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Posted: 1/5/2014 8:20:05 AM EDT
[#1]
If you don't want to bring them inside, install a heater in the dog house...
http://www.gundoghousedoor.com/dog_house_heater.php 
You could insulate it with am emergency blanket for temporary insulation, but you could build a new dog house for next year with a double thick layer of insulation to keep them warm for the winter and it should keep it cool in there during the summer. But you could install a air conditioning for during the summer. 
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Posted: 1/5/2014 8:21:18 AM EDT
[#2]
As long as the dog can get out of the wind it will be fine. My Grandfather had beagles for rabbit hunting that lived outside for years and years. His doghouse was a long "room" with an entry. He lined the floor with hay, and had a plexiglass window that the dog could look out of, and a cable run. Kinda like this:
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Posted: 1/5/2014 8:24:47 AM EDT
[#3]
Husky/GSD mix? NC? I'm surprised they even use their house at all.
Straw is better than hay because it's hollow, but hay's better than nothing. Fill their house 2/3-3/4 full and they'll be fine. My GSD would regularly lay out and fall asleep in the snow. Huskys sleep out in sub zero temps. Just be sure to feed them plenty. ETA: Reading through the replies gave me a chuckle. It's amazing how little folks know about dogs of this type. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 8:34:01 AM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Build a haybale fort around their houses as a windbreak as marksman mentioned and throw some hay inside. A bunch of people here will tell you you are abusing your dogs by leaving them outside. It's bullshit, nature equipped them to deal with the cold. This. Should be plenty. Make sure they have adequate food and water as cold weather requires more of both. Also check them more often, and if they don't appear 100% ok will need to find some way to get them inside (garage?) |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 8:37:03 AM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Bring them the fuck inside and keep them in one room that would be easy to clean up. If you wouldn't want to spend the night outside due to the cold, neither do they. or give them to someone how knows how to take care of dogs. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 8:40:30 AM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You are over thinking this. They are adult husky-shep mixes and you're afraid of NC winters? 
It will hit the single digits tomm night. They are huskies! They sleep in the snow! Throw some hay in there and maybe a bale for a windblock and they will be fine. Your dogs are more at risk during a 103 degree, 80% humidity day in August than they will be tomorrow night. This |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 8:48:42 AM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Put some hay on the floor and add a light bulb in the house. Turn the light on at night and it will get quite warm inside the doghouse. It says 60 watt equivalent, so it should put out the same heat as a 60 watt incandescent right?
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Posted: 1/5/2014 8:51:49 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Would a LED work It says 60 watt equivalent, so it should put out the same heat as a 60 watt incandescent right? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Put some hay on the floor and add a light bulb in the house. Turn the light on at night and it will get quite warm inside the doghouse. It says 60 watt equivalent, so it should put out the same heat as a 60 watt incandescent right? Seriously? 
No, LED will not work. LED throw off very little heat. http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/led-traffic-lights-dont-melt-snow/ |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 8:59:10 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
or give them to someone how knows how to take care of dogs. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Bring them the fuck inside and keep them in one room that would be easy to clean up. If you wouldn't want to spend the night outside due to the cold, neither do they. or give them to someone how knows how to take care of dogs. Because dogs have never stayed outside, they are dogs bred for cold climates, much colder than what the op is going to experience, he really doesn't have to do anything, but put fresh bedding down. Hurry someone go to Canada and bring all those wolves into your home, they might be cold! |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:01:09 AM EDT
[#10]
Bunch of fucking tards in here they are dogs not Kenyans . Your dogs will be fine OP . My dog is an inside dog and will stay in the yard for hours even at -40 and refuse to come in he likes to lay in the snow and roll around. If it was a short hair chihuahua maybe but a HUSKY no fucking way
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:02:34 AM EDT
[#11]
It's amazing that dogs survived long enough for humans to domesticate them....
