Doghouse can be a cosy place

Rose Todhunter was inpsired by her late grandfather, Tony Prentice.

First-time inventor Rose Todhunter (pictured) went to National Fieldays with a concept for a new type of dog kennel inspired by her late grandfather, Tony Prentice.

The Thermo Kennel is designed to keep dogs warm in winter and cool in summer. It earned a merit award.

Her invention is based on a design Rosie's grandfather made 20 years ago -- a double-skinned, insulated dog kennel.

Rosie says it is basically a chilly bin -- two skins insulated with 30mm of polystyrene and a polyvinyl chloride door (that's the flash name for PVC strips used on walk-in freezers and coolstores).

Rosie lives on High Peak Station in Canterbury's Rakaia Gorge and works for New Zealand Young Farmers as project leader for the Get Ahead Programme.

She says people assume she made it for her dogs because she lives in a cold climate, but she has only a pet dog -- although her fiance has a team of working dogs.

And, she adds, an important aspect is also keeping dogs cool in summer.

She says the obvious benefit is better rested dogs, but there is a cost benefit as well.

"In winter, dogs aren't using a lot of energy trying to stay warm, therefore they need less food," says Rosie.

The same applies to a lesser extent to dogs trying to get cool in summer.

The kennel isn't on the market yet, but Rosie reckons she could have sold plenty as she had nothing but positive feedback about the invention. She has 65 people ready to buy when the product comes on the market.

Rosie says the benefits of being at Fieldays included meeting people with knowledge about production and distribution.

She has a couple of leads to follow and hopes to have the kennels out there this year.

She is aiming for a $500 price tag, putting her product right in the middle of the existing market.

Rosie also got advice from farmers, and the production model will be bigger than the prototype and able to be used with a run.