Heated dog house?

[chopped]

This ight sound nuts but my two dogs are short haired and this weatehr takes a toll on my letting them out every minute. They have a dog pen (quite large) And a small house in it thats 4.5 x 4.5 foot roughly.
The door is the stumbling part it would have to be easy for then to enter and exit yet seal faily tightly.I would also insulate it some.
I assuem an electirc heater with good metal mesh around it would work. I already have 120 15 amp to the gate. so I could extend that out to it.
I was just wondering if anyone has gone this route?
Thanks...:thumbsup:

 

[radman1]

I have 2 dogs that sleep in a 4x6 dog house. Lab and german shorthair. The walls and floor are 1.5" styrofoam with wood covering. The roof is fiberglass batt insulation. I use an electric heat pad on the floor with capeting over the top.ASL Solutions Dog Palace Floor Heater-Large These can be found at farms stores, pet stores ect in different sizes.

The door is a simple plexiglas hinged at the top. About 12"x18". It is actually 2 over lapping peices bolted together. On a 10-15F day, it is probably 50F in the house. Don't get the door too air tight or condensation will build up in the house. I have a 1" gap at the top of the door so it can swing freely. I origanlly put a rubber strip at the gap, but got condensation. The heat pad has its own thermostat and will shut off when temps get above freezing.

 

[DG 225]

I built a puppy welping box lat year to have a good place to raise puppies. We put in an outdoor thermostat with two heat lambs. We keep the thermostat on 70 degrees and it has worked great for the puppies and mother dogs.

 

[DanD78]

You can find very nice swinging pet doors at most pet stores or look in McMaster-Carr for plastic strip curtins.

Dan

 

[jimmyj]

I'd just buy a dog door but if you decide to make your own put magnets on the door and the door frame to keep it shut. As was mentioned, it should not be completely air tight.

Be careful what kind of electric heater you use, it has to be safe if the dogs push their bedding up against it. An in floor heating pad as mentioned or a safe light bulb rig would be my recommendation. 4.5 x 4 should be big enough for a heat lamp but follow the instructions carefully.

Good luck!

 

[wdchyd]

Chopped,

I don't know what part of NE you are in but I have a great situation with my hounds (short hair also)....Going on three years now...

I have an insulated heated doghouse with a hinged commercial door used as a roof/cover......2' x 4'.....

This heater makes it work great....... http://www.gundogsupply.com/hound-heater-dog-house-furnace.html ....with a remote thermometer installed inside the doghouse (the type with a battery that you can read inside the house up to a few hundred feet away) and a heated water bowl (110 vac) purchased from Cabela's.....Cabela's: Heated Water Bowl

Any time of day (or night) I can monitor the temp inside the doghouse without waking them up just by using this system ......

I did change the bedding from hay/straw to pine/cedar chips just because of the potential for fire with a strand of hay or straw getting in the heater mechanism.......Also I added a rubber flap door for ease of entry/exit for the dogs...

Between the heater/thermostat/water bowl and a clean, dry, secure place this pen works great for my two hounds......even in the worst case of cold & snow my furbuddies are safe and sound......

Many times I've checked on them in the middle of the night for peace of mind that they are not freezing in the doghouse......the thermostat is set for 50-55 degrees and it never gets any colder than that.....Even in subzero temps...

Some times I show off the dog pen and some people say "Wow, that's a nice setup ".......

I probably bring them in the house overnight a couple of times a month usually during rainy/raw times to dry out and get spoiled......

 

[crbr]

Some times I show off the dog pen and some people say "Wow, that's a nice setup ".......

I probably bring them in the house overnight a couple of times a month usually during rainy/raw times to dry out and get spoiled......

Pics?

 

[rjmack]

heat tape under the floor?

 

[Regneufeld]

2 dogs in an insulated box makes it quite cozy already, I would use some type of floor heat, a heat pad for animals would be the best idea in my opinion as stated above.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Not a dog house, but our chicken coop is 7x7x8 and I heat it a couple hours a day with a 250 w heat lamp. When it dips into the teens outside, it will be 40-45 inside if I run the light 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night. It is well insulated (4" in walls, 6" in ceiling, and 8 - 10 of pine shavings on the floor). The light is up in the peak of the roof, screwed in so it can fall into the shavings.

What ever you use - just be double sure it's safe. Good luck.