Enter Mac stage right. 140 lumbering pounds of Golden Retriever-ish mix. He waddled around and ate and slept. Nothing much more than that.
Step 1. Fence in the back yard.
Step 2. Build dog house. No plans, just took some measurements of him, did some google math, and mentally designed this to fit around him; location-wise, it made sense to place it along the edge of our deck where it was somewhat shaded from the South Carolina sun.
Step 3. Get him on a diet!
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| Interior foot print is 54" x 39". Rainy season so I started the project in the garage and we moved it out once the foundation was done. |
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| 20 bags of concrete for the foundation. |
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| The roof is hinged to flip up for easy access. Before I added the top panel to the roof I filled it with pink insulation. |
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| Adding moisture barrier and roofing paper. |
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| Used Ondura roofing panel from Lowes, and vinyl siding to match our house. Looking like a proper dog house now. Roof hinge idea was a nice touch, but its heavy as crap to lift. |
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| Since the ground was muddy, I made a 'patio' out of Trex composite decking from Lowes. His bed is one of those expensive memory-foam dog bed things with a couple of blankets. Super comfy. |
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| Just in time for the cold, I finished insulating and used plywood for the walls. Closed up the doorway with some wood and vinyl flaps from Amazon to keep in the heat. Put in a Houndheater doghouse heater and a remote thermometer so we can check the interior temp from our house. Outside temp was 16 last week, it was 60 inside his doghouse. One morning it was mid 30s and inside Mac as all toasty at 70, so I turned it down a bit. Its really nice in there. I can easily crawl through the entrance, its noticeably quiet and warm in there. If I ever get locked out of the house I have a safe place to spend the night. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Lounge So Mac saw how much free time I had now that the dog house was complete. So in order to give me another project, his next act was hanging out in the mud under our deck. He loved it, but his fur was constantly muddy. Problem solved by boxing in an area about 12' x 8', and covering the ground with 4 rubber stall mats from Tractor Supply. I used some thin plastic roofing material from Lowes to close off the 'ceiling' to keep the floor dry. The 'off-limits' area is boxed in with lattice from Lowes. 
BEFORE
AFTER
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINAL RESULT Mac has undergone a complete 7-month transformation. When we first got him, he wore an XXXL dog harness. He could only walk maybe 1/4 mile without being completely exhausted. Proper diet of good dog food, plenty of exercise, and daily-playtime has payed off. He has since lost 40 lbs and is full of energy. His tennis-ball catching record is 52 in a row without missing! 
Notice all 4 paws off the ground. When we first got him he couldn't get his front feet off the ground.
Amazing to see his progress. 105 lbs (top) and 140 lbs (bottom)
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