Dog House Roofs for the DIY Dummy

doghouse roof with drip edge

In case you haven't figured it out yet, the DIY types here at the Antisocial Network don't have much respect for freelancers who pretend they've carried out a DIY task just to make a few bucks. If you've done the job, especially more than once, and can write up a usable set of instructions; they say to have at it. If, on the other hand, you're like Casey Kennedy and have no earthly idea "How to Install Dog House Roof Shingles," you're gonna get a DotD nomination even if your work does make it to Cuteness.com.

A PVC Kennel for Dummies

A cute... but not cheap! PVC dog pen

No matter what day of the week or time of the year, the Antisocial Network's world headquarters has at least one dog roaming the office. We loves our puppies... but if restraint ever becomes necessary, we have a nice folding wire playpen that we can set up either as a door gate or as a doggie corral (it was sold as a "playpen"). We understand that at one time or another, someone asked the internet "How to Build a PVC Dog Kennel," and – of course – someone at eHow.com was right there to "answer" the question. Ben Team and his plans are now at the Leaf Group niche site Cuteness.com.

A DIY Dog Crate for Dummies

Dog with crate

A friend of the Antisocial Network spent a few years as an elementary school teacher, and she said that one of the hardest lessons to get across to some kids was the concept of reasonableness. For example, she once paid for a small purchase with a ten-dollar bill and the confused cashier gave her eleven dollars in change. Honest to the core, she used the exchange to teach the young man a lesson about reasonableness. A (not) surprising number of people who freelanced for eHow.com could have used a similar lesson. We're thinking of freelancers like Ricky Durrance because of his Cuteness.com post, "How to Build My Own Wire Dog Cage."¹

A Dummy's Kennel Roof Design

Chain link kennel with roof

If they weren't so sad (and exasperating), some of the cockamamie posts freelancers threw up on eHow.com while trying to "answer" questions would be downright hilarious. We mean, really:  think about the havoc the average "communications degree" holder can wreak on even simple DIY instructions! In fact, you don't have to, because we have some for you to look at right now: give a warm Antisocial Network welcome to Cuteness.com's Melissa Smith and her attempt to tell some poor schmuck "How to Build a Roof on a Chain Link Dog Kennel."¹

Kennels for Dummies

A kennel is a large doghouse for multiple dogs, isn't it?

We had a string of DotDs recently who had all decided that they were allowed to define a critical term however would make it easiest to fake their way through a set of how-to instructions. Now that we look more closely at the syndrome, it appears that many of the contributors at the former eHow.com were guilty of that crime against knowledge, contributors like the cutely named DillonWackerman¹ whose "How to Build a Large Doghouse for Multiple Dogs" can now be found at Cuteness.com (fittingly...).

Cold Weather Dog Houses for the Clueless Southerner

A winterized dog house

If you're a dog owner who's ever lived in a place that is cold – really cold, not like Nashville or St. Louis, but some place like Minot North Dakota – you know you need to help your furry friend keep warm in winter. That's why most people keep their dogs inside when it's freezing cold, but some people insist on outdoor kennels. If you want to know "How to Build a Winterized Dog House for Cold Weather,"¹ however, you probably don't want to ask someone like Krista Raye, who tried (and failed) to provide instructions at Cuteness.com.

Raised Kennels for Dummy Dog Owners

raised kennel with poop board

We've watched with some amusement as the people at Leaf Group (the erstwhile Demand Media Studios) have been migrating much of their eHow.com content into niche sites. We'll be kind and not call the process "FUBARed," even though it is. One problem that's developed is that they're taking poor-quality content and... well, they're making it worse. We found a new niche site, Cuteness.com, and a new DotD in one pass: Scott Mytyk wrote the eHow post "How to Build an Off the Ground Dog Kennel," which was bad enough in the original, but Leaf made it worse in migrating it to Cuteness...