Question for those of you with BIG dogs.
 

We are moving to NC in a couple of months and I have a Lab (105 lbs) that is kept outside. He would never have it any other way anyways, my question is how do I keep him warm during the winter? I found this really cool Dog Mansion (with a front porch and all) and a heating pad to put inside it. Will this be enough? They have very mild winters there from what I've researched, but I want to be prepared. Thanks in advance!

I've had Akitas and Black Russian Terriers in the snow...big enough? ;)
 

You'll want to keep him out of the winds (NC winters can get windy depending on where you are) and you'll want to keep him out of that darn "slate"...not quite snow, icy rain. I like to give my dogs a raised platform w/ a roof and walls and put STRAW in w/ them and that seems to retain their body heat quite nicely. Make sure that there is NO watering dish inside this "building" w/ them though.
I used to use a heating pad, but you run the risk of it causing a fire, not working in the middle of the night or being set too high. So I stopped.
I did use a heater for my watering supply for the dogs, however and that is SO worth the money!

Hmmmm,
I hope someone from NC can help you.
We have Mandy, she is an inside dog,
but it's warm here in the winter, so I
wouldn't know about outside in NC.
Best wishes to you in your new home. :2hearts2:

Thank so much for responding. This is the house that we are looking at. Do you think that this will be raised enough? And just straw is good enough, huh???

http://www.doghouses.com/products.cf...view&key=MP002

lol, I had that EXACT house built for my Yorkie (only miniaturized) by my friend who is a carpenter and it's IN my house. lol

Yeah, straw is enough, just lay it down so it's about three inches deep and for his size it should cover at least the length of his body. He'll adjust it as needed.

Oh, and before you spend the money, is your dog even the kind of dog that would use this dog house? I would wait until winter comes first before you spend the money!

Here's a solution in the meantime:
If you're dog is crate trained, get a plastic air kennel that is the same size you'd use to ship him in cargo (too big and it'll loose heat). Get a palat (sp?) from anywhere really...Home Depot? Your local grocery? You know what I'm talking about right? and put that near the house on the ground and put his crate on top of the palat so it's raised. Take some straw and stuff it in under the palat (in the hollow part of the palat) and then put straw about three inches deep into the crate. Then you can also cover the crate w/ duty grade tarp, bungee it to the palat and then BOOM, there ya go. Oh, and take the door off the crate and face the opening of the crate so that it won't receive much wind. Otherwise you can drape the tarp so that it covers a touch of over half of the opening of the crate.

If you dog uses this for say a week, then I'd spend the money on buying the fancy dog house. Otherwise you may find yourself buying this beautiful piece of lawn furniture only to discover your dog not using it.

JM2C

LOL Yeah, I see what you're saying. I'm not sure if he would use it or not now that you mention that. He's use to FL weather. He's never had to go into anything like that. As a matter of fact we are working on crate training him now for the trip. LOL I just got a midwest crate with cratewear to make it feel cozy and I've just been putting him in there about 15 minutes every few hours. He freaked at first, but is getting better. So, plastic crate, the midwest with cratewear won't work, eh?? LOL Have to buy a new one? Man, should have checked this out before buying that. I could have just bought a plastic one to travel with him in.

I have a lab but he lives indoors.
A friend also has a lab, he lives outdoors but sleeps in garage at night
Have you got a garage that he could maybe sleep in at night?

Nope, no garage. The only thing that I could do if need be is put the crate in the basement and let him sleep in there. (It's finished)

If the basement is an option for night time, fantastic. However, during the day time he'll still need to escape the elements!

Are you driving to your new home? If not, then you shouldn't have bought a midwest anyway. :rolleyes: Midwest crates (as you must know) are not airline approved. The reason I say to go w/ the plastic crate is because A: he won't have cold bars to lay up against and B: On the days that it does warm up enough for the snow to melt it's bound to be muddy somewhere and this boy is gonna find it! So you'll need something that you can easily take apart and hose off.

I live in Iowa. It gets pretty cold here and big dogs are left out all winter. They just need a house to get out of the wind, and face the opening to the south so they get the sun and not the north wind. If he is kept outside as the days start to get cold, he will grow a nice thick coat.

Also don't forget to check the water bowl on the really cold days so it isn't frozen.

Yes, we are driving. That's the only reason that I did buy the midwest.. I knew that I couldn't use them if flying, but we're not... :)

DaisyMaesMom
 

Yep, so there ya go. That's what I'd do (as I've done it in the past out of neccesity/temp. only), but I do know more people than I'd like to admit that keep there dogs outside all year. And you know what? You're absolutely right, there really are just some dogs that prefer to be outside all the time. Just cut them some slack and offer them shelter and more often than not they use it.

You want to bring your dog inside when it gets below freezing but other that that it's worse on them bringing them in. Spending the day outside and the night in can make them sick. All you need is a dog house and straw. Labs can really handle cold weather. You'd be surprised at how well. I have seen them go in water in the dead of winter. I have a mixed breed..she is husky, GSD and retriever..although she doesn't look or act like she has any shepherd in her. We live in Indiana and cold weather or not she goes in the water. She hates being inside. She would much rather be outside playing and running. So your lab will be just fine and will probably enjoy the winter as much as summer..oh one more thing..It would also be a good idea to put a flap on the front of the dog house to keep the wind out. And you don't want the dog house overly huge because it's harder for them to keep it warm with their body heat..

NC is not that far north that you should have to worry about the cold weather. Although they do get cold spells, nothing like farther north, like here in Ohio. I think you are worry a little too much. If you were moving in the winter time, it would take longer to adjust to the temperature change, but moving during the warmer months, he will adapt just fine when the colder weather rolls around. Dogs adjust to the colder weather much easier than us humans do.

Sounds good to me :D