# HOW TO PROTECT YOUR PIT IN COLD WEATHER



## love my pits (Oct 9, 2008)

What is the best way to protect your pit in cold weather. It's gonna be 13 degrees tonight and I am trying to find how to prepare for this weather for the next couple of weeks. I have put a bag each of cedar chips in their dog houses but wanted to see what other owners are doing to keep their babies warm. I have too many to bring in the house......

I have went thur too many dog sweaters......They must not like them.....The next morning my babies have them on the other side of the kennel...lol

Thanks


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

Well I don't know much about keeping dogs outdoors but increase their fat intake. More oil or crude fat if you feed raw. Also, you can feed a bit more during the cold season to keep their calorie count high as dogs will actually burn calories in the cold (they do this if they shiver)


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## love my pits (Oct 9, 2008)

Just wondering if anyone can answer this post.......My posts never look like the other members......


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## love my pits (Oct 9, 2008)

Thanks for your reply.....I feed them almost double in the cold.......


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## wheezie (Aug 4, 2006)

a nice dog house thats insulated will make a heck of a differnece, you can even run a heat lamp to it


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## beccaboo (Dec 27, 2009)

thats so cold for a doggie to be outside!!! if there's wind too  poor babies. u have a garage or crates? man poor lil things.


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

More than anything, I'd increase the fat intake. If you feed kibble add fish oil, flax seed oil, or even olive oil.. If you feed raw, then add more crude fat. That really increases the caloric content and its not as unhealthy as overfeeding. I don't know what you feed but double sounds a bit much. Also, do they have dog houses that you built or are they store bought? Consider insulating the panels if it's somethign you built.


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

wheezie said:


> a nice dog house thats insulated will make a heck of a differnece, you can even run a heat lamp to it


ha... beat me to it! LOL


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## Wac137 (Dec 12, 2009)

my big dog Delilah stays in our garage during the winter, she seems to be fine out there. she had a blanket even but carried it to the other corner of the garage and put it there lol... she stays inside part of the day and will go out there to stay at night. we also use straw inside the doghouse


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## love my pits (Oct 9, 2008)

I have one well built dog house for one and two share a storage building...


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

I believe from reading the OP this person has too many dogs to keep inside a garage... But hey, if there's enough crates you could try it ??


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## love my pits (Oct 9, 2008)

Bought heat lamp last night for each of them but I am worried that they could start a fire........


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## Wac137 (Dec 12, 2009)

wheezie said:


> a nice dog house thats insulated will make a heck of a differnece, you can even run a heat lamp to it


this is what the breeder I bought Kilo from was doing... they were all outside in their doghouse and he had a heatlamp ran to it.


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## StaffyDaddy (Mar 28, 2009)

love my pits said:


> I have one well built dog house for one and two share a storage building...


Ok well lumber isn't THAT expensive I'd suggest building another couple of insulated houses if not crating the three dogs inside, three crates in a garage is not that much space. 13 degrees is cold, and if you were running a kennel of 7-10 dogs, I could understand but 3 is not too many to keep indoors JMO


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

I google searched & found dog house heating pads for outdoor kennel & house use. Here's the link Heated Pet Products: Heated Dog Bed, Heated Cat Bed, Dog House Heater, Heated Dog Bowl, Birdbath Heater, Dog House Heating. Cooling Pet Products: Cool Bed, Coolaroo, breezy Bunk, Dog Life Jacket, Cooling Pet Vest, Doggy Boat Ladder


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## love my pits (Oct 9, 2008)

Thanks for all the replys......I believe I will try bringing them in tonight and put them in crates........

Thanks again.......


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## DueceAddicTed (Sep 28, 2009)

I'd be worried about them getting to the wires of heating lamps or any other heating object, injuring themselves in fire or other ...
I'm with Oz ... get more insulated dog houses or crates and put them inside.
If you get the dog houses theirs instructions on how to build ur own on this site ...
And I believe alot of the outdoor owners here use hay or straw ......


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## wheezie (Aug 4, 2006)

make sure the dogs can not bust out of the crates. a lot of people have dogs that normal crates cant contain there dogs. if you can put each crate in a seperate room that would be best


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## beccaboo (Dec 27, 2009)

or cover em with a blanket. and point them away from each other. i just know from experience doggies in MT don't stay out in cold unless they're like wolf husky or mixes of em. bred for cold like that. dog's are smart and all but with thin hair and sensitive skin that so many have. my pups are such babies they would be balling if i had em out in that weather for a minute longer than it took to do their business.


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## Howardsperformancek9 (Feb 11, 2009)

I am pretty sure that I have commented on this subject awhile back. However, here is what I do. 
1. You need a good warm insulated dog house. For extreme cold temps, I do not like barrells or igloos, they are not warm enough. The dog house opening should be small or have a flap. The house needs to be packed full of straw. Cedar is too loose and they can not burrow down in it. Blankets get wet and they end up laying on top of them. 
2. You need to feed your dog double the calories in extreme cold as you do in the warm weather. Use a cheaper food if you have to, feed more of it, even corn based is fine. Also, adding fat to the food is great, and highly suggested. About 2-4 tablespoons of lard, veg oil, or deep fryer shortening. Also add any meatscraps that you can(I use venison). Adding meat alone will not work, as it does not have enough fat. Make a mush of the food: dogfood, fat, meat scraps and all the water you want them to have for the day. Otherwise the water will freeze if kept separate. Your dog should be fat, no ribs showing, or they will not make the thru cold nights. 
3. As far as bringing dogs inside. I have big yard of dogs and I have found it de-acclimates the dogs to bring them in and out. If you want to bring them in, take them into your garage rather than a warm house, unless you plan on keeping them inside for the whole winter. It can make a dog sick, if you bring them into a warm house and then put them back outside in the xtreme temps. 

