When building a dog house on your own, it is important to pay careful attention to the dimensions. The dog house should be the right size for your dog; neither too big nor too small, which can be ensured by taking the proper dog house dimensions.

A dog house that is too small for your dog will not serve any purpose because your dog will not fit into it and will not be comfortable. But a dog house that is too big is also not ideal for dogs. Many people end up making dog houses that are way too big for their pets, thinking that the extra space will only make their dogs comfortable. However, a big dog house will not be warm enough for your dog as their body heat will not be enough to heat the extra space. Thus, you need the right dimensions for the doghouse so as to make your pet perfectly cozy.

The dog house size is directly influenced by the size of your dog. Thus, it is necessary to first measure your pet in the right manner.

• Measure your dog from the tip of the shoulder to the ground (when standing). This is your dog’s standing height. The height of the door that you build in the dog house should be at least ¾ this measurement
• Next, you need to measure your pet from the top of its head to the bottom of the ground, when it is in a sitting position. This is your dog’s sitting height. The height of the ceiling should be about 1 inch or maximum 2 inches more than its sitting heigh
• And lastly, you need the dimensions for the sleeping area. This is equal to 36 times the standing height of your dog. For instance, if your dog is 10 inches tall, you will need 360 square inches of floor space.

Thus, by measuring your dog as shown here, it is easy to arrive at the dimensions of the dog house that are appropriate for your pet.

Leerburg.com has a ready list with different doghouse dimensions for different breeds of dogs. These  have been calculated according to the average size that a particular dog breed reaches to. However, since your dog may be slightly smaller or larger than what is average for its breed, it is recommended that you at least take its standing height and then use the list to size the rest of the dog house.