[Germanshepherdlova]

3' deep by 2' wide by 1 1/2' high???!!!

How exactly is your dog supposed to get inside? Crawl? How long have you had this dog?

So, for us Americans that don't use the metric system...your temps range from -27 F to 50 F. If our dogs were outside in -27 degrees weather in a house that was to low for our dog to get in to, we would be fined and our dogs would be seized.

Where I live it is against the law to leave a dog outside in extreme cold temps without adequate shelter, the dog would be seized, and the owner would be arrested.

 

[msvette2u]

Hm...maybe the measurements are also metric!?

A converter tells me that -25 is actually -13 in Fahrenheit.

 

[msvette2u]

Where I live it is against the law to leave a dog outside in extreme cold temps, the dog would be seized, and the owner would be arrested.

Do you mean without shelter, or is that with shelter too?

 

[Germanshepherdlova]

Do you mean without shelter, or is that with shelter too?

Without adequate shelter, I corrected it. Thanks

 

[Jax08]

-25 is -13 F. I didn't put ( ) in my calculator when I did the conversion. Doesn't matter though...our HS will still fine. This happened last winter when we had a bad cold snap and it was put on the 6pm news as a warning to others to get their animals to proper shelter.

 

[Rott-n-GSDs]

Seems to me like th OP is a Canadian using the American measurement system. Making it easy for us or... maybe I'm wrong about the metric system being used there?

I'm in Northern Wisconsin and I would say our winters here range between 30 above on warm days and in the mid to high teens below on the cold days. I wouldn't risk my dogs outside.

 

[Jax08]

Hm...maybe the measurements are also metric!?

A converter tells me that -25 is actually -13 in Fahrenheit.

No. His post spelled out FEET.

3 feet deep 2 feet wide and 1.5 ft tall flat roof all 3 inch walls insulated with straw and poly as a vapour barrior

A full grown GSD would not be able to get into a space that is only 18" tall. And then the snow would bury it and he couldn't get out if he did squeeze in there. Then he would suffocate if it was buried in snow.

 

[msvette2u]

I agree, it sounds bad, which is why I was wondering if he made an error in his telling it or converting it.

Either way, with proper(ly sized) shelter and straw inside, I think it would be okay. I wouldn't do that to my dogs, but I could see it being "okay", health-wise.

I'm eating dinner but check Tufts Weather safety scale which is what I used when working AC, in our area we have a lot of people whose dogs are continually outdoors.

http://www.animalsheltering.org/resource_library/magazine_articles/jul_aug_1998/body_condition.pdf

 

[KittyKat]

Hey there,

I am from Southern Ontario Canada. More north from me it gets easy to -30C which would be -27.6F Sometimes with really bad nights of -50C which would be -58F.... In the part where I live tho.... most of our coldest nights are -30C WITH wind chills. Its the wind here that will kill ya!

ALSO so laws in Ontario regarding out door pets. You can't be charged with anything USUALLY unless your animal doesn't have proper housing, food and water. If someone is starving there pet and you can see that.... and the day the humane society goes and looks it does.... then its classified it does. A simple wooden box would classify as shelter. It's stupid and should be upgraded to something more elaborate. but that's just MY opinion on that. (You would need a lot of people who actually gave a crap to change that with government) BUT they advertise on tv and radio days when "they" think its to cold for our pets to be outside all night or day. And your advised to bring them indoors.

On another note.... just for the option of my personal experience's. We've had dogs my whole life. My dogs were nearly NEVER allowed to come in the house. That's just how we were raised animals stay OUTSIDE. Only unless it was really cold out. We have always had GSD's also. (Even before I was born) And they always survived outside most of there lives. That doesn't mean they weren't loved or well taken care of. They always had proper shelters with straw and what not and always out of the direct wind. Always food and fresh water also. My last GSD I lost her 2 years ago in July would purposefully pee and poop on the floor when she was in the house. (She was a rescue dog and was born outside and lived outside for the first year of her life) No matter what we did we couldn't break her of that bad habit. BUT she was happy outside. They can live full happy lives outside. IF THEY ARE PROPERLY TAKEN CARE OF!!! That's the big key right there. She got walked every day and played with every day as well. We had also asked various vets for explanations of why she would be messing all the time upon return in the house and they all had pretty much the same answer.... she didn't want to be in there. And since it was my dad's house and I was only 18 I left it at that.

