This winter has been surprisingly cold and has conferred an unusual amount of snow. I guess it shouldn’t be surprising, after all, I do live in North Idaho, but the fall was so warm and lasted through November. Also, where we live in Idaho, often it snows a bit during the night but warms up enough to melt by midmorning (unlike 2 hours north of us where winter is colder and longer). We have had multiple winters when we never had to shovel! Last year was different, the kids had a total of about 14 snow days and had to make up many of them during the spring, but who expects two unusually bad winters in a row? Well, December came, the temperature dropped drastically, the snow just kept falling and the dog moved into the house.

Our dog is old enough and well enough behaved now that having him inside is fine, but about 10 years ago that was not the case. We were living in a colder climate and renting a house where indoor pets were not allowed. We had a young German Shepherd that was facing his first winter and we needed an insulated dog house to keep him comfortable and cozy.

My husband is a DIY kind of guy, so he did a little research online, drew up some plans and made his own insulated dog house. Now, I am not going to give you plans here to build your own insulated dog house, there are plenty of those online, but I am going to give you some key features to look for when searching for insulated dog houses building plans. You may want to purchase one instead, and there are many good quality insulated dog houses already on the market, but the following still applies.

What to look for:



First, the proper size is very important. You want it large enough for your dog to be comfortable, but small enough so that the dogs body heat is trapped in the space to keep him warm. Here is a basic rule of thumb: take your dogs height (ground to top of shoulder) in inches and allow 36 square inches of floor space per inch. So if you have a 24” tall dog, then you will need 864 square inches of floor space, or a floor area of 24” x 36”. For height of the dog house, measure the height of your dog when he is sitting, and add 1 or 2 inches for the height of the ceiling. A peaked roof is not good, this produces too much air space to keep warm. If you already have a dog house with a peaked roof, see if you can install an insulated ceiling.

The house should be elevated off the ground, if the insulated dog houses you look at do not offer this feature, you can elevate it using bricks. This helps to keep the floor warmer and dry.

A front “hall” with a wall divider that the dog can walk around into an inner room is best. Sometimes wind will blow from unusual directions and blow right into insulated dog houses, the front hall and divider will keep the sleeping area out of the wind. In many models and plans the divider can be removed for a bigger dog house in the summer when your dog needs to keep cool.

A hinge roof is very convenient. It allows easy access for cleaning the sleeping area and replacing bedding, and allows removal of any walls as mentioned above.

Insulated dog houses should have inner and outer walls with some form of insulation in between.



Good luck in finding or building your own insulated dog house. If you take into consideration the few points mentioned above, you will worry less about your favorite pooch because you will be sure to have a warm and cozy dog house that your dog will appreciate all winter long!

You know one when you see it. The English garden design is all about curved beds, winding paths, riotous color. The gardener’s hand is light. There-but just barely. It lets nature do its own thing. You might even say that the English garden design is controlled chaos.

The history of English garden design began with the revolt against the constraints of formal landscape design and classic landscape design. These two forms, with their appreciation of balance, symmetry and geometry, sit on the opposing end of the spectrum from English garden design. Where formal gardens find beauty in linearity, English gardens use undulating lines. Where formal gardens seek right angles, English gardens use few, if any, angles. The words of the English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744)-the “amiable simplicity of unadorned nature”-describe this style.

Impressionist painters were key influencers in the continuing development of the English garden design. Claude Monet (1840-1926) claimed that painting and gardening were his only two interests in life. When he first moved to Giverny, where he would build his famous water gardens, his first concern was to arrange the garden in a rampant, naturalistic explosion of color.

The residential English garden design has since become hugely popular in the United States. Houston’s semi-tropical climate is well suited for vine-covered pergolas, sunny rose gardens, dazzling azalea beds and bursts of seasonal color-all plant materials that fit well within the English garden’s concept of abundance.

