Heating A Kennel

[Wheat 6]

First of all, this isn't about gun dogs but lurchers. But it is more a question of dog care, breed regardless. I've posted it here as this section of the forum seems to have more discussion about dog care that the lurcher forum.

 

Well the nights seem to be getting colder and so it's time to ask a question I've been pondering for a while..

 

A bit of back ground first. I've had dogs since I was a kid but they have always been pets and in the house. Got my first lurcher 4 years ago and have loved every minute since. Built him a really posh kennel, but didn't bother heating it as he was to sleep inside at night.

 

Got my self another pup last Christmas and he's turning into a great dog as well. Despite the kennel having two beds and runs they both love being in the same one and its pleanty big enough. So they share. They now sleep out at night as they love doing so. Don't know why but they would choose the kennel over sleeping in the house.

 

So I've no experience of dogs sleeping outside when the temperature is near freezing as it will be in a month or so. Should I heat the kennel or will they provide enough heat for themselves? The actual bed box is fully insulated and they both snuggle up in there. Will that be enough?

 

Any advice welcome. Also if you do think I need to heat it, how should it be heated? Its an all wooden kennel.

 

I was thinking about linning all the wooden wall sections with kingspan.

[paulus 26]

you will get advice for both options, i am of the view, providing its damp and draft proof with good clean bedding then they will need nothing else. if there injured or recovering from an injury or the temperature is very low then heat may be beneficial.

[butcherboy 68]

I have heated kennels for my gundogs. When it was -16 outside & snowing they prefer to sleep in the run.

 

Insulated, draught free kennel is more than enough especially if you kennel a couple together.

[socks 32,253]

As I have said before it all depends on the size of the kennel ... My dogs have an inside run with a bed in for them to sleep in ... The inside room that the run is in is 5 meters by 4 meters by 2.5 meters high and is made of breeze block and is situated under loads of trees which is great to keep,it cool in the summer but not so good in the winter ... Its damp proof its wind proof but being that big there is no way a dogs body heat will warm it up ... It has been down to minus 15 in there so I hang a heat lamp above their beds when the temperature drops to a certain point ....

 

Now if my dogs were kennelled in a damp and wind proof wooden kennel that was say 5 foot by 5 foot by 3 1/2 foot tall I wouldn't need any other heating as their own body heat would soon warm up the kennel as long as they had plenty of bedding ..........

[Wheat 6]

Thanks for the advice guys. The kennel run is about 6x6foot and then the insulated box bed at the back is about 5x3. At a rough guess. And then a day bed above that.

 

Its very damp proof and the sides fold up to stop the draft. The floor is raised off the ground and the bed section is raised again.

 

I think I'll get a PVC plastic curtain for the entrance into the bed bit and maybe some kingspan underneath the bed section. And also I'll make sure all gaps are blocked from draft.

[CharlieSlade 14]

If your dogs are prone to chewing lots of things then I'd advise against PVC, there was recently a topic about this and someone having to have the bits of PVC removed from their dog. I tried to quickly find this and post a link but for some reason I couldn't, we just have old duvets for our dogs in their small kennels and they're fine

[Wheat 6]

I never thought of that. The pup especially would love to chew and swallow some PVC. Thanks for the advice.

[stroller 341]

I have used those electric heaters under the bench beds. Not sure what they are called but they are an encased metal tube that are low wattage and just keep the bed warm. obviously the cabling was encased in metal trunking.

 

But to be honest as the above posts have said if they have enough bedding and my lot are all in together they should be warm enough. Its damp that makes dogs ill

not particularly the cold

[taz2010 1,297]

if ya that worried mate get ya self a thermostatic controlled tube heater cheap as chips and set the thermostat at what ya want, have them in mine and if ya get the echo ones there very cheap to run over winter mate,i have mine in the beds at ground level boxed in

[RubyTex 1,957]

First night my dog was out in the kennel as a pup it dropped to -5 lol. No bother. I've since added heat pads under their beds but they rarely go on. If we have a serious cold spell then yes but otherwise they're fine.

[Wheat 6]

Do you think the dogs breed (and as such, amount of body fat) makes a difference? Ie. my skinny lurchers carry no fat in winter and have average thickness coats. Where as a lab or a springer etc might be better at keeping themselves warm?

[socks 32,253]

Do you think the dogs breed (and as such, amount of body fat) makes a difference? Ie. my skinny lurchers carry no fat in winter and have average thickness coats. Where as a lab or a springer etc might be better at keeping themselves warm?

Yep breed type definitely makes a difference in heat conservation ... Hence the term ... Shivery whippet .......

[m.a.john@btinternet.com 0]

My dogs have an internal box kennel inside an insulated shed (which is draught proof) and they sleep on e Tuffies bed, when people say that dogs need plenty of bedding is this OK or should i be giving them something else ?

[farmerkev09 105]

Tube heaters you want all my spaniels have them in there kennels you get them in 1ft 2ft 3ft I have the 2ft ones they dont get hot hot but take chill of and are cost effective. Yes dogs don't need heat but when my dogs are working 6 days a week on land there's no dought in my mind a dog with a nice warm bed will perform better than one which is cold my labradors are in open front kennels with insulated boxes in them a ft off floor they dont have heat but I feed them warm barf at night to get them through.

[Neal 1,857]

I'd agree with all the above who've said that the best form of heating is another dog!

 

My three have a bed box which is roughly 4' x 3' with a piece of vetbed. I've tried putting loads of other things in with them but they just get rid of it. Mine also has the day bed above but I've never known them to use it.