Too cold at night?
 

Hello,
Our Mariah is 9 mo old and 2.8 lbs. She sleeps in an x-pen at night on her little couch and has blankets & stuffed animals to cuddle with. My concern is that here in WI it’s getting cold at night already. Last winter she was in our bathroom but now her pen is in the middle of the house in an area that is sort of an open hall. Right now it’s getting to be about 64 degrees at night. Because of the cost of heating my husband doesn’t like to turn the furnace on till it gets much cooler.

I’m trying to think of different ways to make sure she doesn’t get too cold. We do have an electric heater but often hear that they aren’t always safe. A friend suggested and red heating lamp that she used for her baby chickens but I don’t think she would like that. I’ve seen pet-safe heating pads but don’t know of anyone that has used them.

Another option is to start letting her sleep with my daughter. We’ve avoided that because although she is mostly pee-pad trained I’m not sure that she would find her way back to her x-pen (where her pad is) to go potty in the middle of the night. I’ve been considering putting a pee-pad down in my daughter’s bedroom and seeing if she will consistently use that while she is in her room. This might also solve the problem of Mariah being our 6:00 am alarm clock. I think she may sleep in - if she is sleeping with my daughter. I just know that once we start, it could be very difficult to get her to go back to sleeping in her x-pen if we changed our minds.

My husband thinks that she’s fine but I’m concerned that she’s going to get too cold! I’d love any advice! Am I being too protective of my “baby”?

put more blankets, get a napsak where she can bury herself in it if she gets to cold...a heating pad that breeder use for a litter of puppies...place it on one side and if it gets to cold she will move towards it...if she is hot then she will move away from it...hehe

Someone told me to use a hot water bottle I was leary of that because he might chew it. We too live in the north and it is already getting cold at night. I am going to put pjs on him and when the nights are really cold we used those disposeable handwarmer type things. He has a stuffed kitty that has a pocket and when he was a pup it had a heart beat thing in it and those warmers. I took the heart beat thing out but I can put one of those warmers in it and he can't get at it because of the velcro closure they stay warm for 8 hours. You can buy them rather cheap at Walmart during hunting season. Like 4 for 1.00.

Just an idea.

When I got Zada it was in March 05 and living here on the coast, it's really cold. I attached the the expen to the front of a little wire crate leaving the door open and making sure it was fastened so she couldn't accidently close it. I covered the crate with a thick blanket (to the floor on the back and both sides) and draping it down the front of the doorway leaving about 8" for her to go in and out. We put a fleece (like sheepskin) pad and a furry pouch. The kind of pouch that has stays around the front so it doesn't go flat. It also serves as a nice warm blanket. We put her near an artificial floor plant that we strung with little white lights. This way she would feel safe and be able to see her surroundings. She was happy and toasty warm. :D

put her in your bed

We bought this last year to put in the stroller when we walked in the Reindog parade in December. We put it under blankets and it kept it nice and cozy for them!
We bought it at Petsmart.

SnuggleSafe microwave heating pads for people and pets - nothing to fill with water, nothing to plug in

I've read some really good things about this type of pet safe heating pad. Of course I'm one of those who love to sleep with my dog. You are right about this; Yorkies don't handle the cold like other dogs. Most dogs have an undercoat that keeps them warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, depending how they "shift" this under hair. Yorkies have a single hair with no insulating properties, so if you're cold, they are cold.

We have only used it for the outdoors. Our two little ones sleep in a crate with a blanket and a nice cozy pad that Sonja/Pocomutt made for the crate and we put nighties on when it's cold. :)
It was nice using the pad outside, but we did put it under blankets. You just have to be careful how long you warm it, because I'm sure it could get really hot and I would want to put something between the dog and the pad like a blanket. It did stay warm for hours though and that was being outside in Ohio weather in December. We put it in their Snoozer carseat on the way home and they slept like babies!