I had a St. Bernard that HATED to be inside. We brought her inside one night when it was supposed to be stupid cold. After 2 hours of her sitting in front of the door whining, we finally let her back out. On more than one occasion, I had to dig her out of her dog house. She was 17 when she left us but every good snowfall we had, she'd turn into a puppy again. God I miss her.... 22 years and it still hurts... |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:02:44 AM EDT
[#12]
When I lived in Alabama and it would get this cold I would always put my dog in the basement on nights this cold.
Every time I tried to put more blankets, straw, etc. in his dog house he would just drag or dig it out.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:02:55 AM EDT
[#13]
Find a local hotel that accepts pets, pick them up in the morning.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:04:37 AM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Build a haybale fort around their houses as a windbreak as marksman mentioned and throw some hay inside. A bunch of people here will tell you you are abusing your dogs by leaving them outside. It's bullshit, nature equipped them to deal with the cold. Nature didn't make dogs. Some can contend with extreme colds, if they're conditioned to it. Others not so much. It's ok, not everyone has read a book about dogs, or has access to google, or can think critically. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:06:28 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: You are over thinking this. They are adult husky-shep mixes and you're afraid of NC winters? It will hit the single digits tomm night. They are huskies! They sleep in the snow! Throw some hay in there and maybe a bale for a windblock and they will be fine. Your dogs are more at risk during a 103 degree, 80% humidity day in August than they will be tomorrow night. Indeed. Throw them a little extra straw and call it good.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:11:16 AM EDT
[#16]
My long haired GSD will go outside and lay in the snow just to cool off. She doesn't even want to be outside unless it's less then 60 degrees. I can only imagine a husky mix would be even more hardy.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:12:24 AM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Nature didn't make dogs. Some can contend with extreme colds, if they're conditioned to it. Others not so much. It's ok, not everyone has read a book about dogs, or has access to google, or can think critically. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Build a haybale fort around their houses as a windbreak as marksman mentioned and throw some hay inside. A bunch of people here will tell you you are abusing your dogs by leaving them outside. It's bullshit, nature equipped them to deal with the cold. Nature didn't make dogs. Some can contend with extreme colds, if they're conditioned to it. Others not so much. It's ok, not everyone has read a book about dogs, or has access to google, or can think critically. We aren't talking about dogs in general, we are talking about a gsd/husky mix. Yes they are good to go in the snow. If it hits the neg. teens then maybe revisit the shelter. A NC winter, even a bad one is fine for the pups. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:16:22 AM EDT
[#18]
You could do a mini ac/heater on the back of the dog house like this. Just put it on an auto thermostat and they will be comfy.
   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.230375573683518.66391.230369810350761&type=3 |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:17:09 AM EDT
[#19]
My dogs are a part of the family, they come inside the house and have special orthopedic beds, they are very well taken care of.
Some dogs handle the cold much better than others, a Husky/shepard from south FL will not handle the cold as well as a Husky/Shepard from Wisconsin. their fur will be more dense and what not in the north. With all of that said, a few hours or a day while at work is different than 24-48 hours straight in the cold. Our old beloved Chow Chow/Shepard loved the cold, but was happy to come in after a day of playing and relaxing in the cold. Zero degrees outside in MT, he would lay out on his back, legs spread and take a nap, but damn happy to be inside at bedtime. He had the double dense coat, and black skin under the coat, just a little bit of sun warmed him nicely. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:19:18 AM EDT
[#20]
A husky/GSD mix might be okay in single digit temps, it's hard to say without knowing your dogs. My little 30 pound eskimo-chow mix would sleep outside in the snow until it got below zero before she'd want back in, but she was also used to that kind of weather. She saw it nearly every winter.
