Yup. I can't be trusted to stay on topic when anyone mentions "dog." I do love my babies!

I've got that problem too Woofie! I swear, at times I feel like I'm skipping over reading plant stuff, just hoping that I can find the word "dog"!

I had to show my husband the picture of Hunter with the blue pan in his mouth. He laughed for an hour over that one! The first thing he said was, "Don't let Bailey see that! She'll be shoplifting out of the kitchen cabinets!" I had the giggles so bad after that that I almost couldn't get to sleep last night!

Natalie...just posted this on my thread in the Sandbox, but in case you haven't seen it...thought you would enjoy

WooHoo!!! It's like he's balancing the world on the end of his nose!!! (or she?) What a cute picture!

Okay, now I've got to go find the Sandbox! I know I saw it earlier, but didn't click. Had I known there were dog pictures there, I would have moved in! I was thinking more on the lines of a large litter box when I saw Sandbox!

I've used our outdoor kennel as a temporary holding area doing hurricane warnings/tropical storms. I have a rangoon creeper that covers the top but underneath it is covered with a chain link top about halfway. I put potted plants in there during high winds storms to keep them from being blown away. They can only get blown as far as the kennel sides. LOL.

Great idea Jan!

I wish I could use mine for it's real purpose, which is the keep the dog in there once in a while, but I gave up after the first time! Next year I'm leaving it in the veggie garden after taking off the plastic. I'll plant my cucumbers in there so that they can grow up the sides. That should also give my daylilies some much needed shade in the afternoon, since most of them are in the border next to the veggies. This dog kennel is coming in really hand for me at least!

I originally built it when I had to move back with my parents when my son was born. I had 2 german shorthaired pointers and there were used to roaming the surrounding acreage I lived next to outside of Gainesville to they kept breaking out of or digging under my parents wood fence to go roaming. I had to get the chain link kennel with a topper for over the dog house so they wouldn't jump over and had concrete blocks on the ground for digging. I moved it to my house when I bought it a couple years later but really only use it if I want the dogs outside and need to work in the garage or have someone coming over to keep them out of the way. It gets used as a kennel only a few times a year now. Otherwise, it is mainly a support for the rangoon creeper.

Jan, I know what you mean about those GSPs. That's what we always had when I was growing up, and they are escape artists! My Grandparents lived behind us, and they had at least three of them at a time too, so we were always out looking for the dogs. Dad finally tried to turn the backyard into a fortress by putting chicken wire about 2 feet high, all around the top of the fence, and angled it in so that they couldn't just jump over. Well, they dug under the fence instead! There was no keeping those dogs in! Dad finally built a kennel for them, but they usually figured out how to get out of it too.

Ha! I had one of those many long years ago. What he couldn't climb over, he dug under. We got really tired of the neighbors calling to tell us "Hey, your dog's out.....again!"

I had to put up chain link in front of my wood privacy fence because my rottie/dal mix would bite the bottom of the picket and pull them up like toothpicks, leaving just the upper portion of the fence intact. LOL

Woofie, it would have been nice for us if when our dogs got out, they stayed in the neighbors yard! They jumped her fence too! There really was no keeping those boys in. They were made to hunt, and so off they would go hunting!

I'm really shocked that our Lab, Bailey, hasn't gotten out of the yard. She can jump like crazy, but doesn't even jump over the 3 foot tall rabbit fence I've got around my flower beds! Not even when her ball bounces in there! I'm so lucky! She did it once when she was a puppy, on accident when her ball bounced over the fence, and was kind of freaked out about it because she couldn't figure out how to get out of there! Since then, she's never tried again. She's not afraid of the fence at all, but I guess she just hasn't thought about jumping over it. Our Golden Retriever has never once jumped up in the air! That would take too much energy!

Jan, too funny about putting a chain link up in front of the fence! It's a great idea though, and I'll keep that in mind if Bailey ever decides to eat her way out of the yard!