I personally love the k9 condo system. The whole system is a insulated dog house, with a heating element, and the steel flip door. I have even made up my own dog houses , and used their flap doors, and heating element. 

One thing I like to warn to people who use alot of straw. Change it frequently, so it stays dry. Do not buy wet or moldy straw, even if you dry it out yourself, the dogs can still get a bad fungus from it. Some people use swamp grass also.


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## t1dirty (May 21, 2009)

lots of good info in this post


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

Howardsperformancek9 said:


> I am pretty sure that I have commented on this subject awhile back. However, here is what I do.
> 1. You need a good warm insulated dog house. For extreme cold temps, I do not like barrells or igloos, they are not warm enough. The dog house opening should be small or have a flap. The house needs to be packed full of straw. Cedar is too loose and they can not burrow down in it. Blankets get wet and they end up laying on top of them.
> 2. You need to feed your dog double the calories in extreme cold as you do in the warm weather. Use a cheaper food if you have to, feed more of it, even corn based is fine. Also, adding fat to the food is great, and highly suggested. About 2-4 tablespoons of lard, veg oil, or deep fryer shortening. Also add any meatscraps that you can(I use venison). Adding meat alone will not work, as it does not have enough fat. Make a mush of the food: dogfood, fat, meat scraps and all the water you want them to have for the day. Otherwise the water will freeze if kept separate. Your dog should be fat, no ribs showing, or they will not make the thru cold nights.
> 3. As far as bringing dogs inside. I have big yard of dogs and I have found it de-acclimates the dogs to bring them in and out. If you want to bring them in, take them into your garage rather than a warm house, unless you plan on keeping them inside for the whole winter. It can make a dog sick, if you bring them into a warm house and then put them back outside in the xtreme temps.
> ...


That's one thing that crossed my mind about with hay or straw, if they could get parasites or have allergic reactions - fungus I didn't even think about. That K9 Condo is rather interesting, it says the condo is chew proof & the heating element is unattainable to the dog.


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## Chinadog (Sep 14, 2009)

I have meek and nani outside and there dog houses are insulated with carpet nailed to the sides, top, and bottom and fluffed with TONS of straw, they have to weasle there way in the house but that way there is less air coming through, when they get bigger and out of there chewing stages I will put some flaps over the opening, but they will chew and meek with try to digest so that has to wait... but in the teens I will be bringing them inside. Can a heat lamp catch fire with straw in the house? What if the chew the cord?


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## CallieBum73 (Aug 29, 2009)

Dang bring thoes doggies in! Wouldnt their water freeze out there too????? I have been keeping an eye on a pittie across the street from me chained to a dog house, no straw nothing...........the typical response from animal control , been thinking really hard about taking a pair of bolt cutters over there and saving that dog before it becomes a pup-cicle. I seriously dont know whats wrong with people! Its been in the low teens and single digits here at night.


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

Glad I live in sunny south FLORIDA!


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## Lex's Guardian (Aug 8, 2009)

Chinadog said:


> I have meek and nani outside and there dog houses are insulated with carpet nailed to the sides, top, and bottom and fluffed with TONS of straw, they have to weasle there way in the house but that way there is less air coming through, when they get bigger and out of there chewing stages I will put some flaps over the opening, but they will chew and meek with try to digest so that has to wait... but in the teens I will be bringing them inside. Can a heat lamp catch fire with straw in the house? What if the chew the cord?


Why would someone use a heat lamp & straw together - there are other heating options aside from a heat lamp? Wouldn't one option cancel out the other??? Also, why would a small business market outdoor heating elements for dogs & dog houses if they aren't safe... I think they'd be sued out of business if the thought of fire & dog safety hadn't crossed their mind? jmo


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## PrairieMoonPits (Dec 16, 2009)

I live in alberta lol its get to be minus 40 here but the temps your at a bundle of straw/hay and a blanket as well as high fat intake work well  at minus 40 your only choice is a good heat lamp in each run or bring em in lol


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## Aximus Prime (Dec 15, 2009)

Any thin coated dog out in temps below freezing needs at least a dog shelter that has at least 3 sides and a roof, better yet only a small door to enter it. If it's going to be below 20 they need a heater in the dog house(s)! My pup stays in my heated garage in his crate anytime it's below freezing at night.


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## Pitcrew (Jan 19, 2008)

I have 7 outdoors and 3 indoors at all times. Got to have a good doghouse, plenty of hay, good feed like the above poster said. Warm water over the food like he said and dry hay as well. It can get to about 16 here, and I worry too. So far, so good. Make sure the house faces away from the wind if possible.


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## Triniboy18 (Mar 22, 2009)

Wac137 said:


> my big dog Delilah stays in our garage during the winter, she seems to be fine out there. she had a blanket even but carried it to the other corner of the garage and put it there lol... she stays inside part of the day and will go out there to stay at night. we also use straw inside the doghouse


But what about the fumes from the cars?? or do you just keep the cars outside??


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