Anyway, if your pups start picking their paws up (holding them up) when they walk, as if their paws are hurt, it's a sign that the cold is starting to bother them. You have to spend time with them so you can see that happen when it starts, if you don't notice it until four hours after, they may have been injured by the cold already. Add straw to their dog houses, and if you're worried that that's not enough, drag their dog houses into the garage, and add some straw to them. I'm in the camp of let the dogs in the damn house, but I understand that plenty of people don't/can't/won't, and most dogs do just fine if you prepare them for it. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:20:46 AM EDT
[#21]
I'm can't believe we still have dogs,because they all must have died of the cold back when people never would have thought about bringing them in or heating a doghouse.I had a Huskie/Lab mix that my wife made me build, insulate door block for and the dog then would dig a little hole on the north side of the house and sleep there.never could get him to use the house.That was in one of our coldest winters ever with lows -10 and highs around 10.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:21:27 AM EDT
[#22]
We'd just throw some straw in the dog house during winter.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:23:23 AM EDT
[#23]
Straw is much better than hay.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:24:31 AM EDT
[#24]
Anything that keeps the wind and rain/snow off should suffice, unless it gets retarded, like -20 or something.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:26:10 AM EDT
[#25]
My girlfriends cat has it made. Elevated box, entrance on the bottom, and a heating pad under the blanket. I hate that cat, but I'm not going to let it freeze to death. It's damn cold out.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:27:21 AM EDT
[#26]
I think those dogs will be fine, with some help. Here is my suggestion. I assume they have separate houses? Position the houses a few feet apart with the doorways facing each other, the doorways facing east/west. Surround and cover them with hay or straw bales, filling in the gap on the north side, leaving the south facing side open. Cover the top of the gap with boards or plywood. Then cover everything with tarps. The tarps will provide windbreak abilities and keep everything dry. It would be nice if everything were up off the ground on a platform but not absolutely necessary.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:32:08 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My girlfriends cat has it made. Elevated box, entrance on the bottom, and a heating pad under the blanket. I hate that cat, but I'm not going to let it freeze to death. It's damn cold out. If the choice was between having a cat in the house or building a deluxe, heated outdoor cat condo, I'd say you're ahead of the game. Stupid fuckin' cats. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:33:15 AM EDT
[#28]
I have two outside dogs. Both strays. One large black lab and the other is a husky mix. Their doghouse is large, has 2 " insulation all the way around, 6"of cedar chips on the floor, and a heat lamp. They stay warm.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:35:31 AM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I'm not so sure that is still the case with domestic dogs Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Build a haybale fort around their houses as a windbreak as marksman mentioned and throw some hay inside. A bunch of people here will tell you you are abusing your dogs by leaving them outside. It's bullshit, nature equipped them to deal with the cold. I'm not so sure that is still the case with domestic dogs If the pooch has a double coat [husky/mal part] then it is an incredible insulator. If you have ever had the "pleasure" of brushing out a cold breed dog when it's blowing it's undercoat you would understand just how much insulation it provides. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:38:13 AM EDT
[#30]
Part husky? and you have them in a igloo type doghouse? They need a FLAT surface to nest on top of, seriously it is in their DNA to sit on TOP of their dog house, no idea why but EVERY kennel up here will have 50 race dogs sitting on top of their kennels when I drive by.
If you are seriously concerned take an old army blanket, staple so that the door is a flap, get them to go in and out of their house(now with door), get a 30 watt bulb and put it through the top(not exact top, then it will leak when there is rain), silicone caulking around cord. you are WAY overreacting though in regards to the danger posed by -20 to a husky/GSD. look up what the huskies here go through, they are NOT inside dogs here, they are working dogs. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:40:49 AM EDT
[#31]
North Carolina gets cold?
