heating a dog house - it's a duplex (1 Viewer)

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I have built (mostly) a duplex for my two dogs. It's seperated so they each have a room. There is an air gap in the partition wall for air flow. The doors are just loose strips of rubber molding. The walls are insulated and the roof is too. If I'm home, the dogs are in most of the time. Betty is a 45# 6 year old dog and Barney is a 85# puppy.

How can I add some heat in there for when I'm not home?
 
Don't you remember Jim and Tammy Faye Baker's air conditioned doggy house? They put it up for sale after he went to the slammer.:D

They literally hung a window air conditioner off the back of that dog house. I think you'd have to use a heat pump:rolleyes: or you could just put an electric heater in there, but set it on real low so as not to crisp the pups.
 
Dog House Heat

tonkota said:
I have built (mostly) a duplex for my two dogs. It's seperated so they each have a room. There is an air gap in the partition wall for air flow. The doors are just loose strips of rubber molding. The walls are insulated and the roof is too. If I'm home, the dogs are in most of the time. Betty is a 45# 6 year old dog and Barney is a 85# puppy.

How can I add some heat in there for when I'm not home?


You might install an electric blanket. Be sure to protect the wires and install the blanket well below their bedding for obvious reasons.

JB
 
Put some straw in the bottom. You can also rig up some light bulbs in there...that works well to heat up a dog house.
 
Josh83 said:
Put some straw in the bottom. You can also rig up some light bulbs in there...that works well to heat up a dog house.


Heat lamp would be the easiest to do. It would be pretty trick to mount a pressure sensitive plate in the floor so that it would only come on when they were in there. Or, you could mount a thermostat from a home unit.
 
Build a fireplace! :flipoff2:

How close to the house is it? :confused: If it's too far to run anything other than electricity, then go to your local farm/feed store and see what they recommend--I seem to remember all sorts of heating options for livestock--electric blankets, space heaters, lights, warming coils for drinking water--they ought to be able to set you up with something appropriate.

Good for you for providing for your dogs. :cheers: Although, unless they're chinese cresteds, they probably just need a bunch of straw and some fresh food and water every day. :D
 
Jman said:
they probably just need a bunch of straw and some fresh food and water every day. :D


That was going to be my first suggestion.

:D
 
Blankets are out. Barney thinks they taste good. Maybe one 100w bulb will help just enough. I thought about a heat bulb, but they put out too much heat.

I have our old oil burning furnace. It's 80,000 btu so they could stay toasty :)

It is 25ft away from the house. The house will have a chimney. It's a small replica of my house. I'll post pics when it's done.
 
Probably a low-wattage ordinary light bulb. A heat lamp would make it too hot. You could experiment with a 60 watt and then a 100 watt. I think you'll find they don't need much.

Also, the Tammy and Jim doghouse climate control was justified because Jim got to live in it after he got out of jail.
 
http://www.leerburg.com/742.htm

Most places have the above in different sizes. The dogs can't chew them up since they are hard. It's like in floor radiant heat for a dog house.

I wouldn't use lamps with cords or heating blankets for obvious reasons.

Just search Kennel or Heating Pad.. Most places in cold areas have em.. Murdochs, Farm supply places that sell pet supplies, Doctors Foster and Smith, Etc.
 
you could of built a heated floor into the house like you would in your own kitchen. Then just run it off a thermostat.
 
lingo said:
you could of built a heated floor into the house like you would in your own kitchen. Then just run it off a thermostat.


Pet stores have heat pads for this purpose...not sure how it would hold up to a dog that likes to chew on things. The cord is wrapped/sleaved with a steel spring. We have one, that someone gave us, I used to use it to keep their water from freezing.
 
tonkota said:
Blankets are out. Barney thinks they taste good. Maybe one 100w bulb will help just enough. I thought about a heat bulb, but they put out too much heat.

I have our old oil burning furnace. It's 80,000 btu so they could stay toasty :)

It is 25ft away from the house. The house will have a chimney. It's a small replica of my house. I'll post pics when it's done.

You, sir, are on crack. :flipoff2:

If it's not fully built yet, yeah, then wire in a bulb (the kind with the full metal cage so the pups can't break it) using romex cable, bury it to the house, maybe add a GFI just to be sure. Maybe leave a space open in the studs to insert a blanket between the floors if you're really concerned. :)
 
tonkota said:
I have built (mostly) a duplex for my two dogs. It's seperated so they each have a room. There is an air gap in the partition wall for air flow. The doors are just loose strips of rubber molding. The walls are insulated and the roof is too. If I'm home, the dogs are in most of the time. Betty is a 45# 6 year old dog and Barney is a 85# puppy.

How can I add some heat in there for when I'm not home?

Don't Barney and Besty get along? Most dogs will snuggle up to each other to keep warm, kind of seems self defeating to eliminate that as an optional heating system. :confused:
 
How cold does it get and what kind of dogs are they. A heat source may not be good for their health long term. We have a lab and a Tibetan masstiff they love the snow and cold, they use the dog house more in the hot months. Just a tought or two.
 
The standard around here is Cedar chips or Straw for bedding, and one 100 watt light bulb. Keeping wind out of the doorway is key to keeping them warm. They will nestle down into wood chips and do pretty well even without any heating. Depends upon what kind of dogs you have, as what their requirements are.

My Lab refuses to go into his insulated dog house unless it pouring rain. In the winter he will have a layer of frost on his neck and shoulders every morning...and couldn't be happier. The beagle acts like she will die if it gets below 65 deg. The Border Collie could live comfortably in Alaska I'm convinced!
 
cxs said:
Don't Barney and Besty get along? Most dogs will snuggle up to each other to keep warm, kind of seems self defeating to eliminate that as an optional heating system. :confused:
When I had two Standard Poodles I bought two houses. They alway both crammed into one or the other. :D Usually they just slept in the snow.
If you really think the dogs need heat I'd rig a light bulb inside a 3# coffee can so they don't have to live like POW's under a bare bulb 24/7.
 
Just sold a guy some brooder light fixtures and heat bulbs for that very purpose today, put thermostat on that thing and never worry again.
 
I made heated dog beds for my old labs years ago, I used the heating wire for a greenhouse........kept then nice and warm
 

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