Keeping My old Hound Comfortable this winter

[BigMountainMike]

Hi there Guys.
So I finally found the dog i was looking for, hes an old, super experienced black and tan that was used in a guide/outfitter cat/bear hunting business. Hes too old to run all day every day now and is too slow to keep up with the young dogs, so now hes mine and hopefully hes gonna teach me alot this season when we get out on weekends.

Heres my question, i have only ever just owned house "pet" dogs. This ol boy is not house trained and i dont intend on making a house dog out of him. I want him to be as comfortable as possible in the backyard this winter. I bought him an insulated dog house and i stuffed some straw in there for him. He uses it with no problems and sleeps in there with no fuss. However, its going to be getting a lot colder here soon, sometimes down to -20 Celsius. I dont want the ol boy to freeze out there in his doghouse. Is there a heating matt or some type of rig you guys use to keep the dogs comfortable in their houses over the colder parts of winter? Is this even necessary? im just trying to make sure hes cared for properly.


we do let him sleep inside in the basement in his inside kennel at night, from about 7pm to 7am, however, like i said, i cant have him running around the house as he has already made a number of accidents and is quite rough on the house

thanks,

Mike.

[pegleg]

Keep him dry out of wind feed hi fat diet. And keep a eye on him if he is loosing weight or seems uncomfortable adjust things. I prefer wood shavings as they don't mat down like straw. Put a flap in his door and unless he is really advanced in age or poor condition he should do alright

[lawdawgharris]

Whenever I have pups in the cold season, I use a heat lamp. I don't know exactly how your dog house is made but use the back of your hand to gauge how far away to put it. Those suckers gets pretty hot so you want it too close to ANYTHING, him, the hay, or even the sides of the dog house. It works great for me. The flap over door is good too. It didn't work for me because my pups thought it was for entertainment. I wouldn't do both for sure.

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[david]

If the house is not excessively large, a good flap on the door, as stated, will keep him warm. He puts off a ton of body heat and if it is captured inside somewhat it will be toasty warm in there. You can warm your hands in there if you slip them past the door; even in sub zero weather.

If you think of a fox den, it will help you keep the space for him inside in proper perspective. In the summer it is nice to have room for them to stretch out. But in the cold think of him curled tightly. The extra summer space can be taken up with straw or other bedding. But if the winter house is smaller, he won’t need so much bedding to keep warm.

I have used a welping/pup raising house which is very large, and for the winter I actually fit three or four tightly baled hay bales in there to take up space and provide insulation. Dogs feel like kings in a palace with that thing.

The best door/flap I ever used was cut out of heavy conveyor belt. Use actual bolts with nuts to attach it to two metal hinges that will hang it down and swing both ways. Leave a little room around it for his tail (and chain, if you use one) to pull through or it will get badly pinched. The edges do not have to seal tightly to the house for it to stay nice and warm in there; And it will be enough to cycle in fresh air. This door will outlast the house, even with puppies.

[Rossco]

Another dog would be good too. My dogs are always doubling and tripling up in a dog house in the winter, and it doesn't even get that cold here. I've seen enough pile in one house together to where it makes no sense how they are comfortable, but they seem to enjoy it

[BigMountainMike]

Thanks for the replies guys. I installed a flap on his box out of rubber carpet material as suggested and built one of those DIY heaters out of a tin paint can and light bulb. Hes stylin now.

[lawdawgharris]

Lol good deal. It'll be nice and warm in case you have to share with him. I have to pretty regular

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[david]

[BigMountainMike]

[Goose]

There’s a plug that’s manufacture with a built in thermostat that will shut itself off at certain temp ranges, might can google and find one that suits your climate and have it in the house behind the light so it shuts light off at specific temp and turns itself back on once the internal temp drops

[bluedog4]

Google: Hound heater the hound dog furnace.
I bought two 15 years ago and have never had a problem, trouble free
Bluedog