old dogs and winter time

[shadyridgekennel]

ok guys. what do ya'll do with your old dogs for the winter time. reason i ask is we have 1 old dog 10 yr old that hates being in the crate and house period. so what do you guys do if ya cant make them house dogs.

[Bullyson]

I'd put him in a keep pen with a dark box on the side and keep it chipped well. Maybe throw a space heater by it or a big blanket over it if it gets really cold...

[shadyridgekennel]

well we have big houses that are full of straw and are warm but dam when it hits 9 degrees out at night ....

[iron_lady]

Depends on the climate your in. A dry,draft free waterproof dog house suited to your climate packed with cedar chips and straw should work fine, remember to check the bedding daily as the dog will toss out the bedding as he goes in and out of the house, not to mention if he gets too warm. (especially durning the day)

You can also add extra calories (fat) in your dogs diet.

I have also seen people stack straw bales around their doghouses to help prevent drafts and add extra insulation.

[shadyridgekennel]

iam doing all that, i just worry thats all.

[iron_lady]

As every good owner should ;) Sounds like he will be just fine!

Don't worry too much though. Just keep a close eye on your boy, check for weight loss, make sure he drinks water, etc. People in the cold been keeping dogs,even older dogs outside for years. And in all honestly, its NOT good to keep switching from inside a house to outside. (out during the day, in at night.) A good recipie for making your dog sick and possibly getting pneumonia. While if it gets exteremly cold you can always put him in the garage or basement if available..

[Michele]

While if it gets exteremly cold you can always put him in the garage or basement if available..
This is a good idea. Shady, if you are really worried, can you do this?

[shadyridgekennel]

This is a good idea. Shady, if you are really worried, can you do this?no he is flipping out and getting worse. trying to bust out of the crate , barking ect. the barking i dont care about it the other stuff he is doing.he wants to be out and iam not sure what iam going to do.

[Michele]

no he is flipping out and getting worse. trying to bust out of the crate , barking ect. the barking i dont care about it the other stuff he is doing.he wants to be out and iam not sure what iam going to do.Is there any way he can be loose in the garage or basement? Set up blankets for him with some straw?

[BoiBoi]

i say just leave him out, there's no reason he shouldn't be fine with the setup u got goin. Just keep the house packed with straw and ur in good shape.

[shadyridgekennel]

i say just leave him out, there's no reason he shouldn't be fine with the setup u got goin. Just keep the house packed with straw and ur in good shape.
thats what iam thinking!!!!! is crazy we are playing the come in and go out game and its pissing me off.and i agree that its not good to bring him in and then out.

no he cant be loose cuz the same thing will happen .:rolleyes:

[BoiBoi]

so how much white stuff got dumped on u this weekend?

[shadyridgekennel]

so how much white stuff got dumped on u this weekend?
between thursdays storm and the weekend over a foot!

[BoiBoi]

between thursdays storm and the weekend over a foot!
damn, i got lucky down here and didn't get anything but a little ice and a whole lot of rain

[Michele]

Shady: get your dog a big piece of shearling. Now that will keep your dog warm in the cold weather.

[shadyridgekennel]

Shady: get your dog a big piece of shearling. Now that will keep your dog warm in the cold weather.
whats that?!

[jaystreetsA4]

whats that?!tht soft cotton like struff on the inside of SCH harnesses and Bomber jackets.

[shadyridgekennel]

ooooo ok :p

[BoiBoi]

i wouldn't do that cloth thing, if that gets wet it will freeze and be worse off for the dog, just plain old straw works the best, keeps the heat in and stays dry

[shadyridgekennel]

i wouldn't do that cloth thing, if that gets wet it will freeze and be worse off for the dog, just plain old straw works the best, keeps the heat in and stays dry
thats what iam gonna do, just pack his house with straw. dam bulldogs :rolleyes:

[Dreamer]

thats what iam gonna do, just pack his house with straw. dam bulldogs :rolleyes:

Also, provide a pallet or something that can be kept clean of snow that he can lay on and sun himself on those chilly, sunny days.

Dreamer

[iron_lady]

actually straw does get wet. The dog will drag snow, water inside the house from going in and out (on the dog, from the chain, etc) and since straw is hollow, it will absorb and hold water. And being straw is generally wheat straw and holds dust, etc, some dogs can have allergic reactions to it. It can attract pests (a nice layer of cedar chips on the bottom can help)

Just make sure you check the bedding daily and change /add as needed and most of those problems are nill. ..

[shadyridgekennel]

yup i restuffed his house lastnight and he slept out in his house. not one bark from the sob. went out at 5am to check and do rounds. he comes trotting out like nothing.

[SMOKIN HEMI]

Funny thats how Smokey was he did not want to come in as long as he has soething to keep him warm he was cool. I've got some good suggestions on this site about how to insulate dog houses though....

[coolhandjean]

my old dog loves cold weather. Granted she's a lab/husky mix. lol, but even when she was little, and we were still living in PA. The news would tell you to bring your pets in if it was going to be below freezing. We'd bring Cuddles in, but she'd cry and cry at the door. So we'd let her sleep outside but wouldn't put her in the pen, and she'd just find a good pile of leaves and sleep outside. When it would snow, she definitely wouldn't sleep in her dog house, you'd find her in the morning covered with snow. She is still that way...
For the other dogs though, we put cedar shavings in their dog houses. Notch stays inside usually though, but the rest do well with the shavings, but we aren't in the coldest of areas.

