Can German Shepherd live outdoor during winter? - Page 1

Hello again! this is Ryun from South Korea

My German Sheperd is 11 months old male, name: Sam

As you can see in this picture, winter in South Korea is pretty bitter.

The average temperature during December~April range between -5 to 10 celsius 

That picture was taken when it snowed couple days ago and as you can see on the right side of the picture, we have a large house for him where he can keep away from snow, rain, and wind.

He has pretty thick fur right now and we feed him Orijen Adult with Royal Canin German Shepherd Junior 

Some people say that German Shepherd are suited to live outdoor even when its cold but some people disagree.

So I wanted to get more opinions about how I should raise my German Shepherd.

Thank you so much for reading a long post. ;-) 

Is  the large house heated  in any  way.   Your dog will need some  way to get some relief from the cold in your area

A heated pad made for livestock is a good way or maybe a heat lamp if you can him a smaller area in the big shed that you can keep  warm. 

If the house you have for him has a windbreak in front of the entrance to keep it from getting drafty, and if it isn't overly large [it needs to be just large enough for him to stand up, turn completely around and to lie down without having to curl up, but anything larger than that and it won't conserve his body heat effectively], and you use clean, dry straw [not hay or grass] as bedding that you replace regularly when it becomes wet and/or dirty, then your German Shepherd should be able to handle the winters there without any problem. Make sure his water supply doesn't freeze--a heated water bowl is a good idea--because his water intake is vital to his body's ability to stay warm. And if the weather is brutally cold, it wouldn't hurt add warm water to his meals...just as a bowl of hot soup helps to warm us up when we're cold, warm or hot water mixed into his food will do the same for him.

There's no reason a healthy, well-fed German Shepherd can't thrive in an outdoor kennel in the winter, as long as you are mindful of the point mentioned above, and one more crucial thing: he needs to spend time with his people every day, exercising his mind and body and enjoying socialization and affection with the people he loves. If denied those last elements, his spirit will break and his energy levels will plummet.

 hexe

Keep your dogs dry, out of the mud, make sure they have access to water ( unfrozen ), let them run around ( ie don't trap them in a freezing cold dog house ) to keep warm, and most important keep them out of the wind. The dog house needs an entry way and living room with a wind break plus most important a seperate small well insulated bedroom. Dogs that like each other can share a house and help keep each other warm. Dogs that don't like each other may fight and one may stand outside all night. When dogs are cold they need room to run to generate heat and double or triple rations in cold weather. Real raw food with unprocessed animal fats including beef trimmings is pure energy. Dry dog food is not real food, it is a substitute for real food. I have kept dogs in temps below 0 F ( ie -20C ) using the above system and they were fine and looked great.  Others here and in Canada have kept dogs outside under much lower temps.  I have used wheat straw or other straw as insulation, bedding, and sometimes ground cover for muddy areas. Keep an eye on ice and mud build up inside the dog house and replace bedding when needed.  Those most likely to suffer in the cold are the very young and the very old dogs. As was mentioned waterproof warming pads for animals ( swine farrowing piglet warmers ) can give supplemental heat but electrical cords can be a source of electrocution or fire if not protected from damage.  Dogs that are wet and in the wind will suffer and may sicken or die due to stress so keep them out of the wind and dry first and foremost.  On really cold nights with multiple dogs in adjacent pens they would run and bark all night to keep warm .. the dogs know what to do to keep warm .. but they need double or triple food rations fed more often in really cold conditions.  Keep an eye on the dogs and during the mornings after a cold night see how tired they look, especially see how they look in the eyes.  If they start looking tired and worn out with sad eyes then action is required to reduce stress.

There were times that I worried about my dogs when it was -20F. When I looked out the window, however, I would typically find the GSD curled up in a corner of the kennel covered in snow and comfortably sleeping ignoring the fact that there was a warm, expensive dog house. Bringing them inside, I found that they laid around panting and uncomfortable. My Malinois pup is very similar.

Just keep an eye on him. As others have said, the dog house shouldn't be too big. If the house is proper sized and insulated, their body heat will keep it warm.

Had a friend who had a very well insulated but unheated kennel attached to her house for her dogs. While the dogs seemed fine and healthy I noticed that they always died younger than those who had been house dogs even where the pedigrees were the same or very similar. Having lived in areas where temperatures can and did reach 30 below I can testify to how draining cold is EVEN if you have proper clothing or limited exposure. I personally think a lifetime of long term winter exposure does effect the bodies systems. Also even small amounts exposure to cold can significantly raise the incidence of infection for humans.

NO.

AND NO.  Are  you saying you have no other way to keep your dog inside during extreme weather conditions? 

Thank you so much for all of the thoughts and concerns.

Special thanks to bubbabooboo and hex!!!!! you guys are awesome.

I posted the picture of Sam's house.

Sam can choose to sleep in at any of these three houses if he likes.

Usually he choose to sleep in where we put a blanket in it.

I can assure all of you that I have not seen him shivering or wanted to get inside of the house.

He seems to enjoy the weather so far. Although, I am expecting the weather to get colder.

I will follow the directions that you guys gave it to me and make sure that my Sam does not suffer during cold weather.

 

I always feel comfort and welcomed coming to this community.

Thank you again for all of your concerns and thoughts.

I will let you know if something happense along the way.