The American Beagler Forum

This could actually be done for any kennel box. I have 2 double run kennels from Seneca (4 runs/4 dogs). I can't get this particular crew to room together, so I'm always worried about them being cold in the winter, even though they have bedding. Their water buckets also freeze, making it a pain in the butt for me to keep them in fresh water.

I finally bought heated water bowls at TSC for $20 each, and my oldest son found these nifty indoor-outdoor halogen light fixtures for $10.77 each at Lowes and installed them on the lids of the boxes for me. There's a tiny gap for the cord to come out, but the lids all have an overhang so rain still doesn't get in. The mounting screws don't go all the way thru the lids, either.

Any light fixture could be used, but the beauty of these is that they are a heavy metal canister and self-contained -- the dogs can't get to the bulb. They put out a fair amount of heat. I will have to shut them off of a daytime until really cold weather sets in.

When it's time to change the bulb, just lift the box lid and the lamp is facing you. Unscrew the front off the fixture, pop in the new bulb, screw the cover back on. The bulbs are about $5 each. You can't touch them with your hands so use a piece of cloth or gloves to handle them. If one were worried about the dogs sleeping with light, I suppose you could paint the glass cover black.

He also installed an air curtain out of material he already had to keep drafts out, and hold in the heat a bit. The dogs were toasty last night and their water doesn't freeze, so I am a happy camper and ready for the winter with a total dollar investment of $35 per kennel! (not including cords)




Grandson Sam helped.



I need a better way to protect the cords for the winter weather.



I actually have rubber stall mats under the kennels like the pic below, but they kick the cedar out of their boxes.



All of it would look better if I kept the grass cut and those boxes washed out better. I can't believe how dirty they get the white walls of the boxes!

hey bev you talk about turning the lights off during the day till it gets colder but here is an idea you can go to your local heating and air supply house and ask for a 120 volt outdoor thermistat you can hook the lights up to it and set it for say 32 degrees and it will kick the lights on at that temperature i was thinking of doing the same thing we use them were i work to keep the boilers in our residence halls from coming on until it gets cold enough outside you could pick one up for 20 or 30 dollars

Hey, there's a pretty good idea! Thanks!

or another idea a dusk to dawn switch will keep them off in the day

That's a good idea, Bev. I was wondering what I could do with my doghouses. They are insulated with an inside measurement of 21"x 23" but my dogs don't bunk together real well. My boxes are made of wood, so my concern was how to get some heat in there safely. Do you think those fixtures would work being close to wood?

Nice setup, I'm anxiously awaiting a couple seneca's this coming week. Thought they'd be easier to move out west with me than my old wood ones.

dk

CentMo, they would do just fine on wood. The canisters are a heavy metal with glass covers over the bulb. They don't get as hot as you might imagine - it's only a 50-watt bulb in there, but it puts out just enough heat to knock the chill off. The real test will be January, but I figure anything's better than nothing, and they've survive with just bedding in the past.

Update though, the 2 young hounds have torn their air screens all to rattschidt, so I guess they do without.

Danny....I didn't know you were moving away. I need to stay more current on the board. Too many projects. *sighs* When do you go?

Yes, sorry I haven't kept in better contact with you. Hope things are still going well for you now! I believe Dec. 19th is the official day we fire up the U-Haul and head down the road. We'll be moving to Wyoming where I grew up. My folks still live there. Things really fell into place with someone wanting to buy our house here and a job offer from a Police Department there.... so we felt it was such an open door we should take advantage of it. I'm taking my beagles though as the low ground has lots of cottontails and some jack rabbits- and the mountains 30 minutes away are full of snowshoe hare! I also intend to keep writing for TAB, I've really enjoyed that. Thanks again for helping me get started in that! Talk to you later.

dk

Hey Bev, that was another thought I had- what about the bedding. Are you using just a small amount of ceder chips like in the pic. or no bedding at all? I have my doghouses packed with straw, & I was wondering if the straw could get hot & catch on fire?

houndsound, please do keep in touch. One word of advice, though. If you plan on running jacks, you might get urself a 4-wheeler to keep up with the pack, LOL! They could easily get out of tracking collar range within minutes on those behemoth wabbits. I wish you the best with your move. There are worse things than leaving the state of Indiana, for sure. Bonus that you have family there.

CentMo, right now I'm using cedar only because right now we are getting nights in the 20's, days in the 30's. I can't imagine those lamps being able to catch hay afire - especially the way the dogs pound it down. I don't fill the straw to the top, and the lamps are mounted to the lids, but we'll see. I keep sticking my hand in there when I go out to feed to see how much heat is actually happening. All I know is that up until now they have survived with bedding only in the winters, but I've always worried and wondered if they were chilly at night. Any amount of heat has got to be better than none, right? But, I don't want it so warm in their boxes that they won't grow a good heavy winter coat. I would think some of that could be controlled with the wattage of bulb used, but I really don't know nuffin' 'bout no machinery...lol.

Thanks, Bev!

I use a 40 to 50 watt ceramic heat emitter that you can buy at the pet store. they are made for reptile cages and cost a little more than a regular halogen bulb or incandescent bulb but they last for years and don't keep light on the hounds all night. plus I mount mine on the bottom of the box, I build them with a 1.5 to 2 inch gap in the bottom so the whole floor is heated and use a thermostat like mentioned earlier. Just a thought
That is a nice setup though i really like it

BEV --I have kennels lights wired in with my water bowls and a STAT set 33 degrees --so when it is below 33 degrees they both come on[[[ABOVE THEY GO OFF]]] ---it just as cold in the day light as is in DARK when it's below freezing run a line out to kennel and install a STAT and couple gang boxs and plug everything in YOU ARE ALL SET ---dogs more water in the winter than one thinks