A Quick Study of English Gardens

The English garden design is the essence of an informal garden. The different colors and textures of the plant materials-the profuse wildness-draw the viewer in, creating a feast for the mind’s eye. However, while it has elements of a naturalistic garden, it is not considered of this style. Instead, flowering plants are arranged in a seemingly haphazard arrangement that merely recalls a natural landscape.

The general characteristics of an English garden design fall along these lines:

? Plants are chosen out of personal preference or connection. It is common to find cuttings from the gardens of family and friends.

? Regional plants have prominence because they enhance the naturalistic feel.

? Plants, especially flowering ones, are grouped into smaller clumps-not drifts. The desired effect is for the garden to appear somewhat random, but not messy.

? Many different kinds of plants are used-annuals, bulbs, herbs, perennials, shrubs and vines.

? Scent is very important in an English garden design. Hence, the prevalence of roses and herbs.

? Often the garden is enclosed by a picket fence or hedge to help bring some additional order.

? Strong mix of colors.

Colors of an English Garden: Evoking the Emotions

English garden design uses plants to reach the viewer emotionally rather than intellectually. Primarily, it is done with color.

Different colors affect people differently, but generally each color has its own psychological appeal. Green is the most restful color. Pale greens and yellow-greens are perfect for an English garden design because they feel lighter, brighter and more informal. White creates a sense of space in a garden. Red calls attention to itself or what it surrounds, making it perfect for planting near focal points. Apricot, salmon and peach tints are friendly and welcoming.

Space and Elements of the English Garden Design

The arrangement of elements within the English garden space is very important. Whereas the modern garden design uses a philosophy of “less is more”, the English garden simply says “more.”

Some elements to consider for an English garden:

Gates. The garden entryway can become an important element of an English garden design. Plants can soften the garden gate, making it even more inviting.

Hardscapes. Hardscapes are non-plant material features of landscape design. Popular residential hardscape structures made of wood that work well in an English garden design include arbors, pergolas and gazebos. In an English garden, walkways meander through the landscape while providing easy access to your home and other structures. Perhaps a retaining wall, a short wall used to hold the soil in place, is needed as part of a proper landscape drainage system. If so, good landscape designers and landscape architects will construct it so that it fits the design.

Material choices. Just as flagstone and travertine work well in a Mediterranean garden design, brick and gravel complement an English garden design.

The Ever After of an English Garden

While English gardens are lower in maintenance than a formal landscape design, a landscape maintenance program is still required. Especially it will involve the systematic feeding of flowers, bushes and trees. Since trees are a vital part of the English garden, make sure proper tree preservation methods are used during installation. “A temporary irrigation system and hand-digging to minimize damage to trees and their root systems are a very important part of tree preservation,” explains Jeff Halper with Exterior Worlds. For the longer term, a permanent irrigation system is also a plus for the entire landscape since it will increase the ease of the required regular watering.

Several significant events have driven public and industry interest in personal health records. In 2004, President George W. Bush outlined a plan for the implementation of an electronic health record that could be accessed by all Americans. Although numerous companies had been in this market for several years, the announcement provided impetus for growth in this area. In 2007 and early 2008, computer giants Google and Microsoft announced their intentions to enter into this market, Google with Google Health and Microsoft with Microsoft HealthVault.

In March of 2008, laboratory industry leader Quest Diagnostics announced a partnership with Google Health to provide uploading of laboratory testing to Google’s version of a personal health record (PHR).

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cites six positive outcomes with the implementation of widespread personal and/or electronic health records.

1. Improved healthcare quality

2. Prevention of medical errors

3. Reduction of healthcare costs

4. Increased administrative efficiencies

5. Decreased paperwork

6. Expanded access to affordable healthcare

Although there are a number of potential barriers to widespread implementation of personal health records, three are the most significant. They are:

1. Interoperability. The various systems need to be able to interact with each other and various computer systems.

2. Privacy and Security. The systems need to provide HIPAA-like compliance, but also have security measures similar to the banking industry and in compliance with a variety of industry standards.

