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Classified: Working puppies ELLUTE/GRINGO v.d. MOHNWIESE
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Cold weather kennel bedding (17 replies)
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I have recently moved from FL to NC and am wondering what the best choices for dog house bedding are. Hay, pine/cedar chips or something else? Dogs are working dogs and will rip apart dog beds, towels and destroy heating lamps etc...
Thank you all
Melissa
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| The warmest place would be in the house with you if they can possbily stay in your house that is. |
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I have 2 female and 1 male shepherds in the house. These 2 females get along but do not with any other females. I also have a female mali, another female shepherd a male mali and a washed out labrador I'm trying to find a home for.
Down in FL I did not have to worry about cold weather. I had an air conditioned dog building for the hot that the dogs were brought in during the summer. I don't have my dog building up here yet and it's getting chilly.
The dogs that I have are young dogs and are in training for K9. It is a very small training operation with 6 kennels, only 4 in use right now.
I'm just asking what everyone else uses in outdoor kennel facilities. Have not had to even think about this until recently.
Thank You
Melissa
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Hi Melissa, do not use hay this molds, good clean straw is good insulation, there are many well constructed dog houses on the market.
Always,
Cee |
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Ok, at the risk of feeling utterly lost and a complete idiot, what exactly is the difference between hay and straw??
Melissa
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| Hay is what animals eat (dried grass). Straw is what they lie on (dried grain stalks). |
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Hay or straw - either will mold if it gets wet. It will get wet (either hay or straw) so you need to change it out fairly regularly. I use hay simply because I have it for my livestock (to eat) so it's avaialble. Straw is fine too. Bed it down, then the next day or two bed it down again - the dog will move it to the sides and squish it down, keep it thick and make sure it's dry. I also put a layer of pine wood chips underneath (or on top, it will sift down to the bottom) to help keep everything dry and provide a layer over the hard bottom. More important than bedding is no leaks and the door facing a wall or otherwise preventing drafts.
molly
molly |
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| Straw doesn't do a bad job as an insulator, but if you feed raw (esp. chicken) you might not want to feed in the kennel, because the straw or woodshavings will stick to the food and be consumed. |
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| I use straw as well with good success but my dogs come inside below 40 degrees. Also in NC... |
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Unfortunately I don't have the option of bringing them all inside. I should be getting my dog building set up fairly soon, but until then I'll have to make do.
Thank you for the suggestions!
Melissa
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Unfortunately I don't have the option of bringing them all inside. I should be getting my dog building set up fairly soon, but until then I'll have to make do.
Thank you for the suggestions!
Melissa
interesting! The good thing is that during the cold months your dogs will grow more hair. You'll find out on their shedding after the winter!
Did one of those "can't believe a company is asking us to do research on these things" study some years back on insulation factors/durability/cleanliness of animal bedding for horses. Shredded newpaper was one of the tops. Bad thing about shredded newspaper is the ink will slightly rub off, it breaks down faster than straw so you replace it more frequently.
Look for any product that is soft and will not be shredded so finely to get into eyes, inhaled or sharp to poke such as pine needles.
All natural products need to be removed /discarded regularly as all natural products will allow bacterial growth as they become damp. Wood shavings is probably one of the best for bacteria. You will be able to tell that the product is breaking down and needs to be cleaned out and replaced.
Red Cedar is not recommended for dogs.
We tested: chopped corn cobs, rice hulls (dusty), peanut hulls (dusty), shredded paper (the product that was NOT finely shredded was the winner, the finely shredded product was too dusty), wood shavings being pine- we liked the type that was flaked rather than mulch style or fine chips, wood pellets (this was pretty cool) hay and straw. Both hay and staw I have used at my farm because I have it readily available. Dogs seem to like it best because they can move it into nests. I prefer straw over hay as long as the hay does not have seed heads which of course means small seeds that can be inhaled or create dust.
And price shop. Many of these products work well and hopefully don't cost an arm and a leg to use.
Good luck
Nancy Rhynard
www.westwoodkennels.com
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I use Straw for bedding in the Winter at least for Goran, This Morning i put Straw in Gorans Box and Izzy the Pups Box
Goran was okay with his.
Izzy was eating it and pulled it out of the Box into the pen so that will not work with her so it was cleaned out and she will make do with just the wood Floor, nothing else can be put in the Box a blanket will not last two minutes so she will have to keep herself warm I think we mess too much with the Dogs, They are double coated so can stand the weather providing the Box is draught proof Mine has double skinned walls and Floor so so should be okay
Steve1 |
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Too funny Steve! I can just picture littly Izzy having a blast with the bedding. Thank you, I needed a chuckle.
I know their coats do get thicker when they are outdoors and in cool weather and I was really more concerned with the Malis being they have a short coat with undercoat.
Very interesting about the research Nancy!! I will deffinately keep this in mind!.
Melissa
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I like to line the bottom of thier house with a huge thick layer of news paper.....this feels like it takes FOREVER!!!!! and then I put straw in. Part of the difference in straw and hay is that hay is just a grass type and usually more expensive and stray ( I get wheat straw) is the stem of a grain plant and that stem is hollow. The hollow stem insulates and keeps warm air longer. I add new straw to my dogs kennels every day at feeding time.....I also put warm water on their kibble in the winter.....just for something warm in their bellies. Anyway, add new straw daily and stack it tall in their houses/kennels (fluff it up and pack the house/kennel till it looks about 2/3rds full....you will think there isn't room in there for them!) they will get in there and make a big nest and be happy and warm. I completely strip and remove the straw once a week and put in fresh!
The newspaper thing is sooo true about it's warmth, that's why you always see bums on the park bench wrapped in newspaper, LOL!
Vickie
www.PowerHausKennels.com
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The newspaper thing is sooo true about it's warmth, that's why you always see bums on the park bench wrapped in newspaper, LOL
Yep, They know what works that and cardboard boxes!
Melissa, does it even snow where you are?
My first hard winter with dogs outside in outdoor kennels was a fiasco on my part. I had insulated dog boxes with baffle doors to hold in heat and keep wind out, packed with straw. Fed all the dogs 2x a day, warm food, extra fat. Worried about them and would check them late at night. DARN dogs would be standing on top of the boxes barking and being frisky. Go figure. (we're all in an indoor building now, I got tired of those night checks!)
N
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I know it probably does not get as cold here as some parts of the USA but it dropped to -20 degs Centigrade last winter and for most of the Winter was -8 to-16degs centigrade, which is pretty cold going by the Dogs water having to be changed 10 times or more a day as it froze quickly. Goran will get a winter coat like a Bear,
Izzy well she is 5 months old coming 6 months in 12 days time so i guess she will get a decent winter coat, I had only put the straw in her Kennel 10 minutes earlier and i went out to see and she had plies of it outside in her Pen and was chewing on it, so i had to take it all out again
She sure is a little Madam and cannot wait to get into anything that is why she is known at the training Club as Izzy Bitch and she is too at times
Steve1 |
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Nancy,
It does snow here occasionally, the last being in March. The dogs may not be cold but it's more for my piece of mind to make sure they are comfortable. I believe that if they were cold they would not be out in the snow kicking up their heels and burying their heads in the snow! Lol.
Steve,
I always get a kick out of your updates. Izzy is a fine pup and quite the mischief maker!
Melissa
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i use its like a kitchen roll paper of 10 inch strips tightly packed then fluff it up simular to what hamsters use but on a bigger scale this also absorbs wetness from coats after mine have been in rain then i just change it if it damp nice warm fluffy bed
jeanette |
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