Outdoor Run When is it too cold? - Page 1

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Falcon12

by Falcon12 on 29 October 2008 - 12:10

All:

A little advice please.  I have 2 GSDs that I keep outside in a fenced yard and dog run (never had this luxury before) from 8am till 3pm when my daughter returns from school.  Then they are pretty much inside the rest of the day.  The weather is starting to turn in the Northeast (NJ) and this leads me to my question.  What temperature should I use as a cutoff for keeping them outside as opposed to inside the house for the day.  If they stay inside, my 1 year old female will be crated as she can't be trusted not to get into something inappropriate.

They also have access to insulated dog houses while outside.

Thank you in advance...

 


by Kenan on 29 October 2008 - 13:10

I do not know how low the temperature in your area can go but here where I live it can sometimes go pretty low (-20 - 30 C)

My dogs never had a problem with the cold. Insulated dog house should do just fine, provided tha the entrance can be closed with a piece of something flexible and that there is some hay or better yet some straw. When they feel cold they will look for shelter in their houses themselve. However, problem in my oppinion is not so much cold but spending too much time on the snow. It can damage their paws.

 

 


by TessJ10 on 29 October 2008 - 14:10

Observe them.  Do they seem happy and comfortable outside?

If they have good shelter IMHO they'll thrive outside, provided your house isn't a typical American overheated house.  I suppose they can be uncomfortable if they're inside in 78 degrees F from 3:00pm to 8:00am and then go outside to have to stay in 20 F.  Or maybe they'll sigh with relief!  (LOL)

Mine LOVE being outside while I'm at work and have the most beautiful coats in the winter-time.  GSD are tough and rugged (or they should be).  Don't be surprised if, like mine, the only time they go in their houses is in a driving rain.  They prefer to sleep in the open air, even in the cold.  I live in PA, btw.

Personally I have a cut-off of 20 degrees F to have them stay in, but that's my rule, not theirs.  And your girl will do fine in a crate from 8-3.


by Kandi on 29 October 2008 - 14:10

I am in Northern CT. Much colder here, and much more snow than NJ. I also live at the base of a very high moutain, and get very strong winds. As long as your dogs are used to the cold and grow a proper winter coat, they should be fine, providing they have good shelter with dry bedding to keep them warm, like straw, and the shelter is protected against the wind.

I spoil my dogs a bit too much, and worry a bit needlessly so my magic number for me is 20 degrees. If it is colder then that, or high winds and close to 20 degrees, I keep my dogs inside. Of course then Hawk makes me feel like an idiot when it is sub zero and he is having such a good time playing he refuses to come in and just keeps playing away.  Also, if water buckets freeze up faster than I can keep them "drinkable" , I keep them indoors.

The most important part is that your dogs are well adjusted to the temperatures. Their feet and coat must be allowed to build up the reistence to the cold. I would not take a dog who spends most of the time in the house, and expect them to stay outside all day at 25 degrees.

Snow is not a problem either, again, as long as the dog is allowed to slowly adjust to the temperatures throughout the season. I have one kennel run that is much too big to shovel out. They pack it down and their feet are fine. Of course they have a well insulated dog house to retreat to also.


ziegenfarm

by ziegenfarm on 29 October 2008 - 15:10

i'm in northern ia.  it can get darn cold here.  i don't look at just the temperture in deciding if the dogs stay outside or not.  the wind here gets pretty wild as well and i've noticed a big difference in whether the sun is shining or its cloudy.  so, on a day that there's no wind and the sun is shining brightly, i may have dogs outside all day - even though the temps are below zero.  it depends on the dog, too.  some really don't mind the cold and others hate it.  :)  bottom line.....i look at several things. not just the temps.

pjp


Two Moons

by Two Moons on 29 October 2008 - 15:10

Falcon12,

These are German Shepherd's right?   

They should have shelter from the sun, wind, snow, and rain, but being out is where they belong naturally.   I do bring mine in if the temp's go single digit or below sometime's but only for the overnight hour's.   

As tess said observe them, how is their coat?   Are they sporting a little more fat for winter?  Mine do.

