Natwerk Designs

What would you consider when designing a dog-friendly home?

Imagine you were designing a home (including exterior landscaping) to be used for several decades by a family that will have dogs (various ages, breeds, personalities, etc.). Be as DETAILED as possible about decisions/consideration for floor plan, materials, placement of fixtures (electrical outlets, lighting) and even furniture design. greekman, Just curious. In your home, are you the one who handles : * mud, leaves and snow tracked in on paws? * dog vomit and other bodily fluids from sick dogs? * carrying young, injured, sick or elderly dogs up and down flights of stairs? * containing/supervising young, injured, etc. dogs? OK. Dog-friendly isn't exactly the right phrase, but it's fits in the question title, unlike "What would you consider when designing a home that will keep you from pulling your hair out just because you have a dog?" ;-) Agility Man, Thanks for all the ideas. The flooring links alone are worth 5 points. ;-)

Public Comments

1. A doggie rec room.
2. bones.
3. Wow! This is an interesting question that is likely going to have some VERY long answers to it! I am going to have to put some thought into this and come back with a detailed answer for you! ADDED: Okay, a big requirement for me is property, since I am in to herding with my dog. Ideally, I would love to have at leat 20 acres in which to have set up for stock so that I can train for herding. There would need to be a packed pen area, a round pen, a small field and then a large field. For the regular yard, I would have a fenced off, large area specifically set up for the dogs. I also need an area large enuf to set up a proper agility course and a large out building where obedience could be properly practiced would be great. As for the home itself, I would want a room specifically set up for the dogs with an area for bathing and grooming and spaces for kennels. Beyond this for inside the home, everything else would be as a normal home would be for me.
4. 1. Big back yard for running and digging, with shade trees. Maybe even a water feature for the dogs to drink from in the summer. 2. Open floor plan to allow a strait path to the food bowl. 3. Easy to clean floors. 4. If you have the cash to spend- a really big tub/shower stall for easy dog shampooing.
5. Some things I want: ceramic tiles throughout the whole house, no carpeting.(dogs live in the house). One room for the female dogs, and one room for male dogs to sleep in at night. I would paint the rooms nice and put up a dog border. The dog rooms would have to be quite large I am talking rooms that ar huge...Enough room so they could run around and play and have fun when it is rainy outside. Also a dog grooming station in one room, dog dryers, table, ect.. The rooms would all have to be on the first floor, also no steps in the back of the house because these dogs can sometimes trip down steps... Chain link fenced in yard(6 foot high fence) with stockage fence around the chain link...about a half acre yard. Furniture would be good if it was all leather. I would only want a one story house. I would want a office for myself. Nice desk and chair, computer.... The landscaping would be no plants at all in the dog yard, they don't need to get ahold of poisonous plants. The yard they have would just be grass... Also a building for show handling training with all the mats and the agility, obedience and rally equipment....The building has heat and air conditioning ... The property would have to be huge as well...
6. I wpuld recommend making your house semi-dog friendly - such as using tile floors. However - I would also have a kennel so that my house could be PEOPLE friendly too!
7. I would want a HUGE property that I could set up a training field on and of course room for kennels that would be built to my specs. As far as the house, seeing how I would have to live in it, it would be designed for my comforts. A far as I know, I have never had a dog complain about any home that we have lived in so far, so, I guess they either don't care or they are very happy with their living arrangements!!
8. My dog loves her space and freedom. They should have their own designated areas to nap and eat. A doggy door is a must, and large place to romp and play.
9. lots of tile, an extra large laundry room with an area specifically for crates with a wash tub and plenty of storage/ cabinets.This room would also have tile on the walls for easy clean up, and a dog door so the pups can go outside (to a fenced area) when they desire. The windows in the entire home would need to be low so the dogs can look out without jumping up. All doors need to be metal or fiberglass so they would not get scratched up. No ventilation grates on the floor, they can catch and cut toenails/pads. Trash can in kitchen needs to be in a cabinet. Exterior: double gates at all exits and entrances to prevent bolters from successful take-offs. 6-7 foot fencing with concrete moat around the base to prevent dig-outs. A water feature for dog play and swimming. Crushed limestone area for elimination without the smell. Big logs or rocks for play and a shelter area for anyone who wants to get out of the elements but not go indoors just yet. The back of the shelter should be for storage of cleanup supplies and/or performance equipment. Considerations for elderly/disabled dogs would be a ramp instead of stairs out of the dog specific areas. p.s. almost forgot my fav thing in our yard... sand pit with dog toys for specific digging area. My guys LOVE this... but it has to be fenced off because it attracts every cat in a 5 mile radius, lol!
