Heating dog house

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Two Bears
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Heating dog house

Post by Two Bears » Sat Oct 30, 2010 6:47 am

How are you guys heating your dog houses?

Now that she is getting cold here in the north my shorthairs will be using the kennel more and will be spending a lot of time in there so I am wondering what are the best ways to put some heat in the dog box, the box is about 36"w x 45"L and maybe 36" tall. Mine is in the garage with a dog door to outside kennel but the garage is not heated so it will chill down at night and even being in the garage it gets just about as cold in there as outside so I am thinking about using a lamp inside the dog box to add heat. The dog box is not insulate except that the bottom is off the floor 2".

Will a lamp do a good enough job as a heat source?
I keep thinking about chicken lamps and how much heat that they put out for the birds and think that it would heat a dog box very well but wonder if a smaller bulb would be better.
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Southwind
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Re: Heating dog house

Post by Southwind » Sat Oct 30, 2010 6:57 am

I have used the lamps in my whelping boxes but be careful. For a few more dollars I would put a heated pet mat on the floor. You want to get one half or three quarters the size of the box so they can get off it when they get hot. I have the allied brand. Seems to work great and is on the less expensive side. I think my came from valley vet supply here in Kansas. They do have a great website.

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ezzy333
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Re: Heating dog house

Post by ezzy333 » Sat Oct 30, 2010 9:57 am

Two Bears wrote:How are you guys heating your dog houses?

Now that she is getting cold here in the north my shorthairs will be using the kennel more and will be spending a lot of time in there so I am wondering what are the best ways to put some heat in the dog box, the box is about 36"w x 45"L and maybe 36" tall. Mine is in the garage with a dog door to outside kennel but the garage is not heated so it will chill down at night and even being in the garage it gets just about as cold in there as outside so I am thinking about using a lamp inside the dog box to add heat. The dog box is not insulate except that the bottom is off the floor 2".

Will a lamp do a good enough job as a heat source?
I keep thinking about chicken lamps and how much heat that they put out for the birds and think that it would heat a dog box very well but wonder if a smaller bulb would be better.
I don't like to put anything in where the dogs can get to it. If your boxes are in the garage and bedded well the dogs will be fine without heat and much safer. Heat lamps areway to hot and if you use a small bulb it needs to be protected so that the dogs CAN NOT get to them or the cords. Our dogs always stayed in a small box in the winter with good bedding and never had a problem.

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DougB
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Re: Heating dog house

Post by DougB » Sat Oct 30, 2010 1:07 pm

You can get heating pads designed for dog house use, with thermostats in 110v or 12v. You can use hog warmers-rigid plastic heating pads designed for heating piglets. Cost a little more, but are very tough.. You don't need much extra heat if you have a good dog house with good bedding. The house has to be sized right for the dog.
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prairiefirepointers
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Re: Heating dog house

Post by prairiefirepointers » Sat Oct 30, 2010 2:38 pm

We have a pretty fancy XL heated whelping mat, but that's its only purpose. What I did, was build a "den" inside the garage for my brood bitch. It is 3.5" off the floor and the overall dimensions (roughly) are 66" wide X 44" deep X 48" Tall. The lid, 4 walls, and Floor are all insulated with the heavy duty roll insulation with the tyvek backing. If it gets REALLY cold, I sometimes add a layer of plastic over the existing dog flap. (which is a replacement XL Petsafe dog door flap). On the south side (or right wall of the pic) is a standard ceramic light fixture which I put a 100 Watt bulb in. Even last year when we had a week or so of -10 Degree windchill at night with the wind howling, the digital thermometer stayed right at 50 degrees. (give or take a degree or two)

I had most of the supplies, except the insulation laying around in the garage. It doesn't take much to insulate one and its cheap. Make sure and wire in a cheap fixture from Lowe's and overlay with OSB and you and the dog will be dang glad you did. It's nice having the peace of mind at night when its bitter cold and you know the dog is "Snug as a bug" and toasty in their den. Also, they aren't burning much needed calories trying to stay warm. :wink:

Oh yeah, I also sealed every seam and crack with Caulking. Why not go all out? :lol:

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Re: Heating dog house

Post by ezzy333 » Sat Oct 30, 2010 3:17 pm

. You need to watch the humidity when you get the house too tight. Thats a worse problem for the animal than the temp. They are built to handle cold but not the dampness and lung problems develop very quickly in tight humid environments.

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prairiefirepointers
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Re: Heating dog house

Post by prairiefirepointers » Sat Oct 30, 2010 3:32 pm

ezzy333 wrote:. You need to watch the humidity when you get the house too tight. Thats a worse problem for the animal than the temp. They are built to handle cold but not the dampness and lung problems develop very quickly in tight humid environments.

Ezzy
Hense the Dog door flap, and Digital thermometer w/Humidity readout.
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MTO4Life
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Re: Heating dog house

Post by MTO4Life » Sat Oct 30, 2010 7:15 pm

I use a hound heater to heat two houses (it is between the two). Works fine for my houses.

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wems2371
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Re: Heating dog house

Post by wems2371 » Sun Oct 31, 2010 7:25 am

I use a hound heater too. My dog house is a little inefficient though (huge and two doors), but the heater definitely adds some warmth. I have no doubt that it would make a better designed dog house cozy.

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