Just happened to run across this. We do not have beagles anymore ( someone stole them) Our old Lab isn't with us anymore either, so I have a kennel that is now empty. This looks like a nice idea. What did you use to make the arches? And what grade of plastic did you cover it with? Just wondering how warm it would stay over winter in your area, does it stay above freezing?

LMK

Teresa in KY

Me, too, just finding. And this is what my Willie used to do and has, thankfully, grown out of. (That's Russell on the pillow with the conehead).



This is Willie

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Back to topic: Great idea for the greenhouse. Don't have many container plants and it is so relatively warm in Winter that a greenhouse is sort of redundant. Howsomeever, if the 'starting from seed' bug ever bites hard, would be perfect for me and I starred the post.

Hi Leslie, We used cement rebar, or at least I think that is what it is called. We got it at Home Depot, and it wasn't very expensive at all. We used 6 mil plastic, but it didn't stay above freezing. I didn't lose any plants though, so that was good. I started another thread about using barrels of water for heating, but we decided not to put it up this year since we are moving, maybe as early as next Spring. I knew if I had put it back up, I'd just fill it with plants and seedlings, and I've already got more than I can handle to move.

Love the pictures Debra!

Wow was going to use my 10x10 dog kennel for a shed for lawn mower and such...guess my sweetheart has to go back to the drawing board for his shed I really love it. I have a hoop house made out of cattle panel and I love it. Now I will have this on other side of house Never thought of a roof like that.

Hi Sandy! I'm glad you found this idea useful! The kennel has had dogs in it for a total of less than an hour now, over 2 1/2 years, so it's a good thing I figured out another use for it! It makes a much better greenhouse anyway since I hate locking the dogs up!

I don't have a fence and my neighbors dog bit through the muscle of my chi-weenie so was thinking of his safety first. I never put him in it and got so sick I had to find him a home. I am so much better now and in a few months will have a doxie But not putting my dog in it too hot here but couldn't pass it up for 75 dollars from my neighbor 6 yrs ago. Had someone offer me 50 dollars and I said I want to recoop atleast 75 and they said 50 and I said no!!! Now I have a great man in my life who was going to help me make it into a shed but as of today I must tell him not happening I dreamed of it being an over wintering place for plants and now I can do it :)

Thanks so much for the great idea.

So sorry about your dog getting hurt, and then you getting sick, but it's nice that you'll be getting a new dog. They make like so much more fun! Congratulations on the great guy, too!

Thanks and yes they do. I am thinking of naming it Bratwurst "Brat" for short My first Doxie's name was Vienna. I had to put her down at 14 1/2 yrs. She had addison disease and went misdiagnosed as a kidney problem for years. Had her on prescription dog food and when she started to shake a young vet in the office had her tested and they didn't call with the results to get her on meds ASAP on Saturday like they was suppose to and by Monday had to put her to sleep. She was the love of my life......I am sure this one will be too. I stayed in with her as she never left my side and I wasn't leaving her's. It really is very humane but so heart breaking Wow almost talking myself out of getting one...

Love the name Brat!

I know how that feels to have to make the call on that, and it's the worst thing ever. My amazing Golden Retriever, Bud, got cancer and went down hill so fast that we had to put him to sleep about a week after we found out. He was suffering though, and it was good to help him to be free of his pain. He was only 9 at the time. It took me 5 years to get another dog, and I wish I hadn't waited so long. I just couldn't bring myself to do it sooner than that. We finally got another Golden Retriever who will be 11 on Thanksgiving, and have a 2 1/2 year old Lab. When either of them goes, I'll be looking for another dog right away. It takes some of the pain away by getting another one, and it was a huge help to me when we finally got Maggie. She's getting old, and we're not sure how long she'll be with us. We just can't imagine life without her though, so we hope she has a few good years left.

My Mom got a Chihuahua puppy back in January, and she has been the funniest puppy I've seen in ages! She is a typical Chihuahua, but she is priceless! Here is a little video I made of her the day she came home. It will make you smile! My Mom is the one laughing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...