10. 1. First, the environment around the house. --big fenced-in backyard that has some provision (mesh beneath the fence, stone/wood border on the inside of the fence) to make it difficult for dogs to dig underneath it. --yard is big enough and flat enough for dogs to run, have an agility or rally-o course, tolerate several dogs but perhaps also a small kennel (for those times when you have several dogs back there but don't want all loose at once) --a backyard spigot (for a house and sprinkler or to set up a kiddie pool for dogs to soak in). --at least one sunny spot for dogs to lay in and chew bones during good weather. --at least one spot with some ground cover like ivy (smaller dogs will hide in the ivy and jump out to play/surprise others). --one area (like a shaded corner) that is an default toilet area so you don't have a backyard littered with dog feces. --a shed or storage container to hold agility equipment or large toys or things you can't leave out 365 days a year and don't want to bring inside. 2. The house --one level (especially if you have bulldogs, doxies, older dogs with joint problems). --a back door that is built to either accomodate a doggie door or easy exit for dogs. --flooring: tile would be easier to cleanup but it provides bad footing for dogs and also leads to skidding (a problem if the dogs get moving), carpet if you've got good house-training. --wall surfaces that won't be scarred if a ball or toy you toss rebounds off of it. --Not a loud doorbell or chime (that you'll have to train the dogs not to treat as a signal to freak out when someone comes, probably better to just have a knocker). --short-term confinement areas. If it's bad weather (and the dogs all need to be inside) and grandma with her walker arrives for Thanksgiving, where can you easily put the dogs so they don't jump up on her or 3 year old Timmie? So it's good to have a main-floor room that can easily handle your pack for a brief period of time. --a basement that serves as a good play area in winter or bad weather that has appropriate flooring (probably some of the rubber mat options that lots of agility centers use--easy on the joints, easy to clean, easy to put down, absorbs sound--websites listed below). --there would be doors (either through the garage or front door) that would easily handle a travel crate (especially for big dogs) so this might require french doors for easy entrance/exit. --a garage that has enough width for a car and then all of the stuff to set out for a show/trial/trip (crates/ex-pen/supplies, dog waiting eagerly) without being cramped as you load the car to fit it all in. --provisions for a whelping room. You have a female who gets pregnant (or is in heat) and you need a separate room for her and the litter) or to keep her away from any intact males. A good whelping room means it needs to be on the mainfloor (think of 6 week old pups negotiating stairs). --if the dogs sleep inside, then the room they're in has provisions for running water. This could be a passive solar heater on the roof, individual design, white noise device. But the continuous sound of running water is calming for dogs (one of the animal shelters in my area has running water above the main floor where they keep dogs and you hear almost no barking). --a good feeding space. Meaning food is close by (and can easily be kept away from dogs like a closet that they can't damage by pawing at) and floor space to handle bowls that is easily cleaned up if there's a spill. --at least a couple of spots in the house that are "sunny" and ideal for a dog to curl up in and bask in the sunrays and dream of cats to chase and bones to chew. --something near the front door that will accomodate all of your dog "stuff" that you need when you go out for walks: bags, leads, raincoats, small bags of treats, the toys you stuff in your pockets when you walk to the park, collapsable bowl with water bottle, all of the things you sometimes need on walks. Maybe it's a closet, a shelf, some hooks but you know you'll need it so how do you minimize the clutter and create organization--that's the question. --a main room that can handle all of your pack (don't know how many dogs you're talking about) and your family. That means besides your sofa or easy chairs, you'll need to accomodate a couple of dog beds or beanbag chairs.
11. Wow, what an interesting question. One thing I would incorporate would be access from within the house to outdoor run areas, with a small kennel area inside so the dogs could be confined there if needed. I've actually seen a house that does this - the runs are built into the house, so that the owner can let the dogs outside to run or pee and poop without having to leave the house. The kennel room would be large enough to do training, such as obedience or conformation, or whatever activity one wanted to do with the dogs. I would also have floor surfaces that gave the dogs good traction, but was capable of withstanding being scratched by toe nails, wouldn't soak up urine or show poop stains. Parts of the house would be off-limits to the dogs, and I would devise some method of restricting their entrance to those that didn't require closing a door. Placement of outlets, lighting and electrical appliances should be designed to either put cords out of reach, or provide a way to enclose them. I would include a area for bathing and grooming dogs, along with storage for food and equipment such as crates, agility equipment or other such supplies. This would be accessible from the kennel room. The exterior areas would be designed to be dog safe also. Use the proper fencing to create separate areas for outdoor play or exercise while avoiding use of chain link to give a more aesthetic result. It would take a lot of thought to devise a floor plan, but these are some of the things I would incorporate.
12. Floors,,, floors,,, floors. You can spend a couple of grand for carpet which you will need to replace in 4-5 years, or you can spend twice the amount (4 grand) on tile floors in your rec/family room which will never need replacing.