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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,952 Likes: 5
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,952 Likes: 5 |
I've posted before on account of there's a timber wolf or coyote masquerading as a 16yo mini-wiener dog on our porch. This was my BIL's dog until they moved and became unable to keep it. Up until coming here three years back she had lived her whole life as an outside dog in the country, sleeping on cold nights under a blanket next to their house. In her prime she used to kill rats and such and still bears the scars, now she's just an ancient dog, nearly blind and deaf, hardly any teeth left, who keeps on ticking year after year. She doesn't leave the yard but if she becomes aware of my approach she will take off running, such as she can. Not skittish, just wild. She ain't at all housebroke and in the house picks fights with my heelers. She spends most of her time sleeping under a light blanket in her crate, I keep her water topped up and feed her every night. In view of her dental issues I soften the food up with milk, seen here with added grated cheese Here's the problem; most of the time the issue down here is heat, for that I set up a floor fan blowing a steady breeze into the crate and on hot days she'll just crash out on top of her blankets, the breeze seems to make it tougher for skeeters to get to her too. Down to freezing for the first time tonight, we might actually get a winter this year. To get under blankets the dog noses its way and tosses the blanket up with her head, this only works with the loft of light sleeping bags or quilts, serious blankets like that old wool blanket in the pics are too heavy and too flat in profile for her to get her nose under. The wool blanket she sleeps on. ...and the light blanket in place, she throw it out like that herself from underneath. Its weighted in back so she can't throw it all out The crate is covered and it is well-sheltered from the wind,so wind chill isn't an issue. Right now the source of heat is a reptile hot hock under the blanket. This gets just slightly warm to the touch, perfect for creating a slightly warm spot she can curl up on or next to (ya I know, the manufacturers expressly warn against such uses). But the light blankets that are the only ones she can get under don't insulate on top of her as well as I would like. On the plus side, when I checked her tonight (37F) under her blanket she wasn't shivering, ie not cold, but I dunno if this would still be true if it dropped down into the 20's for a prolonged period of time. Looking for suggestions I haven't thought of. Heat lamps are a possibility but they do get hot, and its possible she could throw up a blanket against it. I looked at electric blankets but they all have timers, 3hrs or 10hrs. I am often gone for longer than that. Prob'ly the best option would be some sort of serious heating pad to lay underneath that I could turn on in the coldest weather, I just can't find anything like that in the local stores. Bringing her inside in a cage is an obvious suggestion, but there already three other dogs indoors in cold weather, having her outside is just easier on me, and her. Anybody got any ideas? Tks, Birdwatcher
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 49
Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 49 |
cover crate with a blanket & cut a slit or flap in that she can push open / through to get inside??
tighter box like a dog house with a flap door??
light bulb inside the crate to help warm it??
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 11,321 Likes: 9
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 11,321 Likes: 9 |
Southern States carries a great heating pad for just this type of situation. My Pit Bull rescue is laying on one right now. Just put a couple towels or a good thick blanket around it. It is a real difference maker. Ever thought of putting a sweater on the dog?
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 18,215
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 18,215 |
I've got a soft spot for Dachshunds, as that's all my folks have had for 40+ years. No way I'd leave her out in that weather. They like to be warm, almost hot.
An older heating pad might work, but most of the new ones have timers that time out. Might check the pet stores for heating blankets of some sort. I know my electric blanket will go for 8hrs before shutting itself off.
Hope you find something for her, I hate seeing that..
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19,824 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19,824 Likes: 2 |
Hang an incubator lamp over the area, adjusting height for the desired result.
"Be sure you're right. Then go ahead." Fess Parker as Davy Crockett
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,106 Likes: 5
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,106 Likes: 5 |
A lot of stores carry heated pet pads.Try searching on Amazon, Petco, Petsmart. I don't have that problem.I have an electric blanket on my side of the bed.My wife and dog, a pretty good sized black lab cross, goes to bed earlier than I do.Most nights it's a fight to get my share of the bed when I do go to bed.
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,412
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,412 |
Dangit, Birdwatcher. You are a good man.
Thanks to the rest of you good men for the sound advice.
