How Cold is it where You live? - Page 2

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! me needs SS to keep warm Aye!

Aye Aye Capt. Mike...What the heck is that stuff...Sand?

Arrrrr! Q Man that be t' Freezin Snows o' t' Flyin' Dutchman Aye!

It's starting to get pretty chilly out on the East Coast but not cold enough for me to start bitchin yet. lol  It's BRISK, put it that way. lol  My dogs boxes are pretty well insulated and sit a little off the ground.  We put straw in them also but to tell you the truth my dogs come it most of the time when the weather is colder.  I try to keep them out more mid afternoon as the temperature is a little warmer but around 5-6pm I start bringing them in.  If it's in the single digits I don't even bother keeping them out but instead just let them do their business and come back in.  They usually let me know if they want to stay out a little while or if they are ready to come it cause they will bird dog me at the patio door.

Mime stay inside all the time too,,,they have a doggie door....and go out when they need to....

I only have two but use to have 6 germans,and they all slept in the house on cold nights....each had a doggie bed and their=own place in three rooms....

Just me and the dogs....so no one else in a large ranch house.....

TOO freaking cold already in the southern part of the Poconos! Its still only about 35F out at 11 am this morning but the freezing wind is howling it down to a bone-chill factor. My knees are killing me and I'm indoors, trying to warm up after morning chores, slathering Gold Bond cream on lizard-dry face and hands, and it isn't even TG yet! 

My dogs are outside right now, nested in door-less, uninsulated plastic houses, (or rather ON them, so they must not be TOO cold, at least for a few minutes at a time) Okay for now, but when temp drops to 23 tonight and the chill factor hits 17, the 5 month old and the ancient one are headed for crates in the warm basement/garage (maybe sooner with the wind picking up) and the adults to lthe arge straw-filled boxes of the insulated dog trailer, windows closed, with just the little air from the vented fan cowling for ventilation. If the temp drops too much I'll throw my junk out of the basement garage and pull the trailer in there for the night.

It can get to the single digits here in winter, not to mention chill factors. I just hope our new building is up in the next two weeks as promised by the husband... other wise "other arrangements" will have to be made when I go back to work and am not around to play "musical dogs" all damned day.  I'm told I "baby" my dogs. But the thought of even one being too uncomfortable, metabolism struggling/stressed trying to convert calories to maintain body temperature (especially the very young and very old)  or actuallyfreezing to death with an unexpected tanking of the thermometer, while I am comfortably dreaming away under goose down, scares the crap out of me.

All formal training stops here with the snow and ice. Dangerous for helpers, dogs and handlers, treacherous driving conditions, (especially with a dog trailer) not to mention uncomforatble as hell for we arthritic old bats, struggling to move in  Michelin-man layers of winter apparel. I'm looking into using a covered horse arena an evening a week, cold, but sheltered from wind and snow. the footing is a bit deep, and the dogs show too much interest in horse poop, but if I am to get my youngsters titled, short of trekking to training in warmer climates on weekends (fat chance) I guess I have to do something other than dream about the year-round training and events in California.

I HATE PA! 

SS  -Fairweather Trainer

Most of our dogs preffer to sleep outside,  But a few insist on being pillow theives...

We just went out and bedded all the dog houses..

We start with a layer of the pelleted bedding(for moisture absorbtion)  then add a thick layer of Pine shavings,  then cover with about 12 inches of straw,  the dogs can barely get inside but after a day or two they have their houses nicely situated...

It's freezing here on occation now,  But our winters are usually not horrific.   Been a few since we've had much snow but we are about due and folks are saying this year is gonna be a dandy,  honestly I hope NOT !!!

im in La so its not as bad as most of you have it...boss is still sleeping outside, i have a very thick quilt in the floor of his doggie house....somethin wierd about that-- The other day i had noticed that he had pulled his quilt outside the doghouse, i wasnt to worried about it cause it was pretty warm, lower 80's i think...then the next day a cold front was coming through so i went to go fix his bed back nice and warm....but the little bugger had already done it! there his quilt was, fluffed up in the corner he sleeps in, just as if i had done it myself...just thought that was pretty smart of him..

My dogs are used to being outside and really prefer that.  They have covered kennels with insulated Dogloos packed with straw and cedar chips.  However, one female loves to dig hers out just to see me get mad.  Their floors are 6" off the ground, (wood floors, covered with Options Plus kennel flooring and then, covered with stable matting).  They will not let me keep any sort of door, burlap, what have you on.  It will be gone in less than 3 minutes, tops.

Currently, night time temps have not dropped below 25 F yet, however when they drop to single digits, I put the heating pads in the doghouses and they stay toasty.

If the windchill is dipping below zero though, I have them moved into their crates in the basement.  (They absolutely hate them though and I tend to sleep down their on the sofa to keep 'em quiet.)  Honestly, I believe they'd be happier outside! 

I used to have a male who wanted nothing to do with being in the house when we had the heat on inside during winter.  And, when you'd put him outside, he would prefer to curl up in a ball in the middle of the snow and let it pretty much cover him up.  It reminded me of the sled dogs.  I always felt so bad letting him do it but, when I'd check on him, his nose, ears and pads would be warm.  I think the snow would insulate him. 

Our breed is a pretty hearty dog.

That's pretty funny, iluvmy.  Some of my dogs would just tear it up for the entertainment value.

It was 14 degrees in Anchorage last night, but with no wind.  I brought everyone but two inside.  The two had a nice heated dog shed with "stalls" bedded with shavings over an insulated floor covered with vinyl, with doggie doors so they can go outside into their pens at any time.  Arwin sleeps in bed with my daughter Autumn every night...Arwin has her own pillow and actually sleeps with her head on it!  I discovered yesterday that Arwin has apparently been sleeping under the blankets and on the sheets with Autumn....wow, dirt and hair galore!  I think my daughter needs to take a bath ;-)  Kidding.  You'd think it would make her too hot to sleep under blankets.  Athos sometimes sleeps with my husband and I in my room, we are working on him not being so "talky" at night and bumping me with his nose to take him outside at 2 am.  He doesn't bump my husband, just me.  It's irritating, because he often doesn't really need to go that bad, he just wants to play in the snow.  He thinks the snow is great stuff.  One or two of the other females often sleeps in the room too....they take turns so everyone feels wanted.  When not sleeping in a bedroom, then the dogs are crated in the basement area, which is also my training room.  ~ Veronica