3. Data Modification. In order for physicians to be able to act on medical information, they will need to be confident of the veracity of the medical data. This will at least partly require that they be able to determine the sources and modifications that have occurred to the information in personal health records.

Although there are a number of companies currently in the marketplace offering personal health records, they fall into four broad categories.

1. Standalones. These companies are primarily personal health record companies, such as LifeOnKey or FollowMe. In some cases these companies also specialize or have specialty subcategories, such as MiVia, which was designed for the migrant farmworker population, or LifeOnKey’s Diabetes focus or Women’s Health focus.

2. Spin-Offs of Information Technology or Software Companies. Most notable in this category are Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault.

3. Healthcare Providers. Examples of this are Partners HealthCare’s Patient Gateway and the Group Health Cooperative’s MyGroupHealth.

4. Platform Providers. In some cases, the companies are focused less on being the patient/consumer’s personal health record, than in providing the platform and/or technology for personal health records. MedCommons is an example of this. Microsoft HealthVault may also fall into this category. FollowMe also is willing to customize their product for other companies, which then provide their own branding.

There are five ways personal health record providers are generating revenue.

1. Subscriptions. Typically, standalone PHR providers charge nominal annual subscription rates ranging from about $25 to $50.

2. Advertising. Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault indicate they will generate income via advertising. It’s not yet clear how Microsoft intends to do this, but Google Health has indicated that their product itself will not contain advertising, but will have search boxes that connect to the traditional Google page, which does have targeted advertising.

3. Data mining. Although often mentioned as a possible source of revenue, few companies indicate they are currently selling non-user-identified health data to researchers or pharmaceutical companies.

4. Increased Service. Healthcare providers, in general, acknowledge that their personal health record systems are just part of the service and a happy client will remain with the system. Google Health indicates they aren’t in the healthcare business and part of their mission is to drive users to Google.

5. Subcontracting and licensing. MedCommons is focusing on providing their services and platform technology for other users and companies that might want to deliver personal health records. It’s not clear if Microsoft HealthVault plans to enter the market in this fashion, but many industry sources suggest it’s likely.

Ultimately, what is clear from looking at a cross-section of PHR providers is that there are a number of approaches to dealing with laboratory results depending on the nature of the PHR. Google Health has recently announced a partnership with Quest Diagnostics.

This is likely to be the first in a number of similar relationships with other laboratory corporations. The real question, one that remains unaddressed yet, is whether competing labs will create partnerships with Google Health and other PHRs or whether it will become an exclusive and competitive marketplace, where some PHRs will find their services locked out of the market.

Another potential question is whether or not a laboratory, independent or affiliated with a particular healthcare provider, is going to be able to provide data uploads to a myriad of different PHRs. Although largely a technical issue, it’s hard to see how a laboratory needing to provide results to twenty or thirty different PHRs in addition to requesting physicians and patients, is going to make laboratory medicine more efficient or cost-effective.

PHRs Gain Momentum

In his January 20, 2004, State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush outlined a plan for the implementation of an electronic health record that could be accessed by all Americans. The system was to be in place by 2015. According to the White House Web site, patient participation would be voluntarily, and “these electronic health records will be designed to share information privately and securely among and between health care providers when authorized by the patient.”

To achieve that goal, the following steps were taken:

1. Health Information Standards were adopted. Under the direction of the Department of Health and Human Services, in cooperation with other Federal agencies and the private sector, voluntary standards were to be identified and endorsed.

2. Health Care Information Technology Demonstration Project funding was increased to $100 million.

3. Federal agencies were encouraged to adopt Health Information Technology.

4. A sub-cabinet level position of National Health Information Technology Coordinator was created. This falls under the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

It’s important to note that the Bush Administration’s proposal did not break new ground. Numerous companies providing personal health records (PHR), medical health records, and electronic health records or some way of storing and delivering medical information electronically were in existence for several years prior to the Bush Administration’s efforts.

The announcement of launches into the health information technology (HIT) arena by Google and Microsoft has renewed media interest in the area, and may signal a renewed velocity and vigor to the market.