Woman Builds A Cozy Room Under The Stairs For Her Dog And The Pooch Loves It So Much That She Refuses To Leave
Do you remember the cupboard under the stairs that Harry Potter had to live in during his stays with the Dursley family? It was absolutely horrible—not only was it too small and not fit for living at all, but also Dudley would always stomp up and down the stairs.
Well, while it was completely awful for Harry, there are actually other inhabitants who have tried out the idea and loved it. In fact, they loved it so much that they didn’t want to leave!
Meet Coco, the cocker spaniel who got her very own cozy doggy room under the stairs
Image credits: Natasha Hammond
Meet Coco, a cocker spaniel from Warrington, UK, who got her very own safe space inside of her owner’s home—a cozy place under the stairs.
Natasha Hammond, Coco’s owner, with whom Bored Panda got in touch, built a comfortable dog room for Coco to sleep and rest in. It comes with a fluffy doggy bed, a night light, and a set of toys that are regularly exchanged for food and water bowls.
The room is also neatly decorated with a flower vase placed on the floor corner cover, as well as a picture of an adorable dog hung on the wall. It looks absolutely cozy and Coco seems to love it so much that she doesn’t want to leave the comfort of her new dog house.
“[Coco] is 6 and she is a working cocker spaniel. She is loved and adored and completes our family,” said Hammond.
Image credits: Natasha Hammond
The doggy’s owner decided to build a full-blown room to replace the crate the dog was living in
Image credits: Natasha Hammond
“The underside of our stairs have always been open and we loved the open plan feel,” elaborated Hammond on the origins of the idea. “However, recently we’ve been wanting a spare room, so we have decided to build under-stair storage as part of our hallway redesign.”
She continued: “Coco’s crate has always lived under the stairs but looked like an eyesore. Therefore, we decided to build her room as part of the under stair project that would look and feel so much nicer. Getting her bed completed first was our priority and we can now continue to complete it around her, knowing she has her own settled space again.”
The cute dog has other locations around the house that she used to sleep in, but since the new doghouse room appeared, she hasn’t really gone to rest in any other place.
Image credits: Natasha Hammond
The room has a doggy bed, some toys, a light as well as a vase with flowers and a picture of a dog
Image credits: Natasha Hammond
“Crating dogs is very controversial amongst people who don’t understand the benefits. Some people see it as cruel,” explained Hammond. “Coco was born into a Welping pen and was crate trained from the day we brought her home. We put the scent of her mum on a teddy and she settled straight away, no first night crying.”
She continued: “From then on she slept in her crate with the door closed when we are out or at night. She likes it that way. During the day the door is always open and she has beds in other areas of the house, although since this new room has been built she prefers to go in there. We have tried to remove the crate before we built this room and she hated it. She cried, paced and was extremely anxious.”
Image credits: Natasha Hammond
Coco likes it there as it brings her great comfort—so much in fact that she doesn’t want to leave
Image credits: Natasha Hammond
Before this, Coco would sleep in a doggy crate, where she felt most comfortable and safest. According to Hammond, the cocker spaniel was born into a whelping pen and was trained to sleep in her crate. Her mom’s scent and a doggy toy were also placed there, which made sure she would be at ease whilst in there.
The project did not take very long, nor was it challenging, as Hammond explained: “It didn’t take long at all. We did most of it on Sunday when we were both off and then decorated it after work on two evenings. We found it really easy, but we are both quite creative—I had a vision and Mike (Hammond’s partner) helped me to practically tweak it and problem solve. He’s really handy and good at building whereas I like to decorate and furnish!”
Hammond explained that, during the construction process, they tried removing the crate, but Coco seemed to hate it as she cried, paced around, and was feeling anxious. The now renovated doggy room is her safe place.
People loved the idea and the dog, with some sharing about their own pooches…
What are some of your doggy projects? Let us know in the comments below!
Great idea and good work! I'm only skeptical about the color of the light, it's proved that light with too much blue on the spectrum is bad for human eyes but I'm not sure about dogs
for everyone. blue of all colors has the highest frequency and therefore the most amount of energy. a normal damped red/orange color would be better
Load More Replies...
one of my cats has always loved sleeping on top of a wardrobe, when I renovated the studio I put a bookcase next to it, shaped like a stair and i put his pillow on top of the wardrobe .. the first week he did not go up .. then it has become the refuge of all his winter naps .. dogs and cats are part of the family, they deserve a small space all for them !!
We have an antique French sideboard with two vitrines on top. When our late cats Ace and Ivy were younger they would spend on top of the vitrines, cozy and warm, almost seven feet up.
Load More Replies...
It´s a beautiful space for the doggie and she certainly enjoys it and that´s the important thing. Glad to see such a beloved pet!!
Why the hell are people locking their dogs in cages INSIDE their home?
Nothing better than a cozy spot. The dog needs a book and some got cocoa and they will be set!
err... coco is poison for dogs... let do with a nice warm milk instead?
Load More Replies...
I'm gonna be honest. My dog is crate trained for travel, but I would never leave him locked in a crate when out. Anything happens, he wouldn't be able to save himself. When we lived in the UK, we even had a sticker on the window to inform firefighters, police and the like that there's a dog inside.
It didn't matter if we left their doors open, they slept in them . We didn't need to close the doors after they got used to their crates, but there was no way they would let us remove them. They each had their special toy or towel in there. They were miserable when I did the laundry and I couldn't get their beds made again fast enough for them. If we were gone for a couple of days our neighbor took care of them. After she did it the first time she was in awe of them. She let them out and they came right back in and straight to their rooms. She thought she would have trouble getting them to come back in. It isn't cruel, it gives them their personal space and they loved it.
