Well, in the Maui video, that's the first glimpse of the dog's new "Chill Den" (aka "The Cave"). I built that on Tuesday to give the dogs a cool (literally) place to go (and a warm place in the winter). It's built out of cinder blocks and buried 2+ feet in the ground, so it should do a great job of maintaining a comfortable "thermal swing".
The top (the roof) is a temporary thing, I just put some wood on it and covered it with cinder blocks to help block the sun's heat. This weekend I plan to build a nice insulated (and removable) wood top for it.
This is the first cave, we plan to do another one out in the yard, maybe in a week or so.
So far only Maui and Kona really use it. Loa popped in once and L popped in a few times, but Maui and Kona are the only ones that spend any time in there. I put my game cam in it to track the temps and usage and so far it's working perfectly! It keeps is VERY cool (relatively speaking). The outside temps have been 85F during the day here this week (unusually hot) and the hottest it got in the cave way 65F! The range was 50-65 in the cave, the coolest reading being in the AM and the warmest around 6pm.
Now we just need to get the dogs to use it more!
I built the thing for Luytiy since we are (slowly) moving him to be a 100% outside dog, but I think it will fail for him since he always wants to be on the lookout and being in a cave doesn't really give him that ability. So, I may have to think of something else for him.
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Brandon - no fights yet. I don't really think there will be, to be honest.
For Luytiy: Maybe you could try building a cooling den and an added level with windows? He might just be fine with being completely outside a majority of the time -shrugs-. The cooling den and CO barn/housing might just be options for him to escape weather.
Maybe for big L you can build a mound that has a roof on stilts so he can have an elevated guard-dog view but have the comforts of a shelter to protect him from the elements?
Jen - I think a "real" LGD would live with the Livestock, so they would be in a barn with them or w/e in bad weather. In this case L's "livestock" is crated at night and he is left to be a property guard. He has a dual role.
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Jesse - Interesting idea. I'll have to give that one some thought.
Chris is working on doing a "doggie duplex" for our kids like the one shown below, that way there is a roof deck to be elevated. Miso loves being TALL.
BTW - did anyone notice Ahi's *new* limp in the rope vid? She freaking hurt her other front leg now. We need to get her a bubble or something (like bubble boy).
I thought about that Patrice! But... I think I will just make a very basic flat box roof that overlaps all the edges, that way they can sit on top of it and I can fill the inside of the box with insulating foam to reduce any thermal energy from getting into the building.
They love to chew wood, so I would hate to spend a lot of time on a nice roof only to have them chew it up. Freaking Luytiy chewed my sledge hammer yesterday - A FREAKING SLEDGE HAMMER! \ Nothing is safe in the yard. lol.
We do plan to coat the outside with Adobe mud plaster, they will make it look a lot nicer and blend more. It's pretty ugly right now - but it works GREAT!
BTW, Patrice, Kaia finally decided to get off the couch... So I got a few cute pics of her.. She is looking good - RAW really seems to work well for her.
Yeah I hear you about keeping things practical and reasonable in terms of constructions projects.
That's great to hear about Kaia...Sometimes it's tough to find the right food to meet each dog's needs. In many cases it takes some juggling to find out what works best.
Yeah wood is a favorite for many. The salt and sweat on the handles of tools appears to be tasty temptation. Items you use around the house that transfers oils from your hands are always of great interest I.e. remote, game pieces, pencils, hammers, you name it....
Lindsay - No support beam, but there are some wood rails on the bottom of the roof to help distribute the weight. The roof bows very slightly (looks more excessive in the photo), but I got on top of the thing and jumped around and it supported me fine. I outweigh L by 20lb or so.
Tomorrow they will get a new roof, and it will be more robust.
Comments
Blue in the big hole is hysterical.
I love Anderson spam...
Any fights over the entrance to the club house yet? I saw the photos on flickr of everyone standing on top of it, but no one in it.
The top (the roof) is a temporary thing, I just put some wood on it and covered it with cinder blocks to help block the sun's heat. This weekend I plan to build a nice insulated (and removable) wood top for it.
This is the first cave, we plan to do another one out in the yard, maybe in a week or so.
So far only Maui and Kona really use it. Loa popped in once and L popped in a few times, but Maui and Kona are the only ones that spend any time in there. I put my game cam in it to track the temps and usage and so far it's working perfectly! It keeps is VERY cool (relatively speaking). The outside temps have been 85F during the day here this week (unusually hot) and the hottest it got in the cave way 65F! The range was 50-65 in the cave, the coolest reading being in the AM and the warmest around 6pm.
Now we just need to get the dogs to use it more!
I built the thing for Luytiy since we are (slowly) moving him to be a 100% outside dog, but I think it will fail for him since he always wants to be on the lookout and being in a cave doesn't really give him that ability. So, I may have to think of something else for him.
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Brandon - no fights yet. I don't really think there will be, to be honest.
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For Luytiy: Maybe you could try building a cooling den and an added level with windows? He might just be fine with being completely outside a majority of the time -shrugs-. The cooling den and CO barn/housing might just be options for him to escape weather.
Jesse
The last video was my favorite. Ahi is so small and yet can intimidate everyone so well. ha ha ha
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Jesse - Interesting idea. I'll have to give that one some thought.
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Kristin I can't imagine how big that thing will have to be in order for Luytiy to safely get on it lmao.
Poor Ahi, limping again?!?!?! Geez...
Maui is going crazy :-)
Yeah, Ahi seems to be having some trouble with her front. :-(
And the cave is an awesome idea. I can not wait to see how it turns out once it is fully finished.
The the spring house looks pretty neat. Are you going to make an adobe style roof with log poles etc?
Snf
They love to chew wood, so I would hate to spend a lot of time on a nice roof only to have them chew it up. Freaking Luytiy chewed my sledge hammer yesterday - A FREAKING SLEDGE HAMMER!
We do plan to coat the outside with Adobe mud plaster, they will make it look a lot nicer and blend more. It's pretty ugly right now - but it works GREAT!
BTW, Patrice, Kaia finally decided to get off the couch... So I got a few cute pics of her..
She is looking good - RAW really seems to work well for her.
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That's great to hear about Kaia...Sometimes it's tough to find the right food to meet each dog's needs. In many cases it takes some juggling to find out what works best.
Yeah wood is a favorite for many. The salt and sweat on the handles of tools appears to be tasty temptation. Items you use around the house that transfers oils from your hands are always of great interest I.e. remote, game pieces, pencils, hammers, you name it....
Thanks for the pictures! : )
Snf
Tomorrow they will get a new roof, and it will be more robust.
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For some reason that made me laugh really loud.