Bringing them in and out all the time breaks down their resistance to the cold.    Then there is the mess.......LOL

So, fatten them up a little, give them proper shelter, use straw when it's muddy, but most important decide if they are to be outside dog's or house pet's.   They must have some consistancy either way.   In and out is not the way.

Their paw's will be just fine.

These are working dog's,   if they are too fragile to live outside they have become something else.   I bring mine in because of emotion, not because they would perish.

Let em be dog's.

Moon's.

 


tigermouse

by tigermouse on 29 October 2008 - 16:10

get them ikkle hats scarves and booties and a nice warm coat.....

 


von Hayden Sheps

by von Hayden Sheps on 29 October 2008 - 18:10

I have to agree with Kandi on this......... The magical number for us is also about 20 degree's, and wind speeds for keeping dogs indoors!   When we lived in the New York, we kept the dogs indoors all night, every night, regardless of temperature, since we didn't have a good enough set up outdoors.  We've since moved to West Virginia and the weather is much different. Not as cold for as long, but considering we live on top of a mountain, the wind is extremely wicked in Dec. - Feb.   We have outdoor kennels that have houses attached directly to the back. Our dog houses have heavy rubber flaps over the front to help cut down wind. The boxes are also built/designed to help insulate and cut wind big time. The boxes are elevated off the ground, but meet perfectly so they can walk straight in from kennel. In the front there is a place to drop in a door to keep them in for the indoor kennel during during wicked weather and overnight, which also helps with the wind.    Each dog has  6 x 6 "indoor kennel" which gives them two separate area's;  1.) 3 x 3 area which act like a hallway. Must walk in through rubber flaps into a hallway type area and then into 2.) 3 x 3 sleep area, which has a heavy duty rubber mat filing the bottom then add straw/sawdust/cedar chip mix in fall & winter. In the summer time I lightly cover the floor with cedarchips, and they get a raised bed, make by Coolaroo.   Inside each indoor kennel there is an area to put their water buckets.  The actual sleeping quarters have thermometers and area to put outdoor heating pads and/or heat lamps if needed. Its not ever been needed since whole indoor area is never cooler then 50's .... And the sleep area is always about 60+ once they settle in for the evening and the doors are shut.    The dogs enjoy being outdoors, often it doesn't bother them... The only time they will go in to the houses on their own, is rain and not always. Some of the dogs enjoy the rain (given its not freezing out) Sometime when we try to put them up for the night or due to weather they don't want the door shut..... So I will just allow them to have free access, then when and if they are ready they will go in on their own. Still stays very warm in the kennel house area.  

Falcon12

by Falcon12 on 29 October 2008 - 19:10

Thank you all!  Now all I have to do is figure out the difference between straw and hay.  LOL!  I was raised in Manhattan (NYC). 


by HighDesertGSD on 29 October 2008 - 19:10

Some knowledge of heat transfer gives the answer.

The GSD is a cold-weather breed. I think in general it fears heat more than cold.

Water has far higher conductivity than air, so the GSD must be kept dry in the winter. No leaks from melting snow and no way for snow flakes to enter the doghouse. The inside of a doghouse must be dry; the doghouse must have enough top cover so that no snow or rain can get into it.

The wind makes forced convection. So calmness is important. As little drift as possible. Openning of the dog house should not be facing the prevailing wind direction. A plate to block any wild gust is needed in some cases.

Size of dog house. Excessively large doghouse allows natural convection. The doghouse should be just large enough for the dog to turn around comfortably.

I think in moderate wind speed and a well-designed doghouse a GSD can take quite low outside temp, down to zero F, or even colder.  Even in Minnesota, many dogs, those with dense inner coat,  live outside.

If the doghouse fails, the GSD may die, however.

Many people say do not allow the dog to be in both warm and cold. I think they mean over the course of weeks, that lures the dog to shed its inner dense coat.

Many commercial doghouses are designed to be stocked easily on store-shelves, not for the dog. In general, many have too large an opening for cold weather application.

I make mine from 3/4" plywood.

IMO






 


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