Doghouse Insulating

[Big River Beagles S]

I live in SE Iowa, It has been below zero many nights,I have always used the plastic boxes lined with cedar and straw. 2 dogs per house and my dogs stay toast warm. Have a friend lives in the UP and he usses the same and says he has never lost one yet.

[mspaci]

I have the plastic houses as well, I have them up on a pallet filled with hay, & tons of hay inside. Flaps on the doors, & 2 dogs per house. Been around zero with a howling wind a few times but when I went out they were toasty warm inside. I am thinking about attaching an 8x8 shed to the kennel next year, but is not a necessity. Its only so I can go in & hang out w/ the dogs. Mike

[SilverZuk]

It doesn't get near as cold in WV.
We typically have a few days of single digit weather, but mostly a cold night is in the 20's.

I use straw around the houses.

The straw serves quite a few purposes.
1. We use straw to mulch the lot and keep it from being a mud hole in wet weather.
2. It insulates the houses in cold weather.
3. The bales around the house provide the dogs a dry comfortable place to lay outside the dog house when weather is good.

As you can see I pile loose straw on top for insulation when it is really cold. Also, the dog houses face east, away from the prevailing westerly winds.

[poormans2]

this has nothing to do about thier dog house but i water my dogs twice a day with really hot water . they like it than i also put hot water with thier food and feed before all the water is soaked up . and it seems to help when they have something warm .inside them just like us .

[andrew_kirby]

im looking for a alternative to the hound heaters but cant find anything on the seneca heaters anybody have any ideas or use a lightbulb heater and how did you make it

[foxxy]

i know of a kennel where the guy wrap r-19 around his barrel
a 25 gaon barrel then slides a 55 over that it is nice year round

[Panther Creek]

That's what I was told - slide a 30 gal plastic barrel inside a 55 gallon, & then spray the space between the 2 barrels with the exp. foam, & hang something over the door. Set the barrel on a pallet &/or block it so it don't roll. Works good for 1 or 2 hounds. My prob. is I don't have room for a 55 gall. barrel in my kennel.

[jar242]

The Petmate Indigo dog houses work really well, the dogs that are doubled up have their heads hanging out of the front wanting cool air, I've stuck my hand in there when it's 0-15 out and it is warm, plus I have mine inside a small barn.

[jar242]

Been 8 degrees here the past two nights and dogs seem fine, as long as the house is proper size, you could build one and insulate it and they would do fine, I would use 3/4" or thicker styrofoam, frame it in and you have a nice dog house for little money. I was just too lazy and bought the Petmate Indigo, a whole lot better made than the Dogloos and they have a wind break.

[S.R.Patch]

A cheap fix for you all,
When we were kids, my father had a friend that had a sawmill. (WARNING! very dangerous now, but we didn't know better). We used to dig tunnels in the sawdust piles and sit inside them, the steam would roll out into the cold winter air while we were warm inside.
THE IDEA; have your plastic barrels fastened to a 4X4 piece of plywood with the hole cut out where the door is. Fasten the 4X4 plywood to the outside of the kennel panel... bury the barrel with pile of sawdust on the outside of the pen for insulation(the plywood is to keep the sawdust from spilling inside the pen). We get sawdust for free and a little scattered around inside the pen keeps the mud down and easy to rake up the dropping as needed. Sawdust is a great insulator and the price is right for sure...