Puppy House

Here's the dilemma: you want to get a dog house for your growing puppy but do you "waste" money by buying a small dog house (i.e., a puppy house) that he will likely outgrow in several months or do you guesstimate how big the dog will be when fully grown and buy a dog house based on that guesstimate? For certain breeds of dogs, you can probably do a pretty good job of figuring how big the dog will be as an adult, especially if you know the size of the dog's parents.

So, you could acquire an adult-sized dog house and eventually your puppy will grow to fill it. However, that may not be in the dog's best interests because dogs prefer snug sleeping quarters that allow just enough room for them to stand in and turn around. And during cold weather, dogs retain body heat better in a more confined space. Bigger is not always better when it comes to dog houses - especially during the winter.

One solution to the puppy house dilemma is to buy a relatively inexpensive portable dog house - either hard plastic or fabric - and use that as a temporary indoor dog house until the dog outgrows it and/or the warm weather arrives. Then, the pooch can be moved to a larger, stationary dog house outside. Another approach that could be used in conjunction with the first suggestion is to get a dog house with movable internal dividers. This would allow you to custom fit the living space of the house to accommodate the dog as he grows.