Furniture grade dog crate

[IkemanTX]

Well it isn’t saddle related, but it is DIY....


I probably should have done this when the price of wood wasn’t so dang high, but the pup needs it now. He outgrew the last 2 crates and I didn’t want to buy a temporary one in his final size, as well as building one later.

Kiln dried hardwood lumber is through the roof right now, so I ended up buying premium fir 2X4 studs and planing them down instead. A lot more work, lower quality wood, but a one or two hundred bucks saved.

I based the design around a replaceable tray from a “large” wire crate. That way, we always have plastic in the bottom to protect from pee, vomit, or diarrhea. I designed it 30” tall on the interior because our male GSP will most likely be around 25” tall at maturity, and I need a few extra inches for the pocket design of the door.

The door opens from the bottom, and slides into the frame like a garage door. I did this because it is already a LARGE piece of furniture, and I couldn’t lose an extra 26-28 inches of floor space to an open kennel door.

I think it turned out pretty good, but if I ever decide to build another piece of furniture..... I will DEFINITELY buy an HVLP spray gun rather than brush applying 4+ coats of polyurethane.


20 Gallons of sawdust from JUST the boards that went into the table top portion.

Gluing up the main top.

Beginning the side panels.

Oops....

Beginning assembly

Door operation

Breadboard ends being glued onto the top.

After LOTS of sanding. I never did get all the boards to the exact thickness thanks to the studs all being slightly different thicknesses from the manufacturer.

Stain

Final assembly after poly

The final glue that holds the rebar in is curing for a full 24 hours before we move it into place and I can do a final video of the finished crate in action. The door will be held closed with a barrel bolt style latch on either side of the bottom.

Honestly, I had originally intended to do something much more rustic (with much less work put into it), but after spending 18 hours building the top alone, I decided to just go all out quality.


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[LeanMachine]

Solid work

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[Weldabeast]

Double as a hog trap....

Looks very nice...I sure the dog won't appreciate it...hahaha

 

[ImThere]

Super sharp. Good job


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[Homebrew454]

Looks good. It always feel good to accomplish something with your own hands.

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[Millerclan]

Bueatiful work. Hope you dont have to move it to often

 

[IkemanTX]

Double as a hog trap....

Looks very nice...I sure the dog won't appreciate it...hahaha

He has been crate trained since 7 weeks. When introduced properly, a crate is more like a den than a time out place. He never gets put in as punishment, isn’t in there all day and night, and the door is always open when he isn’t confined so he has control over the space. He willingly goes in during the day, with the door open, and takes naps. It is his comfort zone and safe space. It is also the place in the house that is unequivocally HIS.


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[Deltahuntr]

Wow! Good work, that’s a nice dog box. I like overhead door . That’s a well thought out box crate.

 

[skell]

Looks great! Love the door setup. Couldn't tell you how many times I've run in to an open kennel door in the dark!

 

[bj139]

That looks nice. I have been trying to get my 14 week old puppy to like being in his crate. He eats in there all the time but he barks constantly in there other wise if I lock him in. He is stubborn.

 

[IkemanTX]

That looks nice. I have been trying to get my 14 week old puppy to like being in his crate. He eats in there all the time but he barks constantly in there other wise if I lock him in. He is stubborn.

The absolute biggest thing that helped us was established ground rules. The door never got opened if he was whining, helping, or barking.

Keeping his bladder control in mind, he was frequently let out in the beginning and the interval was slowly extended until his bladder could handle whatever stay we need him in there for.

Controlling their water intake helps a lot, because even at 5 months old our puppy will drink almost any time he walks by the water bowl. We also included crate time in the daytime with us home so it wasn’t only a bed time thing.

Standing Stone Kennels has some really good videos on all sorts of training methods. They have some dedicated crate training videos, and the crate is covered quite a bit in some of their potty training videos as well.

Really, the crate was our biggest help in potty training. So long as it is sized properly, it will keep them from peeing or pooping in it. We have now had 3 separate size crates in the last 13 weeks to keep them properly sized. He has never been able to poop or pee in the crate because he could not get away from it if he did. It is only now that he has a complete handle on crate and potty training that he is getting a luxuriously large crate.


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[bj139]

The absolute biggest thing that helped us was established ground rules. The door never got opened if he was whining, helping, or barking.

Keeping his bladder control in mind, he was frequently let out in the beginning and the interval was slowly extended until his bladder could handle whatever stay we need him in there for.

Controlling their water intake helps a lot, because even at 5 months old our puppy will drink almost any time he walks by the water bowl. We also included crate time in the daytime with us home so it wasn’t only a bed time thing.

Standing Stone Kennels has some really good videos on all sorts of training methods. They have some dedicated crate training videos, and the crate is covered quite a bit in some of their potty training videos as well.

Really, the crate was our biggest help in potty training. So long as it is sized properly, it will keep them from peeing or pooping in it. We have now had 3 separate size crates in the last 13 weeks to keep them properly sized. He has never been able to poop or pee in the crate because he could not get away from it if he did. It is only now that he has a complete handle on crate and potty training that he is getting a luxuriously large crate.


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Thanks. That's very helpful information. The longest he has been in there is about an hour and I never let him out until he is quiet. I think he will get better over time.

 

[IkemanTX]

Puppy approved!

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[GWHGoat]

Nice work man. Hell I'd sleep in there.

 

[Sziggy2.0]

I like it. Well done. Everybody needs there own spot.

 

[cmatthew80]

Double as a hog trap....

Looks very nice...I sure the dog won't appreciate it...hahaha

Not necessarily. My dog loves her crate - she gets a small treat every night when she comes in from doing her business and goes straight into her crate. It's her space.

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[cmatthew80]

He has been crate trained since 7 weeks. When introduced properly, a crate is more like a den than a time out place. He never gets put in as punishment, isn’t in there all day and night, and the door is always open when he isn’t confined so he has control over the space. He willingly goes in during the day, with the door open, and takes naps. It is his comfort zone and safe space. It is also the place in the house that is unequivocally HIS.


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Exactly. Never sent to the crate as punishment. Nice work BTW - I better not show this to my wife or I'll have a project to complete...

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[redsquirrel]

@IkemanTX that turned out awesome. Nice work!