[misterdogman]

ok guys. what do ya'll do with your old dogs for the winter time. reason i ask is we have 1 old dog 10 yr old that hates being in the crate and house period. so what do you guys do if ya cant make them house dogs.Lots of padding and or straw for them old bones. A custom heated doghouse with less padding and just something soft to lay on would be ideal so they can be comfy and old as they are but not have to move around too much to bed down. Try a thin memory foam dogbed and a heat pad in a doghouse made for one and I bet that old dog will be thrilled.

[Michele]

i wouldn't do that cloth thing, if that gets wet it will freeze and be worse off for the dog, just plain old straw works the best, keeps the heat in and stays dry
I didnt think of this. I have a shearling coat and it's the warmest coat on the planet. But, I didn't of it getting wet and freezing up.

[Michele]

tht soft cotton like struff on the inside of SCH harnesses and Bomber jackets.
sheep wool....

[misterdogman]

sheep wool....Sheep wool stinks. Maybe if it was bleached and cleaned but a dog house full of it would be worth more to you if you sold it. A dog house full of bleached and cleaned wool would fetch too much $ for you to feel good about putting it out there. Also I heard a lot of dogs are allergic to lanolin which is abundent is wool, even after being cleaned. I wonder if thats true?

[Michele]

Sheep wool stinks. Maybe if it was bleached and cleaned but a dog house full of it would be worth more to you if you sold it. A dog house full of bleached and cleaned wool would fetch too much $ for you to feel good about putting it out there. Also I heard a lot of dogs are allergic to lanolin which is abundent is wool, even after being cleaned. I wonder if thats true?
This is true. The wool needs to be cleaned first. I bought my one shearling last year and it was very expensive. But since they are so warm, i'm buying another one....

I don't kow about the lanolin.

[Marty]

actually straw does get wet. The dog will drag snow, water inside the house from going in and out (on the dog, from the chain, etc) and since straw is hollow, it will absorb and hold water. And being straw is generally wheat straw and holds dust, etc, some dogs can have allergic reactions to it. It can attract pests (a nice layer of cedar chips on the bottom can help)

Just make sure you check the bedding daily and change /add as needed and most of those problems are nill. ..We use Bermuda (feed hay) in ours, I do not like the wheat straw in my dog houses, make sure you change it often if it get wet ;)

[chinasmom]

The only thing my dogs like is pine straw. But when it gets in the 20's and there's a bad wind chill, we bring 'em in and have to clean all day the next day. I also have another ? not meaning to hijack this thread, but it's along the same lines as this one. My litttle terrier Squirrel dog that was attacked last year, some of you may remember, was bitten on his front leg to the bone. He was on Keflex for almost 2months to fight infection and I've noticed when it's cold he just don't use it quite right. Should I be giving him some joint relief supplement? He is 6 years old and his leg was bitten right into the bone. We were really concerned about Osteomyelitis. Thanks for any info in advance.

[Suki]

yup. straw gets my vote as well. just pack it in and change it when it gets wet.
shady, ALL this freakin snow sux, huh? and more to come this week.....gunna be a long winter.....sigh..... stay warm.... ;) (dogs, too)

[LuvinBullies]

Outdoor aviaries use heat lamp lighting (tubes or bulbs are available)...way left field here but if you're really worried about it it would be safer than space heating. Just a thought :)

[iron_lady]

If you use any type of heating light you need to make sure your dog house has vents and you can control the temp especially if your dog house is the correct size for your dog (remember the dog uses its own body heat to warm up the house) If the dog house gets too hot, you can make your dog sick. That and steam may build up causing a wet enviroment which isnt good for your dogs respitory system.

I prefer the ceramic heat bulbs to the heat lights ..bright light can hurt the dogs eyes.

[Breogan]

Just remember that these bulldogs like to chew. A heating pad might become the newest chew toy so just be careful of that. Wouldn't be the first time a dog gets zapped real good from chewing on an electric cord.

[simms]

Just remember that these bulldogs like to chew. A heating pad might become the newest chew toy so just be careful of that. Wouldn't be the first time a dog gets zapped real good from chewing on an electric cord.nothin like a little 220 ...LOL But on another leval, heating pads are dangerous. An Animal should never be left un attended on them. if any of you ever seen the kinda burns that a heating pad can and will do to an animal ....you wouldnt think about useing them as a source of heat.

Straw is the best! You may want to consider taking a piece of ply wood and re-coving the face of the house with a smaller entry so the animal has to squeeze in. It will also help keep the straw in. Check straw and hardware daily.

[440rider]

any of ya'll have dogs with allergic reactions to hay, pine straw, cedar shavings or all? if so what do you pack with? We use cedar shavings for a base layer and pine straw overtop (we have removable tops on our houses that we can drop a half bale of pine straw in top and dogs burrow in it). For all of ya'll that use dog beds, towels, foam or anything ingestible be sure too keep look out i have heard many stories of dogs dying due to impaction. Take care!

[Marty]

Well I just bought two bales of bermuda feed hay the other day and that shit is $8.00 a bale now :(

And yes we use the cedar shavings for a base also ;)

[440rider]

Well I just bought two bales of bermuda feed hay the other day and that shit is $8.00 a bale now

And yes we use the cedar shavings for a base also


$8.00 is out of control. We went the highest at $6.00 retail $4.00 with contacts. Luckly we had a few acres of rye that has come up very well which helps cut back on our feed bill. I'll try that bermuda as bedding..horses get close enough to the dogs now without the lure of hay packed houses. Tks

[Virgil dogs]

well we have big houses that are full of straw and are warm but dam when it hits 9 degrees out at night ....Big houses are harder for a dog to heat up.We would put a divider in and make the box just big enough for the dog to turn around in.Also insulate your box and put a rug or something over the door,that will keep the heat in.