5 Must Have Items In Your Dog House!

Congratulations on deciding to get your dog a dog house! Your dog is truly going to love it! Not only are you providing them with a place to rest when they’re outside, you’re providing them with a safe, comforting space!

After you’ve spent countless hours researching the very best dog houses, you may think you’re all done! Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s still more items that you need!

Simply buying your dog an outside house isn’t enough – you need to create a safe, comfortable space for your dog!

How do you do this?

Well, it’s rather easy!

Treat your dog’s outdoor house exactly like you would treat your dog’s crate!

What does that mean exactly?

It means that you need to add a few essential things to really make your dog LOVE their new dog house!

Without further ado, here are the 5 must have items in your dog house!

1. A comfortable dog bed!

Much like your dog crate, it’s best to find a comfortable orthopedic dog bed for your dog house. As we wrote the other day, orthopedic dog beds provide great support for your dog’s joints and muscles. This ensures that they stay healthy well into their older years.

Many dog breeds suffer from joint and muscle ailments in their old age. While it’s eventually inevitable that your dog is going to have elderly aches and pains, you can lessen the severity of those aches and pains by taking proactive action.

An orthopedic dog bed is that kind of proactive action.

In addition, you hopefully already have an orthopedic dog bed in your home, so it only makes sense to get one for your dog house as well! If you don’t have one, you can check out our dog bed reviews here and learn how to train your dog to use their bed here!

2. A comfortable dog blanket!

Dogs love blankets! Actually, let’s rephrase that. Everyone loves blankets!

But dogs really, really love blankets. How often have you come out of the shower only to find your little pup cocooned on your bed? For me, it’s every single day!

Do yourself, and your dog a favor and get them a comfortable blanket for their dog house. This will allow your dog to stay warm on colder days, while also giving them a way to dry off on damp days!

3. A few durable chew toys!

Dogs get bored extremely easy! One of the best ways to keep your dog engaged is by giving them a dog toy!

Now, you’re not going to want to give them any old dog toy for their dog house. You’re going to want to give them an incredibly durable chew toy.

The reasoning behind this is that odds are when your dog is going to be in their dog house, they’re going to be unattended. There are many dog toys out there that can be a choking hazard!

What you’re going to want to get your dog is a reputable dog chew toy brand. It can be difficult to find a reputable brand, so we put together a list of recommended dog toys here. You can also go to your local pet store and ask them.

For the love of God – do NOT give your dog rawhide. Get them a real bone instead. The Red Barn brand is the best – and cheap!!!

4. An elevated dog bowl!

When dogs are outside, they burn through an amazing amount of energy. In fact, having your dog run around outside is one of the best ways to calm a hyper dog – but that really shouldn’t come as a surprise! This also makes your dog really, really hungry!

Dogs also have only two ways of cooling themselves off – by their paws contacting the ground (and hoping that the ground is cool) and by their mouths! That’s why dogs pant when they’ve been running or it’s hot outside!

As a result, your dog drinking water also cools them down!

Both of these reasons are why it’s necessary to have a dog bowl in their dog house. As we wrote the other day, we really, really recommend an elevated dog bowl for all dogs. Not only does this ease your dog’s eating, but it also helps keep your dog house clean!

5. Protection from the elements!

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”

Well, we’re certainly not talking about mailmen on this website. But that saying is a good lead in to where I’m going with this section.

Most dog houses have nothing that protects the inside of the dog house from the outside elements. Without any protection, the snow, rain, heat, and gloom of night can freely enter into the dog house and potentially damage the structure and everything that’s inside.

When you’re choosing a dog house, try and pick one that either comes with a protective door cover or has an optional one for purchase. Worst case, you can always make one out of heavy duty commercial plastic – the kind of stuff you see hanging from warehouse doors.

Conclusion

We strongly recommend that you consider getting the aforementioned items. Your dog will love their dog house regardless, but you want to make sure your dog is going to really LOVE to go into their dog house – and want to stay in there!

If you haven’t purchased your dog house yet, be sure to check out our dog house reviews here!

Also, be sure to check out our other dog product reviews!