A winter kennel

OldNotWIse

What is the best way to insulate for the bad weather? The dog (not ours) has a concrete kennel. We have a spare wooden kennel and a neighbor has insulation. I'm thinking of asking my Dad to insulate the wooden kennel, putting some rubber mats on the floor, a folded over single duvet and a fleece blanket, and tacking one of those plastic flaps onto the front to keep the heat in. Unfortunately a heat pad (which I would love) is not an option as there is no nearby electricity supply (and the owners are incredibly stingy!).

Any tips or alternative ideas?

Thank you!

kylith

If possible I'd put the wooden kennel inside the concrete one and insulate betel seen them. Those kennel door flaps are great. You could also look at bedding he dog on straw; it's pretty cheap, really cosy, and makes them smell fab!

OldNotWIse

kylith wrote: »

If possible I'd put the wooden kennel inside the concrete one and insulate betel seen them. Those kennel door flaps are great. You could also look at bedding he dog on straw; it's pretty cheap, really cosy, and makes them smell fab!

Unfortunately I don't think the concrete one can be opened up

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

You can get cow mats, that are used when storing animals for the winter. You can pop it down like a carpet, and it retains heat and keeps them nice and warm

OldNotWIse

LexieOnRale wrote: »

You can get cow mats, that are used when storing animals for the winter. You can pop it down like a carpet, and it retains heat and keeps them nice and warm

Would they be like car mats? Where would I get them? Ironically this dog lives on a farm so all this stuff should be freely available but the owners are not so much with the parting of money or anything really

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

You'd get it in a farm supply store. You wouldn't need much of it. Are you near Offaly?? I can have a look and see if there's any spare unused on our farm if you were nearby you could have it

OldNotWIse

LexieOnRale wrote: »

You'd get it in a farm supply store. You wouldn't need much of it. Are you near Offaly?? I can have a look and see if there's any spare unused on our farm if you were nearby you could have it

No I'm in Dublin

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Ok so I've looked into it,
An agri shop should have it, it's sold by the sheet
(2 meters X 1.14 foot) for 50 euro.
I don't know if you'd want to spend that much and have so much left over

my3cents

I'd do the floor insulation before I did anything else, rubber floor mats as a start with old carpet on top and topped off with a couple of charity shop blankets. Duvets can be OK (often free in charity shops) but make a right mess if the dog chews them. With ours I use older blankets around the edge of the kennel walls to make a nest. The dogs do that anyway with the floor blankets so I straighten them out every so often and use new floor blankets the old floor blanket if they are not already put there by the dog can be used around the edges of the kennel to make a sort of nest.

But all depends on the dog and the size of the kennel. Our kennels are 5ft by 4ft and are for massive long haired dogs. I wouldn't leave our smaller dogs outside, if I had to I'd do a lot more insulation.

Tranceypoo

When I took over the care of the in-laws dog, my husband built a kennel out of pallets within the concrete shed they had him in, literally 4 pallets nailed together,then we used carpet off cuts to line all four sides and I had different blankets and bits of bedding I could wash as sometimes doggy was a bit incontinent, I cut a single duvet in half and sewed it up so then I could fit each half separately in the washing machine, those heat pads you could heat in your microwave and bring it over to the dog as they stay warm for a good few hours

my3cents

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Ok so I've looked into it,
An agri shop should have it, it's sold by the sheet
(2 meters X 1.14 foot) for 50 euro.
I don't know if you'd want to spend that much and have so much left over

I'm about to get a couple of horse mats which imo are a bit warmer. They are 6ft x 4ft iirc and €60 each in glambia.

OldNotWIse

Tranceypoo wrote: »

When I took over the care of the in-laws dog, my husband built a kennel out of pallets within the concrete shed they had him in, literally 4 pallets nailed together,then we used carpet off cuts to line all four sides and I had different blankets and bits of bedding I could wash as sometimes doggy was a bit incontinent, I cut a single duvet in half and sewed it up so then I could fit each half separately in the washing machine, those heat pads you could heat in your microwave and bring it over to the dog as they stay warm for a good few hours

Didn't realise they stayed warm for that long Might get some of those. It's frustrating for me trying to organise all of this from my desk at work, and asking people to do various bits before it gets dark!

OldNotWIse

FFS my Dad is after bringing the kennel over to the neighbours as is, without insulating or putting a flap on. Why do parents think they always know best? He says its fine. I say it doesn't matter, its being insulated. I'll insulate it if its the last thing I do. He says it's wooden and doesn't need it but surely an extra layer WILL help? I've to hawk across the road now and drag it into the house, try to figure out how to do it myself and drag it back, all in the dark. Why are people so difficult

fred funk }{

Once the dog dry, out of the wind and has some cosy bedding it will snuggle into it and will be warm. I think insulated kennels are a bit of a con.

Tranceypoo

OldNotWIse wrote:

FFS my Dad is after bringing the kennel over to the neighbours as is, without insulating or putting a flap on. Why do parents think they always know best? He says its fine. I say it doesn't matter, its being insulated. I'll insulate it if its the last thing I do. He says it's wooden and doesn't need it but surely an extra layer WILL help? I've to hawk across the road now and drag it into the house, try to figure out how to do it myself and drag it back, all in the dark. Why are people so difficult

Could you just put some carpeting and/or a duvet over the outside of the kennel just for tonight? Then sort it out properly to more in the daylight?
I feel your pain, it felt like alosing battle when I was the only one looking after the in laws dog, they let him live in his own sh!t, the tears of sadness and frustration I shed, don't talk to me!

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

You'd wonder why people even own dogs when they treat them so awfully. I used to live with a guy who never fed his dogs. The bitch had puppies and went out to root through burning rubbish for something to eat.

my3cents

If there is no carpet handy a good load of flattened cardboard boxes makes for a well insulated floor.

