Gun Dog Forum

You can always use a heat lamp when it gets below 15. That's what I will rig up soon for my setter.

If the dog is well housed and well fed they are probably better off left outside than be brought in at normal temps here in the States. Mine stayed out for years with temps occasionally down to -30. They always seemed comfortable when they came out of their houses. I even had a litter born one night when it was -26 and she raised them all. Sure was a shock when I went out and found a nice little female Brit some people had brought to be boarded a couple of days before.

Ezzy

Like ezzy said if the dog has good food,good house with plenty of dry warm bedding you should not have a problem.My dogs have been kenneled when the temps remained -20 or more for almost a whole mo with no problem.I even had a house kept bitch in for breeding that winter for a wk & she went home pregnant & delivered 8 healthy pups 9 wks later.She was in the kennel the whole time she was with me.

I use -30 C as a rough guide. Then they come in to the garage that is just above freezing by a few degrees. Asking an outside conditioned dog to come in from -25 C to stay in the heated house for extended periods of time is as much a shock to their system as sending a house dog outside to be exposed all day long to the -25 temps.

just be sure there is a lot of dry bedding , and the wind doesn't blow directely in on her

I have pointers also.
When it gets really cold I'll bring them into the garage and put them in their Vari-kennels, I then wrap an old comfertor around the kennel.
Plus the water pail doesn't even freeze in the garage. Suppose to get to -10 F tonight here.

I agree about bringing them all the way into the house...it's a big shock to their system.

Brittguy wrote:just be sure there is a lot of dry bedding , and the wind doesn't blow directely in on her

Yeah, my dog houses have double entry doors at right angles to each other. Inner door is raised 5 inches to keep straw bedding from coming out.

slistoe wrote:

Brittguy wrote:just be sure there is a lot of dry bedding , and the wind doesn't blow directely in on her

Yeah, my dog houses have double entry doors at right angles to each other. Inner door is raised 5 inches to keep straw bedding from coming out.

Thats the way I always made them too only I usually had an 8 inch lip.

Ezzy

Thanks for the information guys. The temps are getting down to 10* F at night here.

as long as they have a spot that is out of the wind, is dry, and they are not in direct contact with the ground (or concrete), they should be fine (assuming they havent been inside the house all fall). Dont forget to keep them watered good and give them extra calories!

ezzy333 wrote:If the dog is well housed and well fed they are probably better off left outside than be brought in at normal temps here in the States. Mine stayed out for years with temps occasionally down to -30. They always seemed comfortable when they came out of their houses. I even had a litter born one night when it was -26 and she raised them all. Sure was a shock when I went out and found a nice little female Brit some people had brought to be boarded a couple of days before.

Ezzy

That must have sent the boarding bill up a bit.

3Britts wrote:

ezzy333 wrote:If the dog is well housed and well fed they are probably better off left outside than be brought in at normal temps here in the States. Mine stayed out for years with temps occasionally down to -30. They always seemed comfortable when they came out of their houses. I even had a litter born one night when it was -26 and she raised them all. Sure was a shock when I went out and found a nice little female Brit some people had brought to be boarded a couple of days before.

Ezzy

That must have sent the boarding bill up a bit.

There was an interesting story behind this that will never be answered. A friend(not close) owned the dog and had taken her hunting on the weekend. Got home and that afternoon had a heart attck and died. His widow brought the dog to me to care for till she could find a home for her. The pups were half Lab it appeared but no one knew she was bred or when or how it happened. Chalk it up to an unsolved mystery. Anyway we had 5 nice black puppies to find homes for plus mom.

I didn't even charge her for any of the boarding under the circumstances.

Ezzy