bitter cold - Page 1

It is currently 4 degrees here in Green Bay with a wind chill of 30-50 below expected tonight and through the weekend. My 2 dogs live in the house but I worry about the kennel dogs that have to live outside. Last time I was at the local gsd breeder all I saw in the outside kennels for the large dogs was some kind of wood/plywood type coop. The only inside kennels were for the small lap dogs that they also breed. Just wondering what breeders in the bitter cold climates do to protect their outside dogs from exposure.

our "kennel" dogs all come inside when it gets that cold. not as cold as you here in kansas. snuggle up with the pups by the fire. john

My adult dogs stay out in temprature like -10 to -15 degree C and no problem at all. In the night, they are inside the kennels. I use windbreakers on the entrance and put lot of straws on the floors. They are fine and active and never saw them snuggling. However, when temprature falls below -25C I bring them in. I havnt seen any problem so far with these tempratures.

Suck it up. It is real cold here.

Maybe the gsd can tolerate more cold than I think. My female won't set foot outside tonight while the male is sitting by the back door again panting. He'd probably spend the night outside if I'd let him but there's no shelter from the wind out there and I'd worry about frostbite.

realcold, I'm a wuss when the temp drops below zero. I may even close my windows tonight. Sue

I was also wondering how cold a germans shepherd can stand...its 25 here in Texas tonight and I put all in a barn with shut down kennels and one heat lamp and the nursery is filled with cages and females and two 14 week pups . Also have one heat lamp and three lamps with 100 watt bulbs.....water hoses all frozen..I bring the blue healer and we have a lost chocolate lab here since first freeze...He needs a home....A lot of people tell me they would be okay in the kennels if they go in their houses...they dont...lay out on the concrete....so have no vhoice Im a wussie also... I wouldnt want to be outside in a caged area in 25 degree frost.....

A GSD can withstand a lot colder than the temps being mentioned here. Providing they are healthy and have a place to go with straw. I have some that do fine at -40F. When building a dog house keep them small so their body heat can keep them warm. Door flaps work well if you can keep them on. It looks like a big tug toy to most GSD's I have. It is 10F here right now and windy and I consider that a nice warm evening. Robin www.klatolklin.com Eagle, Alaska

Any of our dogs are welcome to come inside, However majority of them choose to go out in the evenings, We have a handful that will choose to stay inside, Before bed, I go to the door and open it up, Anyone who wants out exit's at that time, Anyone who wishes to stay in lays down and looks at me like "are you gonna make me ??" (Pathetically) Of course I don't make them go out if they choose to stay they are in for the night. But outside we have several houses, a few large, a few smaller, One that they seem to really enjoy is a very large, can fit about 4 adults in there, all houses are bedded with straw and shavings, They love it and they seem to like sleeping in the big one with several dogs in there at once. Some will go to the small ones, But the big one is always full.

My dogs are in indoor kennels at night, on 2-3" of fluffy pine shavings to keep them off the rough-surfaced concrete. When the temps drop I try to keep the kennel building above 40 F. The pups under 5 mos. have large 2' x 4' wood boxes to snuggle with 4' ceilings and heat lamps suspended on one end. about half the pups sleep in the boxes, the rest migrate in and out of the box all night as they get too warm or too cool. My house dogs are out in the excersize run several times a day, but I am careful, especially with older dogs, youths, or recent mommies, not to leave them out too long when there's a serious windchill factor as they don't have the heavy coats they would if they were outside full time. I am told occasionally that I waste money on heat and bedding, but... so what? Shelley