Keeping warm this winter

[U.L.D.A 289]

If you agree chart you might get an invite up the dales lol

[graham4877 1,181]

Of course dogs are more comfortable with a bit heat... I'd be far mor comfortable wandering round Australia at the moment, instead of frozen stubble here in the UK ! LOL ! I'm not talking about keeping dogs in bad conditions, as you know ! I just think that, again, a well insulated, dry, draught proof kennel with decent bedding, is all a working dog needs !!

 

Cheers.

 

So you agree then, thanks..I knew you would see I was right

 

Ha Ha !! I like you, mate, so I find it harder to argue against you, than some others on here !!

 

Cheers.

you can feck off, i'm trying to get into him :laugh:

 

Don't offer to feed him, he can put a burger away !! LOL !!

 

Cheers.

ahaha

I ain't riding no fatty

[Chid 6,519]

i dont use any heat in my run or kennel,

ive sat in my kennel on a cold night just to see how cold it is and tbh it wasnt bad ...

9 times out of 10 fresh bedding will be pulled out so i only bother putting it in when it starts getting really cold regullary

my dogs always come out fresh as a daisy with no stifness ....

 

now if it dropped well below freezing for any length of time id bring the dogs in on a night

[chartpolski 23,505]

If you agree chart you might get an invite up the dales lol

 

That would be "down" the dales to me , mate ! LOL ! Tomos a good guy, does his bit !

 

Cheers.

[buster gonads 862]

Have a look in the working dog health section on here under Kennel heating options, some good info on there. I use a small tube heater in the sleeping box which i run through a frost stat, turns itself on around freezing, stops the water freezing too, jobs a good un, buster.

[staffyspen 43]

Cheers peeps!!

[paulus 26]

Thing is though charts,,,, you put a heat lamp on, and watch them stretch out, then ask yourself wich is better the curled up dog,,, or the stretched out one ...

 

spot on, when warm will stretch out, so (not) as much stiffness next day, and they wont drop weight, like they do when cold.Same as us when you are cold you will shiver its the bodys way of trying to keep warm, thats why they loose weight shivering . I never used them before and when i worked Bryn on a long hard night, he was stiff next day. Since the heat lamps he dont get stiff, done all the same things as before (give good rub down, good food, and warm kennel with paper) so the only thing differnt that stopped the stiffnes is the heat lamps, its that in a nutshell

dogs dont expell and absorb heat in the same way as we do,

[moonlighter 1,164]

I don't think you can compare infer red heat lamps to tubular heater and such like. Heat lamps radiate deep into the muscles and IMO, once you have used one, you would never be with out one. I've used one on myself years ago when I pulled a muscle and you can really feel the heat in your body. I prefer using the heat lamps to the mag box. Dogs are much less stiff after. For all the non-believers, spend £30 and try one.

[chartpolski 23,505]

I don't think you can compare infer red heat lamps to tubular heater and such like. Heat lamps radiate deep into the muscles and IMO, once you have used one, you would never be with out one. I've used one on myself years ago when I pulled a muscle and you can really feel the heat in your body. I prefer using the heat lamps to the mag box. Dogs are much less stiff after. For all the non-believers, spend £30 and try one.

 

I've never used a Magbox or a heat lamp, so would you say an otherwise fit dog will benefit from using either ? I can understand them being used in helping to heal a dog, but should they be used with healthy dogs ?

 

Cheers.

[moonlighter 1,164]

I probally noticed the difference the most on the old dog, but obviously older dogs would tend to be a bit stiffer after a hard day or night. I know what your saying about having a good dry kennel and the dogs seem fine, but when some people say my dogs don't need one ant there ok. Granted, there probally still alive in the morning, but they could have been shivering all night and most owners would be none the wizer. To be fair though charts, your dogs look pretty rugged with decent coats where as mine are quite thin coated things.

[Tiny 7 1,694]

IMO Chart only reason i use heat lamps is cause it makes me feel better knowing the dogs are under them. Does it really make that much of a differnce too a fit working dog maybe not but i feel better for having mine under them um....

 

 

Dogs are my thing dont have another hobby/ect dogs are my intrest/life dont do much eles work and dogs thats me (Few galllon's of beer maybe at the weekends maybe ) But thats it yip mine will always be under heat lamps. Till the kids are up then they be in front of the fire in the house... Maybe your right they dont need nothing better BUT it makes me feel like iam doing the best by them...'' Work em hard treat them the best you can while you have em''(LOL )

[socks 32,253]

It's common sense really fellas whether the dog has had a hard day or nights work or whether he has gone into the kennel wet or dry then putting some heat on the dog is a bonus ... If the dog is cold through the night then it will use the food it has eaten to insulate itself instead of it being absorbed correctly by the body ... A cold dog will constantly involuntary contract and relax its muscles as the blood pushes through trying to warm up ... The heart has to work slightly harder to push warm blood around the body as the dog burns reserves to keep warm ... The dogs muscles cannot heal the same if the dogs cold and if you work your dog hard this will soon become apparent ... Everybody knows that warmth on a tired and aching muscle is beneficial ... I have two different heating sources in my kennels ... A blow heater set on 12 degrees so that it keeps the sleeping area at a constant temperature and a heat lamp suspended above the sleeping area for when the dogs are becoming a little jaded through constant work .... A dog that is stretched out on is bed will always be better the next day than a dog that has to curl up to keep warm at night ... I am probably one of very few people on here that works their dogs nearly every day of the week all year round and I can tell you from experience that the dogs work far better and recover far quicker with heat on them ...........

[johnny 2 367]

Good post.Or you could be an old softie like me and let them rest their heads on your feet in front of the fire lol

[whippet 99 2,613]

common sense really......................

[socks 32,253]

common sense really......................

 

Yep ....

 

I noticed the difference heat makes to a dog when i Was racing greyhounds ... Come the winter we always rugged the dogs up overnight to keep them warm it helped keep a consistent weight on the dogs which is important when you are running in big money opens but the dogs would perform differently the next morning on sprint training depending on how cold it had been the night before ... On the real cold nights the dog coats obviously were not doing the job adequately enough so we put in heat lamps and the difference was instantaneous the dogs timings on the morning workout were far more consistent we had less injuries and the dogs were far happier to be up and out and working the next morning ...........