Husky? aren't those the dogs that pull sleds across Antarctica? A little over worried aren't ya? So you feel warm & cozy inside, just line the walls with 2" foam and drop a blanket in there. Make sure there is a little flap over the door to keep the wind down from the nasty Carolina Blizzards.... |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:41:21 AM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yeah, I'm leaning towards the replies like this. Going to look up the electric heating mat right now as well. We have a TSC within 45 minute drive and they may have something like that. Temps are in the 20's and 30's at night (a bit below normal), but Tuesday is the coldest at 22* & 10* at night. That's way below normal for here. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Put some hay on the floor and add a light bulb in the house. Turn the light on at night and it will get quite warm inside the doghouse. Yeah, I'm leaning towards the replies like this. Going to look up the electric heating mat right now as well. We have a TSC within 45 minute drive and they may have something like that. Temps are in the 20's and 30's at night (a bit below normal), but Tuesday is the coldest at 22* & 10* at night. That's way below normal for here. +1 Please do that. The mat is not a bad idea, but you can buy heat bulbs they use for baby chicks. I have a 250W bulb in each of my chicken coops to take the edge off the cold. Make sure you have the bulb fixture attached in two separate ways so it doesn't fall down and catch the hay on fire! It was -15F the other night and we've had very cold temperatures for the last few weeks. I also need light in there so they will keep laying. You don't want to overheat the doghouse. The kids will bring a chicken into the house in a big cardboard box. The Buff Orpingtons like to be handled. After about 20 minutes, they will start to overheat and pant. I suspect you would have the same problem with your dogs if you brought them indoors. The hay or straw is good to keep them off the ground and something to block wind. This is a picture of one coop with the 250W red bulb. These are my Silver-Laced Wyandotte hens with a Columbian Wyandotte rooster (white guy on the left). 
If my coops were properly designed/constructed with better ventilation, I wouldn't need to heat them at all. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:41:41 AM EDT
[#33]
straw not hay! and your dogs will be just fine with some cover
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:45:04 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Nature didn't make dogs. Some can contend with extreme colds, if they're conditioned to it. Others not so much. It's ok, not everyone has read a book about dogs, or has access to google, or can think critically. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Build a haybale fort around their houses as a windbreak as marksman mentioned and throw some hay inside. A bunch of people here will tell you you are abusing your dogs by leaving them outside. It's bullshit, nature equipped them to deal with the cold. Nature didn't make dogs. Some can contend with extreme colds, if they're conditioned to it. Others not so much. It's ok, not everyone has read a book about dogs, or has access to google, or can think critically. I said "your dogs". I don't need Google to tell me that the op's dogs won't have any issue in those temps. I know from personal experience. Yes, not every dog breed is equipped to handle the cold.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:45:19 AM EDT
[#35]
at minimum hay and a wind breaker on the door. we lined the walls with a heating blanket from the store. we also used a heated bowl to keep the water from freezing. take care of them, you are all they got.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:46:36 AM EDT
[#36]
Hay inside is good. A couple of cheap blankets will also be good. If you can get more cheap blankets, like on sale at Wal Mart or Target, put them over the roof and put a tarp over them. Cheap, ugly sleeping bags or rugs will also work, if the pile on the rug has some thickness. Whatever's on sale...
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:48:34 AM EDT
[#37]
this is what i did work great. just make sure use a socket approved for outdoor use.
Coffee can heater |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:50:30 AM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Think critically? Lol I said "your dogs". I don't need Google to tell me that the op's dogs won't have any issue in those temps. I know from personal experience. Yes, not every dog breed is equipped to handle the cold. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Build a haybale fort around their houses as a windbreak as marksman mentioned and throw some hay inside. A bunch of people here will tell you you are abusing your dogs by leaving them outside. It's bullshit, nature equipped them to deal with the cold. Nature didn't make dogs. Some can contend with extreme colds, if they're conditioned to it. Others not so much. It's ok, not everyone has read a book about dogs, or has access to google, or can think critically. I said "your dogs". I don't need Google to tell me that the op's dogs won't have any issue in those temps. I know from personal experience. Yes, not every dog breed is equipped to handle the cold. OP's dogs have the genetics for coping with cold weather, but they live in North Carolina. They may not have coats for it having acclimated to the warmer weather down there. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 9:58:13 AM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Bunch of fucking tards in here they are dogs not Kenyans . Your dogs will be fine OP . My dog is an inside dog and will stay in the yard for hours even at -40 and refuse to come in he likes to lay in the snow and roll around. If it was a short hair chihuahua maybe but a HUSKY no fucking way This all the way. I pull my lab into the garage at -20-25 below. He thinks he is being punished. If brought into the house after being outside during the winter his hair drips oil  and he becomes overheated. They are dogs....NOT people. Oh, he does not drink water during the winter.....he eats snow......at -40 below.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:00:47 AM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
This, the other people here are not thinking with their heads. Anything above zero is T-shirt weather for a husky. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
You are over thinking this. They are adult husky-shep mixes and you're afraid of NC winters?
