a dog is to be ostracized from their pack which is essentially what you are doing when you have them separated from you.

@Blueroses

Ha ha. Yeah. I understand. My bed is considered by my cat to be her property. I sleep in the areas which don’t disturb her rest :)

Yes. People around me that live in houses don’t let dogs sleep inside the house [unless it’s a powerful storm or a blizzard] .. the dogs usually start begging the owners to let them in till it goes away. But the dogs sleep outside in their own houses.

@Hypocrisy_Central – omg is ragingloli a female??? I had no idea. But I don’t think she misread the question, I think maybe she just thought her remark was funny???

I don’t think dogs are seen more like family and less like animals; I think it has always been that way. I also think doghouses are utilized as much as ever.

We have one, but our dogs have never used it. We also have an actual shed – one of those giant plastic ones – in case the dogs are outside when we’re not home and it starts to rain, or it gets hot. They like that.