RallyValley Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I am just curious as I have not been able to find too much information on the internet about this. if you were building from scratch what would you do diffrently or add to make things more pet friendly? Does anyone have any floorplans that they have used/thought of/intend to use that they would like to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) Susan Garrett has a kitchen, the cupboard system incorporates about four or five dog crates, with sort of pull out drop down doors, that are mainly used for new arrivals. She's also modified her house to provide training areas. I would like a dog door. That the dog can use that doesn't interfere with a screen door / normal door. Several people I know have a dog door entirely separate to the human door(s). One house has a dog door into the tiled area of the laundry so the laundry is like a dog kennel - shut off from the rest of the house with the dog door in it to let the dog out. Except this is a PITA because the laundry is separate to the main living area of the house, which is usually closed to the rest of the house (door on a hall way) so if the dog is hanging out with the humans in the kitchen/dining/lounge room - it cannot let itself out the dog door when it needs unless the door to the bedrooms and long hall way is also open. Oops. Could be fixed by a second dog door in the kitchen but this has not been done. Another home - the dog has pretty much eaten her own dog door from the sun room to the back yard. Big oops. It's really easy to fix a dog door into a glass window frame - they could have done that. But again - the main kitchen dining area hasn't got access directly to the back yard so if the dog is hanging out with the humans - it can't let itself out. So I think your average house - needs to be able to close off access to the bedrooms from the dog (eg by shutting a hallway door), but needs a separate access to outside from the living / kitchen area where the humans usually hang out. And it's nice to have an area that is easy clean that the dog can hang out when it's new eg a puppy day zone. Eg the laundry - so long as all the laundry equipment is safe inside cupboards. I don't know about floor plans. Edited January 12, 2011 by Mrs Rusty Bucket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss B Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Handy access to an outdoor, grassed area is super helpful when toilet training a puppy. Our previous house didn't have that and it was a real pain (had to go halfway through the house, down a flight of stairs, through a hallway and then either through the garage or out the front door to get to grass). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolz Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 one thing i would like in a house is a purpose built dog room.. one that has a stable door type dog door that can be left open during the day that leads out to a HUGE fenced outdoor play area. the room would have a grooming table, large cupboard with large bins for dry food, fridge/freezer for chilled foods. it would have a wet floor system with large drain in the middle of the floor for ease of cleaning, with large dog bath at other end. havent decided whether i would have built in crates or just wire crates with a base built for them to sit in so they can be dismantled for going to shows or just have raised sleeping platforms for the dogs so they can share beds. would also have built in dog feed stations so the bowls dont end up getting dragged round all over the show and eaten.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Things that make our current home better than our previous house are the ability to shut the bedroom/study/bathroom/laundry off from the main living area - we also have a baby gate on that hallway door to keep pup confined where we can keep an eye on her plus it allows the cats some peace and quiet. Jumping the baby gate is their new favourite game Hard floors are also wonderful - a combination of timber floors and slate - accidents are easy to clean up and it only takes a daily sweep with the hard floor mop to pick up all the hair. A difficult compromise is the windows/doors to the north which are glass to the floor - I wouldn't have it any other way for the gorgeous view but it does mean an awful lot of dog snot to be cleaned off regularly! Clean lines and no clutter make dusting a lot easier too. "Dizzy Proof" (the foster failure kitten) cupboard doors will be a priority when we get around to fixing up the kitchen....currently using child locks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tralee Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Sounds like you are thinking of something like a Vet surgery design. Many Vets are refurbished houses/homes So you just allocate rooms around the operational areas of a surgery. Existing surgeries should give you some ideas. I have often thought have having an area where the dogs can see me while I'm inside. That way they can feel like they're inside when they're really outside. Great question Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 No stairs, lots of hard floors and a massive laundry (for grooming, bathing etc) would be good. Oh, and you have to have an indoor race track.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Oh, and I love having a big, covered deck and verandah so dogs can get towel dried before they launch themselves inside! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkyTansy Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 A nice big enclosed outdoor area where the rain doesn't get in (semi enclosed i guess) the only other thing I'd consider making sure I include is a whelping/grooming room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Thanks for all the ideas everyone! Sounds like you are thinking of something like a Vet surgery design.Many Vets are refurbished houses/homes So you just allocate rooms around the operational areas of a surgery. Existing surgeries should give you some ideas. I have often thought have having an area where the dogs can see me while I'm inside. That way they can feel like they're inside when they're really outside. Great question No defiantely not a vet surgery, just a regular house... not that it will be happening anytime soon but it will be nice to have some ideas ready for when it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mim Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We don't have any stairs which I think is great. If I were building, I'd have a dog kitchen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 If like me you are on a slightly sloping block and need a few stairs outside, think about putting in a ramp instead for old doggies who eventually can't (or won't!) use stairs - will make your life toiletting old doggies much easier... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolz Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 thats what i forgot.. a bench and sink for preparing meals and cleaning up after Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laneka Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We have terra cotta floors in the living areas, a half timber fly screen door on the back, this has a dog door in it. We also have another dog door in a built in part of our back verandah, this goes out to a small grassed run for when we are not home. This area also holds our dog crates. We have stables that have been turned into a dog area, I have a feed area out there, no sink unfortunately but a great bench with cupboard (towels and blankets) underneath, a 500ltr chest freezer and a fridge. So lucky to have this. If I was going to build I would have a 'nice lounge room' and a doggie lounge room. Oh and my house suffers from snotty windows too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zizzi Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'll take a photo of our bathroom/laundry later. I opted to combine these rooms and have a door installed the dogs can then get washed dried and let straight out the door to the sunshine without running through the house. The internal door to the bathroom also locks so I can leave the external door open for the dogs to access the bathroom for safety/shelter if nobody is home without to much risk of being broken in to. What i don't like! I don't have a door for the hallway to the bedrooms although bedroom doors can be shut I can't shut off the dogs from down there. They don't really have a reason to go down there though. And I have a wide open plan kitchen sometimes when cooking I'd like the dogs to stay in the dining room and not be under my feet. I also opted to have the 4th bedroom tiled for the kids playroom but thinking of it most likely will be another room for dog or if I'm lucky a cat when the kids grow out of having a playroom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) Tiles, tiles, tiles, tiles and no stupid silver/blue carpet!!!!!!!!!! The ability to easily cordon (baby gate) the bedrooms off from the rest of the house (got that much right) Big store area for dog leads/blankets/collars/bowls/crates/beds/towels/everything else they accumulate Wet room for hydrobath with table for drying/grooming/first aid station, incorporating fridge and freezer for food, bench for food prep, hot and cold water for washing up, heavy duty washing machine for laundry duty. Room with it's own access to outside with air conditioning for those really hot days. Outside ------ huge covered area with proper drainage for those really wet days. Edited January 12, 2011 by Sandra777 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zizzi Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Oh and I took the normal door off the playroom and put a screen security door there so I can always see the little buggers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Just thought of something else....we are on quite a steep block so our deck is also our carport and we have stairs leading up to the front door. One of the best things I had done was to install a small shed and heaps of cupboards under the house. It takes me about 5 minutes to load the car for a dog trial - gazebo and soft crate from the shed and everything else I need from one of the cupboards. Brilliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betsy Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Easy access from the front of the house to the back so wet, muddy, sandy dogs etc can be put in the backyard straight from the car Agree on the separate bedroom area - the baby gate works wonders! I would like more storage in my laundry. Another thing, if you have inside cats (like I do), think of where you want to put them and their kitty litter away from dog living areas. Mine is in the second bathroom after I had to move it out of the laundry when the dog arrived and took over that part of the house. It is a PITA when people come to stay as I have to move it into my bedroom/ensuite. I would like two laundries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Lots of good ideas already. Well made well drained paths outside for wet periods. Lots of protected outside area with all weather surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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