I have a cieling fan in my room and its always on because I cant sleep hot so I used to have a blanket over Callies creat to keep the breeze from chilling and would leave oneside uncovered but now that she is no longer in her create I put a big comfy thick tshirt on her (I tried pjs but they didnt fit her right) and when she settles in for the night I cover her up with a blanket. Clothing I think would be the best way to go because its not like a blanket that is going to just fall of if she moves but it will stay on and keep her warm.

I have a "snugglesafe" and is was a great investment! it stays warm all night! I also have a heating mat, that has a chew-proof cord and a fuzzy cover. I use that when I have a litter of puppies.

Get her some warm cozy jammies! My girls sleep in bed with me but they love their jammies in the winter time. Check out go.fetch™

We love Go Fetch nighties. Wrigley won't wear pjs, but the nighties are great!

Sonja from Pocomutt also made Wrigley some nighties out of fleece/flannel last winter that were nice and warm!

I second that!!:thumbup:

Go.Fetch PJs are the best! I'm seriously addicted to them.

Thanks!
 

I really appreciate the replies!

After a lot of consideration we decided to start letting her sleep with our daughter. This has solves two problems; I don't have to worry at all about her being cold or getting a draft during the night, and she isn’t waking us up at 6:00 am every morning anymore! I had posted in a threat about how when we moved her x-pen she began waking up very early every single morning. She would not stop barking and it’s been MONTHS of trying to ignore it, etc. Now she sleeps in as long as my daughter does. So far it’s working very well! We put her pee-pad on a tray (that is usually used under washer/dryer) and put it in my daughter’s room. She has pooped next to the door (not on the pee-pad) but so far no pee accidents. We’ll just keep working on this!

It was so cute…the other day we checked on our daughter during the night and Mariah instantly jumped up and ran towards us growling/barking at us! Of course she stopped the instant she realized it was us. I thought it was so sweet that she was “protecting” our daughter! That’s definitely a plus for us too!

She is still in x-pen during the day so I am going to look into some of those warming products so she has something to cuddle up in so I really appreciate all the advice!

THANKS again!

We keep our house cooler in the winter and I just put pjs on mine and they are fine

aww that sounds great! i do noticed that if they sleep with us they don't wake up until we do...but if they sleep in their crate that wake me up at the oddest time barking, crying and howling...hehe...but i am not going to give in until they are 100% potty trained...hehe

When I first read your thread, I thought 64 sounded so cold; we actually keep the house almost that cool. :eek: (Hot flashes) As long as she has warm bedding and maybe a blanket to snuggle under, I'm sure she'll be fine. Keeping a cover on the crate would help keep drafts out and body heat in.

your little dog will be fine sleeping with your daughter. Make sure she can jump off the bed safely though, or have something for her to get down off the bed. Little Yorkies can be injured easily from jumping off high places. Even A bed, or couch. :aimeeyork

Thanks!
 

Hello!
The thermostat is right by Mariah’s x-pen and this morning it was down to 61 degrees! I know it’s just going to keep getting colder and colder. I’m so glad we made the decision to let Mariah sleep with my 13 yr old daughter - as it’s working out really well! I can tell they’re both so much happier with Mariah sleeping there…they both love it!

My daughter has chosen to sleep on a mattress on the floor and not use her bed frame. Her older brother and some of their friends think this is “cool” and have also done this. I don’t “get it” but it’s a small compromise during the teenage years so we allow it. In this case it works out as I don’t have to worry about Mariah falling/rolling off or getting hurt jumping up and down.

I’m still concerned about how cold it is during the day so I really appreciate all the advice! I'm going to the store this weekend (after payday) to see what I can find. I truly don’t know what we would have done without all the great advice here since Mariah joined our family!

THANKS!

PS Nancy 1999 – I too don’t mind it being cooler, as I too get terrible hot flashes at night! It’s tough to get older!

I used to put my boys in their crate at night with a fleece blanket and then Id drape a blanket over the crate covering all openings, they were toasty warm all night.

Oh that sounds like a perfect solution, especially with the mattress on the floor, I wonder why kids think this is so cool? At least you don't have to worry about any falls. I'm not sure I could have managed hot flashes and teenagers at the same time.