you fellas up north

what yall do for the dogs that are outside to combat the cold? at which point do you have to take em in , at what temp? its getting in the 30's tonight with some wind and me and my dogs are freezing .

 

at 30 degrees your dogs should be good, if u can turn your houses away from the wind and stuff em with straw. they'll wait it out. guess it depends on how their shelter is built though. some are better than others for winter weather.

 

if it gets below 15 degrees without windchill you should bring em in. if you dont have nothin to battle the elements or anything to help insulate then id bring em in once it gets cold enough to snow. it just depends what you have to protect them.

 

make the hole as small as possible,paint the barrel half black and turn it up facing the sun (absorbs heat) stuff the shit out of the barrel with straw daily. Keep em fat and well watered and thats about it. I kept almost 20 dogs outside all year round in MI in an open field with no wind blockers. Never had a problem due to the cold.

I would rather deal with the cold than extreme heat.

 

yeah, its easier to combat cold. i'm from michigan too, the winters can be rough. If u can find a way to keep the dogs off the ground, stuff with straw, and keep em fat they will make it threw nights, change water a couple times a day when its light out and check ears and feet. if its any problems these will be the first place to show signs of frostbite.

 

yeah the ears and feet r good the dogs good

 

i agree.. here in La its gets so humid during the summer, then the bugs start coming out ..... its a pain

 

the better the quality of your wood the warmer the house,

*eg. (1 '' thick rough barn board, or , 1/4' plywood) i like the convenience of plywood, so i use plywood and I'm in Canada. but you can and it requires less body heat to keep warm, but a oldtimer told me," acclimate them to to warm a temperature and they would never last a night in the bush on a cold night(they get hypothermia). That was for hounds tho.

Good "Horse Quality" Straw, Draft Free, Door Flap, Good Feed,Lots of water,and the House MUST MUST be on a skid or the ground will suck the heat right out of them!

 

straw warm water mixed in with there food and a good shelter

 

insulate with great stuff spray foam... its the best

 

15 degrees??..celcius?...is that it??.....i

 

I think he means fahrenheit. Thats -9 degrees celsius.