My current dogs all live in the house tho. The rescue goes in the Garage to sleep but he has a 3" thick xxl saddle pad bed on top of carpet with blankets on top of that. And in the winter I have a heater that I will turn on in there as well.

I was just wondering also as to why after 6 years does the dog have to live outside? Just curious.....

 

[KittyKat]

and yes the animal needs to be able to get into the shelter for it to be considered adaquit shelter!

 

[LisaT]

Hey there,

I am from Southern Ontario Canada. More north from me it gets easy to -30C which would be -27.6F Sometimes with really bad nights of -50C which would be -58F.... In the part where I live tho.... most of our coldest nights are -30C WITH wind chills. Its the wind here that will kill ya!

-30C, from this convertor, is -22F
Temperature Conversion Calculator

 

[PaddyD]

Looks like Baxter+Mike took a hike.

 

[ShenzisMom]

I really hope he did not. I'm not sure if you guys looked at his facebook however he is young, maybe 22, 23. Seems to be living close to the Manitoba border, but travels to Toronto. (Maybe to visit family?) I really hope he has not given up here, and will take some advice. I really hope he looks at new dog house plans...and gets some tractor belts to cover the door. A young driven man could build a really nice dog house for pretty cheap. Just got to know what you are doing. Good luck, and if you need anything PM me!

 

[Jax08]

I hope he didn't leave also. He really needs to look at the height of the dog house. A dog house shouldn't be to large or it won't hold the heat but it can't be to small either. It sounds like he is trying to make a place that is safe for his dog. I really hope he lets the dog inside if possible.

 

[Uniballer]

Straw is much more safe than insulation. Fiberglass, if chewed on, can kill a dog...since it's, well, glass.
Straw is an insulation bedding because of air trapped inside the straws. It is much safer and cheaper and does as good of job keeping a dog warm.

Agreed that fiberglass must be kept away from the dog so it can not be chewed, breathed in, etc. The OP said he used polyethylene as a vapor barrier so that could also be a problem if it can be chewed.

R-value of straw in bales is about 1.4-1.5 (in BTUs per hour per square foot per degree Fahrenheit) per inch of thickness. Hand packed it will vary from much less to that value. Fiberglass is 2.5 per inch and up, and manufactured batts are easy to pack optimally.

A free standing dog house probably needs the floor (who wants to sleep on a cold floor?), walls and roof insulated, and at least a flap over the door opening. Ventilation may become a problem if the house is too tight.

 

[NancyJ]

I am not sure I could sleep at night with my dog out in that set up but the dog needs a higher protein and fat diet ..... Canada.....why NOT Orijen?

I hate relying on eletric because electric can fail and chewing can kill a dog or cause a fire. I would shoot for better insulation but there has to be a way for water vapor to escape as well else it will be wet from condensation of the dog's breath.

Obviously arctic dogs can survive outside and if this dog IS kept outside, we assume he must not come inside to hang out (needs to keep just the right coat)

 

[Uniballer]

BTUs per hour per square foot per degree Fahrenheit

Oops. Those units are for heat loss (U). R-value is the reciprocal of U. Probably nobody cares, but correct is correct...

 

[bocron]

If you do nothing else, stop feeding the crap Pedigree. If your dog is going to have to brave those temps, for whatever reason, the least you can do is feed him a decent food.
Go with Orejen, Acana, Nature's Variety Instinct or Taste of the Wild (just a few I can come up with off the top of my head).

Annette

 

[Rott-n-GSDs]

The best choice for a doghouse in the extreme cold would be one that has a 90 degree corner. Basically, you build the door, a tunnel that goes around the corner, and then it opens up to the (insulated) house. Keeps the wind out.

A friend of mine did that here with his dog and the dog was actually too warm so he had to turn the heat light off.

 

[msvette2u]

Like a Dogloo? A Dogloo would work instead of a home made thing.
And he probably feeds Pedigree due to it's availability, not to mention they make cute ads