What kind of winter dog house do i need so my dog wont be cold outside at night?

Gary K: What kind of winter dog house do i need so my dog wont be cold outside at night?
I’m planning to move to a colder climate where it can get as low or lower then 15 degrees at night. I dont want my dog to freeze or get sick, but where im going i’m not allowed to have the dog inside. I’m trying to find out what dog house to get that is not to much and what i can put in the dog house to keep my dog warm.

Answers and Views:

Answer by spirit free
you could always put fresh straw in the bedding of the dog house no matter what kind of dog house you buy. also you can put a lite bulb in the house also and it will generate some heat for him also..

Answer by rAiNeRz
*Sigh* What kind of dog is it? Only a dog with a thick fur coat should be staying outside with such a cool climate during winter that it can freeze!
Build a house thats out of large wood planks and box shaped and stuff the bottom with old towels and blankets and newspaper on the bottom, and if you can, get a chicken lamp and hook it up to a cord extension and put it near the opening of the dog house if needed. If the dog is a malamute or husky or something close to that with a good undercoat and top coat, the chicken lamp may not be needed. Make sure you keep the doghouse sheltered from winds; if you can put a tarp over the house, and stabilize it there so it won’t blow off easily, that would be better. Just make sure you’re doing this for the good of the dog, not the convenience of YOU. If you’re doing something that’s gonna suck for the dog, maybe find a suitable home for her, with people that will the her in. =S

Answer by LoveMyLab
I can tell you what we have and it was pretty inexpensive. We built ours ourselves. It’s a pretty large doghouse with an arched doorway and 12 inches into the door there is a wall. The wall goes about 4 inches past the edge of the door to block the elements and has a nice large open area in the back side. The top of it is flat and extends out 6 inches on all 4 sides and has shingles. The doghouse is lined with insulation on all 4 sides and she had a huge comforter inside that is big enough to be bulky so she can snuggle in to stay warm. When the weather starts getting colder here, we are considering adding a heater to the house. They sell them to add to the roof that controls warmth throughout the area. My dog loves to sleep outside and despite our best efforts to keep her in when the temp drops, she whines and barks to go to her house. She’s fine out there and has plenty of warmth! It cost us I think $ 45 to build. (Oh and the bottom of the doghouse has lifts on all 4 sides so the doghouse itself does NOT sit on the ground. This stops the frozen ground from putting the cold through the wood.)

Answer by gettyupgo59
Well, hun you didn’t say what kind of dog you have, which is a factor in weather as cold as your preparing for. Personally I use hay for my outside dogs. However in the lower teens is usually as cold as it gets here. Rarely it drops down to zero, then I put all my dogs in the house. The teen temperatures are only for a few nights out of the winter, and the day quickly warms back up into the upper thirties and forties. I just don’t know, it would sure help if I knew your breed of dog.

Answer by Chris H
I had a wood dog house that I built for my older Rottie. Built in a L shape. During the winter I covered the entrance with a heavy rug so she could go in and out, and I placed a heat lamp, like one from a hardware store, in the ceiling of the dog house at the back side of the house. Ran an extension cord and threw in a blanket, worked great. You can get just about any good sized dog house, the key is insulating it and placing in the heat lamp in the ceiling.

Answer by mooshie
Yeow. Can’t you let your dog stay in the garage at least? If not, I would definitely talk to a vet in the area you’re moving to and get his or her advice. There are some companies that sell heated doghouses, and there are other companies that sell kits for insulated dog houses (sorry I don’t have the Web sites, but just do a Google search for “heated dog house” and “build insulated dog house.” It sounds like your poor dog will be spending a lot of time in the doghouse, so make it a big one. Poor thing. He/she is going to be so miserable no matter what.

Answer by Mrs C
No way could I leave my dog outside in the cold, but if you have to, you will. Can it sleep in the car all rugged up? Put a warm coat on it made of a natural fibre like wool. If you have to use a dog house natural products again are best ie. wood with a floor in it where you can put straw and woollen blankets. Put something up at the door so the the dog can still get in and out but what keeps the cold out.