It will hit the single digits tomm night. They are huskies! They sleep in the snow! Throw some hay in there and maybe a bale for a windblock and they will be fine. Your dogs are more at risk during a 103 degree, 80% humidity day in August than they will be tomorrow night. This Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:01:02 AM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Would a LED work It says 60 watt equivalent, so it should put out the same heat as a 60 watt incandescent right? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Put some hay on the floor and add a light bulb in the house. Turn the light on at night and it will get quite warm inside the doghouse. It says 60 watt equivalent, so it should put out the same heat as a 60 watt incandescent right? 
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:03:51 AM EDT
[#42]
They are DOGS..... which means they are equipped to deal with the cold and the elements. It ain't going to get THAT cold here in NC to negatively impact their health as long as they are healthy to begin with.
What many people in the south feel is " really cold" doesn't mean anything to a healthy dog. People who think you are harming your dogs or abusing them by letting them stay outside in 20 degree weather are putting human emotions and comfort requirements on dogs. I would place some hay bales around their shelters for insulation and block all wind , add fresh dry hay in their houses and make sure they are dry, feed them well and take water to them several times a day....... their water dishes will freeze so make sure they have water. Again, if the dogs are in good health, not old with with bad hips or anything, they'll be fine....... will probably enjoy the weather. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:04:41 AM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Bring them in if you even have this question! No shit. Why is bringing them in not an option that is crossing your mind OP? |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:08:36 AM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I have the same question but I have a full blooded lab. Labs do not have the underlayer coat to take this kind of weather. Bring him inside. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:10:35 AM EDT
[#45]
We were going to put our dog house onto one of those black plastic pallets to get it up off the ground. But my dog was so old he died before we could get to it. He spent most of his time in the house any way.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:25:26 AM EDT
[#46]
Air conditioners… for dogs. For fuck sake.
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:42:38 AM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Labs do not have the underlayer coat to take this kind of weather. Bring him inside. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I have the same question but I have a full blooded lab. Labs do not have the underlayer coat to take this kind of weather. Bring him inside. Where do y'all get this stuff?
Taken from a lab site: The Labrador retriever has a short, dense, water-repellent double coat that provides great resistance to cold weather, icy water and different kinds of ground cover. Their double coating helps them tolerate cold temperatures keeping them fairly comfortable in the cold weather. I can't find the story but the Labrador retriever is said to have saved a couple remote villages during ww2. They were the only dogs that would continue to hunt in the freezing weather and water and kept the people fed during dire circumstances. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:43:53 AM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Bring them in if you even have this question! |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:44:26 AM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Air conditioners… for dogs. For fuck sake. I have thought about one. I have no shade in the yard and it gets hot here in the summer. |
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Posted: 1/5/2014 10:46:28 AM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
If the choice was between having a cat in the house or building a deluxe, heated outdoor cat condo, I'd say you're ahead of the game. Stupid fuckin' cats. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
My girlfriends cat has it made. Elevated box, entrance on the bottom, and a heating pad under the blanket. I hate that cat, but I'm not going to let it freeze to death. It's damn cold out. If the choice was between having a cat in the house or building a deluxe, heated outdoor cat condo, I'd say you're ahead of the game. Stupid fuckin' cats. It was a battle to get it outside, so I'm not complaining! I was really hoping it would run off though. |
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