Both of our dogs were crate trained. There were a lot of people that referred to the crates as cages too. Once they understood it and observed it they didn't feel like that anymore. Even we were skeptical when we were told about it. We researched it and spoke to several other people about it and then decided we would try it. Our dogs loved it so we stayed with it. Once people saw how our dogs were with it they changed their minds. They then wanted us to help them get started with it. First of all we didn't put them in there for punishment. We had cushioned beds for them to lay on and had them covered with towels or sheets leaving only the front uncovered. I was home all day with them and the doors stayed open. All of our family and friends knew we would only be gone for four hours at a time even though some people thought we were crazy, but they were our babies and our top priority. I was home with them all day too. They loved their cozy rooms.
This is very similar to a previous BoredPanda article from 10 months ago, that article is on my Facebook feed today. Again from the UK, the woman did a great job.
The previous article . https://www.boredpanda.com/making-dogs-bed-boidour-zook-the-general-buster
Load More Replies...
While I'm not a fan of crating dogs, I get the concept. I do know my doggo likes to have safe places he can go to feel secure. One is under my desk, there's another one under the bed. Places he go if he feels scared or uncertain. I'm just sad I don't have stairs to make him a spot under now! Wouldn't lock him in though.
How sad that he feels most comfortable in a cage. I am glad the owners have made it comfortable so it doesn’t look like a whelping cage.
That's pretty f****d up to have a animal trained and put into conditions to enjoy and be extremely used to being confined
I swear, Americans are too weird for this world. Why would you put your dog in a crate? I have never heard of another country where people do this. Are Americans incapable of training their dogs? Are American dogs more wild and ill-mannered than dogs in the rest of the world. And don't give me c**p about safe spaces. A dog can have a safe space WITHOUT being locked up in a crate. Or maybe just leave your dog alone once in a while.
You did read the thread, did you not? Coco and her family live in the United Kingdom.
Load More Replies...
Great idea and good work! I'm only skeptical about the color of the light, it's proved that light with too much blue on the spectrum is bad for human eyes but I'm not sure about dogs
for everyone. blue of all colors has the highest frequency and therefore the most amount of energy. a normal damped red/orange color would be better
Load More Replies... one of my cats has always loved sleeping on top of a wardrobe, when I renovated the studio I put a bookcase next to it, shaped like a stair and i put his pillow on top of the wardrobe .. the first week he did not go up .. then it has become the refuge of all his winter naps .. dogs and cats are part of the family, they deserve a small space all for them !!
We have an antique French sideboard with two vitrines on top. When our late cats Ace and Ivy were younger they would spend on top of the vitrines, cozy and warm, almost seven feet up.
Load More Replies... It´s a beautiful space for the doggie and she certainly enjoys it and that´s the important thing. Glad to see such a beloved pet!!
Why the hell are people locking their dogs in cages INSIDE their home?
Nothing better than a cozy spot. The dog needs a book and some got cocoa and they will be set!
err... coco is poison for dogs... let do with a nice warm milk instead?
Load More Replies... I'm gonna be honest. My dog is crate trained for travel, but I would never leave him locked in a crate when out. Anything happens, he wouldn't be able to save himself. When we lived in the UK, we even had a sticker on the window to inform firefighters, police and the like that there's a dog inside.
It didn't matter if we left their doors open, they slept in them . We didn't need to close the doors after they got used to their crates, but there was no way they would let us remove them. They each had their special toy or towel in there. They were miserable when I did the laundry and I couldn't get their beds made again fast enough for them. If we were gone for a couple of days our neighbor took care of them. After she did it the first time she was in awe of them. She let them out and they came right back in and straight to their rooms. She thought she would have trouble getting them to come back in. It isn't cruel, it gives them their personal space and they loved it.
Both of our dogs were crate trained. There were a lot of people that referred to the crates as cages too. Once they understood it and observed it they didn't feel like that anymore. Even we were skeptical when we were told about it. We researched it and spoke to several other people about it and then decided we would try it. Our dogs loved it so we stayed with it. Once people saw how our dogs were with it they changed their minds. They then wanted us to help them get started with it. First of all we didn't put them in there for punishment. We had cushioned beds for them to lay on and had them covered with towels or sheets leaving only the front uncovered. I was home all day with them and the doors stayed open. All of our family and friends knew we would only be gone for four hours at a time even though some people thought we were crazy, but they were our babies and our top priority. I was home with them all day too. They loved their cozy rooms.
This is very similar to a previous BoredPanda article from 10 months ago, that article is on my Facebook feed today. Again from the UK, the woman did a great job.
The previous article . https://www.boredpanda.com/making-dogs-bed-boidour-zook-the-general-buster
Load More Replies... While I'm not a fan of crating dogs, I get the concept. I do know my doggo likes to have safe places he can go to feel secure. One is under my desk, there's another one under the bed. Places he go if he feels scared or uncertain. I'm just sad I don't have stairs to make him a spot under now! Wouldn't lock him in though.
How sad that he feels most comfortable in a cage. I am glad the owners have made it comfortable so it doesn’t look like a whelping cage.
That's pretty f****d up to have a animal trained and put into conditions to enjoy and be extremely used to being confined
I swear, Americans are too weird for this world. Why would you put your dog in a crate? I have never heard of another country where people do this. Are Americans incapable of training their dogs? Are American dogs more wild and ill-mannered than dogs in the rest of the world. And don't give me c**p about safe spaces. A dog can have a safe space WITHOUT being locked up in a crate. Or maybe just leave your dog alone once in a while.
You did read the thread, did you not? Coco and her family live in the United Kingdom.
Load More Replies...
264
35