Answer by brucc7006
You don’t say if it is short haired or long,hopefully he can take the outdoors.
The house should be just big enough for him to get in and curl up comfortably.Any bigger is wasted space for him to heat up. Air-tight is most important,as well as moisture proof.
I had an English Setter that was raised 3 years in Mi.s UP outdoors.I lived in the Lower,but still cold.He wouldn’t come in the house,he just wouldn’t.Here’s what i did. After research,i built his house of 2 x 4,s and plywood,then shingled the roof.House was built up 4″ up off the ground,board insulation under the floor.Flap of heavy drapery over the door,double layer.Then forced as much oat straw into the house as i could.What is important is to change ALL the straw weekly.It get’s wet on the bottom especially.You will see how wet it get’s from his body as well as snow brought in by him when scraping it out.
Couple year’s later, found a heat plate supplier for rabbit cage’s,friend gave me the address.It is electric and corded,i used conduit around the cord so he couldn’t chew it.Put it under the house floor,between the plywood and insulation.Was low output,but you could relly feel warm on the floor after a day or two.I think the supplier was Valentines Farm Animal Supply.
Hope this help’s,this set-up worked well for me.Heat lamps and bulbs are DANGEROUS in a dog’s house,not to mention a fire hazard.Dog gets wet,shakes off before laying down,bulb can explode when drops of moisture hits it.I really recommend the floor warmer,with the foil covered sheet insulation holdind it up in place,cord out to an extention cord from back of house. Good Luck!

Answer by MelB
Oh man…lower than 15 degrees at night??I hope you have a Husky or St. Bernard b/c a short haired dog won’t last very long in those kind of temperatures. I’m sure you adore your dog, but if he/she isn’t used to that kind of weather, it could be very detrimental to his health. Like some other people have answered, make sure you aren’t doing this for yourself. Please make sure your pup won’t be shivering at night while you are toasty warm. If that is so, as hard as it will be, you need to make other arrangements for him. Best of luck to you

Answer by prairie_babe74
Our dog house is 5 feet high, fully insulated roof/floor and walls. As it’s only for 1 dog, we have a 20 w light bulb in there as well to keep him warm. Straw or hay is good. No blankets as snow will melt, turn to ice and then he would have to sleep on that. The doorway will need a door, peice of carpet or something to block the wind. Here it will dip down, with the windchill -40 celcius. You may want to look at your local SPCA web site, they should have a diagram or instructions for you to build a correct one for your climate.

Answer by marianddoc
In my semi-humble opinion, the question isn’t whether a dog can withstand the rigors of living outdoors but whether it should.

Dogs are intensely social animals that thrive on contact with others, whether human or canine and suffer greatly when forced to be alone for long periods.

Your dog wants to be with YOU, not alone in its doghouse. An “outside dog” spends its entire life wondering what it’s done to be punished by being left alone. I feel it is cruel in the extreme.

I’m told the following was written by a vet tech, I’d like to share it here.

BYE BABY
No more cold or lonely nights or hearing that I’m bad
No more growling belly from the meals I’ve never had.
No more scorching sunshine with a water bowl that’s dry.
No more complaining neighbors about the noise when I cry.
No more hearing “shut up”, “get down” or “get out of here”!
No more wondering why they hate me, only peace is in the air.
Euthanasia is a blessing, although some still can’t see
Why I was ever born if I weren’t meant to be.
My last day of living was the best I ever had.
Someone held me very close, I could see that she was sad.
I kissed the lady’s face, and she hugged me as she cried.
I wagged my tail to thank her, then I closed my eyes and died.

Note to “lizzylubinski” (see below):

Perhaps you failed to notice that I did, in fact answer the question. If you feel I was pontificating, well that’s too damn bad, ain’t it?

Answer by lizzylubinski
Jeez, answer the question, don’t pontificate on your beliefs.

(see above)

I thought the purpose of Questions and Answers was to ask and answer questions = to share YOUR knowledge of the subject.

And to answer the question asked….That’s a tad to nippy for any dog. Doghouse or not. Either make other plans, allow the dog inside or find another home.

Answer by bladedogsrule
I think you should either try to find a place that would allow you to have your pup inside or allow another family to have your dog. Dogs are social animals who need to be with their pack. They aren’t meant to stay outside in the cold. They are domesticated animals and are pack animals, which means that they NEED to be with humans in order to be happy. Your talking about hundreds of years of breeding flowing through the veins of most dogs and these were bred to be with and love humans.

The poem Bye Baby, is a very touching example of what happens when people no longer care. I think it is a very appropriate post in this case.