Knine

my3cents wrote: »

I'd do the floor insulation before I did anything else, rubber floor mats as a start with old carpet on top and topped off with a couple of charity shop blankets. Duvets can be OK (often free in charity shops) but make a right mess if the dog chews them. With ours I use older blankets around the edge of the kennel walls to make a nest. The dogs do that anyway with the floor blankets so I straighten them out every so often and use new floor blankets the old floor blanket if they are not already put there by the dog can be used around the edges of the kennel to make a sort of nest.

But all depends on the dog and the size of the kennel. Our kennels are 5ft by 4ft and are for massive long haired dogs. I wouldn't leave our smaller dogs outside, if I had to I'd do a lot more insulation.

Do not use carpet with dogs. We had a tragic accident where our dog chewed it & swallowed some. It caused him to choke & inhale his stomach contents. He did not make it.

JJJJNR

A coal sack as a bed, filled with balls of news paper and straw as bedding, dogs never been happier, its a chocolate lab and seems to be enjoying the cold snap.. can't leave the Jack Russell out thou, hair too short.

dollydishmop

I had to outwinter a dog one winter - remember that awful sub-zero winter we had 2009/2010...yep.

We insulated the wooden kennel with polystyrene inside the walls - (ply-lined to stop her eating it), under the roof, and under the floor. We laid a rubber mat on the floor, and ultimately found the best and warmest bedding was a deep nest of wheat straw (don't use barley straw!!).

Blankets and duvets were a disaster, we found they just got damp & mucky, and damp bedding will always be cold bedding, which you want to avoid at all costs. She'd dig herself into the straw and stayed toasty.

On the really cold nights (-17 one night I seem to recall!) we gave her warm feeds morning and evening. I'd also set my alarm to go out to her several times through the night to check her temperature, sort out her water bowl if frozen etc, and each and every time she was completely toasty with lovely warm ears and extremities.

We initially tried putting a coat on her, but she'd rip it straight off and chew it.

She did just fine, and went through the winter well, with enough care and attention to her kennel area.

OldNotWIse

Managed to get it insulated with insulating foil (looks like bubble wrap aluminium foil tbh) and put in rug and blankets etc but do you think she will use it? Insisting on using her own kennel. Don't want to block that off in case she stubbornly sits out in the elements. I've tried putting in her food at the back and even her old blankets that have her smell on it and she still wont budge. I'm thinking I might take the kennel back and use it for my cat's outdoor enclosure for during the day The miserly owners have already noticed she's not using it and are asking me how much its worth. It wouldn't surprise me if they sell it We are going to repair the wooden base in her current kennel and then put a layer of the insulating material over that and on the sides. I'm going to put in a bigger duvet (she has a single) and also put a flap on the front. Whenever I go up to walk her, she is in her kennel so I think with the flap she will stay in and the heat will build. She's not one of the dozy types who would sit out in the yard.:P

edit: just saw post about duvets getting damp so I might hold off on the bigger one. Could I get another single and swap them out every day? I take her out for a walk every night anyway so I could change the duvet for a dry one every 24 hours before bed.

cocker5

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Managed to get it insulated with insulating foil (looks like bubble wrap aluminium foil tbh) and put in rug and blankets etc but do you think she will use it? Insisting on using her own kennel. Don't want to block that off in case she stubbornly sits out in the elements. I've tried putting in her food at the back and even her old blankets that have her smell on it and she still wont budge. I'm thinking I might take the kennel back and use it for my cat's outdoor enclosure for during the day The miserly owners have already noticed she's not using it and are asking me how much its worth. It wouldn't surprise me if they sell it We are going to repair the wooden base in her current kennel and then put a layer of the insulating material over that and on the sides. I'm going to put in a bigger duvet (she has a single) and also put a flap on the front. Whenever I go up to walk her, she is in her kennel so I think with the flap she will stay in and the heat will build. She's not one of the dozy types who would sit out in the yard.:P


edit: just saw post about duvets getting damp so I might hold off on the bigger one. Could I get another single and swap them out every day? I take her out for a walk every night anyway so I could change the duvet for a dry one every 24 hours before bed.

to be honest i would give her more time to get used to it... when my guy was younger it took him months to like his kennel.

Vet bed is great stuff for keeping a dog warm and dry , it strips the wetness away from the dog etc...

also just to note, the kennel should be slightly raised from the ground to stop the cold and wet from creeping in on the bottom etc

fair play to OP for helping her out and giving a sh*t she is very lucky you are helping her.

OldNotWIse

cocker5 wrote: »

to be honest i would give her more time to get used to it... when my guy was younger it took him months to like his kennel.

Vet bed is great stuff for keeping a dog warm and dry , it strips the wetness away from the dog etc...

also just to note, the kennel should be slightly raised from the ground to stop the cold and wet from creeping in on the bottom etc

fair play to OP for helping her out and giving a sh*t she is very lucky you are helping her.

Her concrete kennel is a few inches off the ground and has a wooden base, but the base in in some need of repair so that is my task for the weekend I think!

TBH, I more or less consider her my de facto second dog. I look after her accommodation, food, exercise, socialisation and medical needs. I don't even tell the owners if she goes for a checkup or booster because I know they'll think its ridiculous to "waste" money on a "beast". I manage to get her out every day, that's the important thing. At weekends we take her to places where she can be off lead and its wonderful to see her flying around enjoying her freedom. In the summer we often sit out in beer gardens with her and my own dog after our walks just to keep her off chain for as long as possible. Every second off the chain counts. They only keep her because she's a "guard dog" - but I've managed to turn her into the worst guard dog ever. I often guilt my dad or brother into taking her out during the day if I am working, so now if anybody walks onto the property she's like "oh yeaaaah, WALKIES!" lol