Me solum relinquatis
Molon Labe
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 16,916
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 16,916 |
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,952 Likes: 5
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,952 Likes: 5 |
Ever thought of putting a sweater on the dog? What concerns me is her catching a claw in one when I ain't home. The heating pad suggestion is just what I was looking for, tks.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,022 Likes: 1
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,022 Likes: 1 |
Extra fat in her diet on cold days will naturally help her keep warm.
$$$ TRUMP AT THE PUMP 2024 $$$
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,952 Likes: 5
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,952 Likes: 5 |
I've got a soft spot for Dachshunds, as that's all my folks have had for 40+ years. No way I'd leave her out in that weather. They like to be warm, almost hot. To put things in context, the dog has lived its whole long life about like this, except without the hot rock. When I reach under the blanket where she is curled up if she's not shivering I figure she ain't actually suffering. Last night and tonight I fed her a whole friggin' sausage as long as she is, shredded up so she could eat it. 23% fat.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 8,109
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 8,109 |
for our outside dog, we used a ceramic light fixture for an incandescent bulb, a 5-pound metal coffee can, piece of three quarter inch plywood little more than a foot Square, ( to be used as the base) coat the inside of the metal can with flat black paint. drill about a hundred 1/8 inch holes in the can. Mount Your ceramic fixture at the center of the board, wiring it Through the Wood. invert the can, Center it on the light fixture, and secure it to the wood with a small hinge on one side and a hook and eye closure on the other. 4 pan head screws on the underside act as levelers. the size of the bulb determines the amount of a heat output. 60-100wt was plenty for an Ohio winter. ( used in the normal wood dog house)
An unemployed Jester, is nobody's Fool.
the only real difference between a good tracker and a bad tracker, is observation. all the same data is present for both. The rest, is understanding what you're seeing.
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,095
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,095 |
Probably doesn't work with Obama-bulbs.
National Rifle Association - Patron Member National Muzzleloading Rifle Association - Life Member and 1 of 1000 Illinois State Rifle Association - Life Member Carlinville Rifle & Pistol Club ~ Molɔ̀ːn Labé ~
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Joined: Jul 2006
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,514 |
I bought a kennel heating pad ,when our female was fixing to have a litter. planning on bringing it out again, now that they are getting on in years,has a thermostat ,and wire guard,fleece cover. works so good,they wont sleep on it,just on the edge of it. just have to turn down the thermostat some more. IIRC,it was about 100 degrees warm just plugged in, without the external thermostat https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturin...p;ie=UTF8&qid=1481282211&sr=1-10
Last edited by fluffy; 12/08/16.
********************** [the member formerly known as fluffy}
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 152,105 Likes: 33
Campfire Savant
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Campfire Savant
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 152,105 Likes: 33 |
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 8,109
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 8,109 |
Probably doesn't work with Obama-bulbs. Then be smart enough not to use Obama bulbs. incandescent bulbs will always exist no matter what he says, because he's not a master of physics. ( he's like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, all heart no brain (" I have a pen and a phone") all replacement bulbs melt in the oven.
An unemployed Jester, is nobody's Fool.
the only real difference between a good tracker and a bad tracker, is observation. all the same data is present for both. The rest, is understanding what you're seeing.
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 19,129 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 19,129 Likes: 2 |
They also make heating mats for putting under things growing in a green house, that are pretty cheap. would warm a bed some, and not shut off. miles
Look out for number 1, don't step in number 2.
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,949
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,949 |
My wife put together this several winters back for an old neighborhood stray cat she kind of took a liking to and kept feed and watered. No reason why something like it wouldn't work for a up to medium size outside kept dog too.
Ordinary plastic storage bin of the right size w/lid, usually costs $10 or less,... cut a hole of the right size as a entry/exit door in one of the sides,... line the inside with something with insulating properties (IIRC she used crumpled news paper between cardboard 'walls'),... old blankets and old terry cloth bath towels for bedding.
Snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, bitter cold, the cat used it so I guess it helped. You could probably still use the heat rock or pet heating pad too.
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 16,971 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 16,971 Likes: 1 |
Eliminating wind - it's good if you can make a box so that wind doesn't swirl around the sleeping chamber.
If you are using a kennel that's harder, we used to build dog houses so that the entrance was on one side as a hallway, and the entrance to the place the sleep was at the back wall to cut down the wind effect.
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