Outdoor dog house heater?

[2manyrocks]

I may be adding a shelter dog shortly that I found out has whipworms and is supposedly over having had kennel cough so I will need to isolate her from my other dogs for several weeks. I'm thinking I will have to put her in a 10x10 outdoor kennel away from my other dogs that will have a roof and concrete floor, and be closed on two sides, but open on the other two.

The nighttime temps are in the 20's probably for the next month, maybe some colder spells in the teens.

I have a wooden 3x6 insulated dog house made of 2x4 construction with insulation in the roof and walls, and a couple of different sized dog igloos. The wooden dog house has a light bulb inside a metal coffee can for heat. The plastic igloo would be easier to clean for sanitary purposes, but has no heat. Both dog houses have clear plastic flaps over the doors.

Somewhere, I think I have a small plug in ceramic heater wall heater that I used some years ago when one of my now passed older dogs lived in the wooden dog house. He wasn't hyper so I didn't worry about him knocking a heater loose.

I am hoping someone has some better suggestions for heat. The dog appears to be a medium sized lab mix and is hyper. My concern is finding a way to keep her warm safely.

 

[Yander]

Get a bale of straw and load the dog house with it. That dog will be fine as long as it has a lot of straw. If the dog has been an outside dog, it will have winter coat. If it was indoors it may not have a winter coat.

 

[scootr]

It's many years since any dog here slept outdoors
In the past we used an old sleeping bag stuffed in the doghouse and the dog was quite cozy.

 

[2manyrocks]

Get a bale of straw and load the dog house with it. That dog will be fine as long as it has a lot of straw. If the dog has been an outside dog, it will have winter coat. If it was indoors it may not have a winter coat.

The dog has been inside a HVAC controlled shelter since September so I don't think her winter coat is fully developed. She is just over a year old. She is full of energy, but they are going to hand her over to me the same day they have her spayed. Between the spaying and going from an HVAC controlled shelter to outdoors in January, that looks like a stressful day for her.

I used to pack the igloo with straw or hay and the long haired GSD dog that used it loved it without any heater. In her later years, she became an inside dog.

The wooden dog house was built large enough for two dogs to snuggle together.

So far as comfort goes, I have no idea which dog house might be the better option? The igloo is easier to take apart for cleaning and much lighter to move around.

 

[gstrom99]

There's several choices out there.

I have one like this - worked okay but the dog is now inside (he's 12 and I'm retired), so not used in awhile: Amazon.com

There are also heated mat styles, which I know nothing about.

 

[drssg]

Is it feasible to have the shelter keep the dog until it's healthy enough to stay inside?

It's stressful enough for a dog to move to a new home. Moving to a strange area into cold isolation seems extra sad to me.

If that's not an option, we have used the heated mat option when we had an outside cat.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

We have this heat pad for an older dog, Has been working for 7 years with no problems.

K&H Original Lectro-Kennel® Outdoor Heated Pet Pad

Help your dog stay warm during the cold winter months with the Lectro-Kennel™ heated pad from K&H Manufacturing. Quality outdoor heated dog beds & pads.

khpet.com

We switch it on with this thermo cube plug, on at 35°.

Amazon.com

If the dog has established a winter coat your 3'x6' insulated shelter should be fine as long as it is not breezy.

 

[Alan W.]

I have heated pads for my lab and my cats.
The lab is about 12 or 13 years old so I cater to her. The cats enjoy theirs plus it keeps them in the tractor shed protecting my ride.
The heat mats work great are adjustable for the temp. They come in different sizes. The only problem or quirk is they will not come back on after a power outage, you have to do it.
This is my second year of running them.

 

[2manyrocks]

Is it feasible to have the shelter keep the dog until it's healthy enough to stay inside?

It's stressful enough for a dog to move to a new home. Moving to a strange area into cold isolation seems extra sad to me.

If that's not an option, we have used the heated mat option when we had an outside cat.

Situation is sad. The shelter has given her Panacur for the whipworms. Problem is the life cycle of whipworms is such that she will need to be treated for the next several months, her poop will have to be cleaned up to prevent reinfection, and I don't know that the shelter will keep her until she is completely free of whipworms. They are at or above capacity, and they are a city/county shelter which isn't totally no-kill.

She has been at the shelter for 3 months getting passed over for adoption because she is hyper. I suspect she is hyper due overstimulation at the shelter and having a lot of energy that isn't being burned off. They have a large fenced exercise area, but I suspect the odds are that the ground has plenty of whipworm larvae in it to keep reinfecting her. My suspicion is her options at the shelter are either she doesn't get exercise or she gets reinfected. If she doesn't burn off her energy, she will continue to be hyper and that makes it difficult for her to get adopted.

The separate kennel is the only spot I have where she can be kept isolated from my other dogs until we can make sure she can't transmit whipworms or anything else to them.

I've gotten too emotionally invested. Not sure I'm thinking this through very well.

 

[Yander]

Just go to a tractor supply store as though you just bought baby chicks, (heat lamp). The dog will be fine. I'm thinking the large dog box with a heat lamp. If a baby chick would be ok, so will a dog.