When thinking about your home, we always think of the comfort, the aesthetics, and the best place for it to be located. Have you thought about the same comfort ideas for  your dog? Choosing a spot for a dog house may not be as cut and dry as you think. Depending on your local climate, the amount of sun in your backyard, and other factors should weigh in to the placement. My Guest Blogger gives tips for choosing the right spot for your dog.

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There are plenty of things to consider when it comes to getting a dog house for your dog. You’ll need a house that’s the right size and is made of proper materials for your dog and for the climate you live in.

You’ll need to think about how warm or cool the dog house needs to be, and whether you intend for your dog to live in it full time or just part of the time when he happens to be outside and in need of some shelter. One of the other things, though, that many pet owners don’t consider before building or installing a dog house is exactly where to put it.

You do, however, need to put some thought into this question, as the location of your dog house is important. Here are some things to consider when choosing the best spot for your dog house:

Sun and shade

You shouldn’t ever put a dog house in a spot where it will get direct, strong sunlight for more than a couple of hours at a time. This is particularly true if you’re planning to have your dog use the dog house for extended periods of time during the day. Even in cooler climates and with proper ventilation, your dog house will heat up quickly in direct sunlight.

To figure out where the sun and shade are in your yard, take a Saturday afternoon when you’re home all day, and periodically go outside and see where the sunny and shady spots are. Chances are likely that you have at least a couple of spots that are shaded throughout most of the day, even if they get a bit of direct sun in the morning or evening. These are good spots for your dog house, as long as they meet the rest of the criteria.

Wind exposure

One of the main things to think about, as well, is exposure to the wind. Since your dog house is meant to be a shelter for your dog, you don’t want it to be battered by cold winds, especially in the fall and winter months. For this reason, it’s best to avoid putting a dog house on the north side of the house. Depending on where you live, you may also want to avoid putting a dog house on the east side of the house.

More specifically than this, though, pay attention to the way the dog house is facing when you put it up. The door should be facing away from the harshest winds in your area. Again, if you simply pay attention to the weather on a few windy, cold, or snowy days, you’ll be able to figure out where the wind is coming from most often, and you can protect your dog by facing the back of the dog house toward that exposure. If your climate is typically chilly or windy, you might even consider insulating the dog house against the harshest winter winds.

Soil drainage

Whether you’re giving your dog house a wooden or concrete floor or not, you certainly don’t want it sitting in an area of your yard that is likely to be full of standing water after a heavy rain. Again, you can figure out which spots get the best drainage by simply paying attention after a rainfall. Go out into your yard and walk around. If there are certain areas where water gathers, avoid those when deciding where to put up your dog house.

If your entire yard has problems with drainage, you might consider creating an elevated dog house – either by putting it on wheels or a taller platform or by bringing in some dirt to build up a bit of a hill around it. You can also improve soil drainage right around and underneath your doghouse by laying down some sand or gravel before you situate the dog house.

Aesthetic and practical concerns

After you’ve considered sun and wind exposure and soil drainage, it’s time to think about aesthetic and practical concerns for your dog house. Aesthetically, where would you prefer to put your dog house? You could situate it in the midst of a flower bed if you know your dog won’t dig up the flowers, or you might prefer it at the back of the yard. Remember, you can always make a dog house blend into the overall feel of your home and yard better by choosing a nice looking dog house that matches the color scheme of your own home.

On a practical level, it’s important to consider how you’ll use the dog house. Is it part of a fully-fenced back yard so that you can just let the dog out the back door, to use the dog house at his pleasure? If so, then you can put the dog house almost anywhere in the yard, since you won’t have to actually walk over to it to tie the dog up. Is it in an open area where you’ll have to take the dog out and chain him to the dog house on a long lead? If so, you might want to put the dog house a little closer to the house so that you can more easily clip and unclip your dog from the attached lead.

As a mom herself, Katheryne Taylor from the credit card applications website, CreditDonkey says, “Building a dog house that will really serve the needs of your family and your dog isn’t difficult, but it does take some thought.” Before you just plop your dog house down in your yard wherever you feel like it, take all these things into consideration so your pet will be more comfortable and your dog house will be more practical.

For more pet ideas on Stagetecture, click here.