LGD Owners - Would you be concerned if...

[mamachicken888]

We have our little 4-month-old Max who is a super little dog. He stays outside all the time except for 'visits' when we bring him inside the house to play for a short time or take him for a ride in the car. Well, he never complains at all outside - no whining, no crying, no barking unless something or someone strang is seen. But, tonight it's going down to 18 degrees F here in Oklahoma and I'm a little concerned about him. He has a dog house with a flap over the door so it's not airtight, but it's close. There is no heat inside it however. I'm wondering if just the little guy's body heat is enough to keep him warm.

Oh, he is half Anatolian or Saint Bernard and half Great Pyrenees. He weighs about 35 lbs.

What do you think? Will he be ok?

 

[Glenmar]

You could put some straw inside there.

 

[mamachicken888]

Quote:
That's a good idea. However, the doghouse is fully carpeted, floor and walls, and the ceiling is the undercarriage of our motorhome. It's hard to explain, but he has unusual accommodations! We really want him to be comfortable, but 18 degrees is still hard to take for any animal.

 

[watchdogps]

I probably wouldn't leave him out at that age. I know here it has been unseasonably warm. If its a sudden drop, he won't be sued to it.

 

[redhen]

I could never do it...

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

He's a dog.

He will be fine

 

[mamachicken888]

Well, we did our own thing last night. Max is not a good house dog at night, so we needed to figure out a way to leave him outside. I remembered a time when I was very sick and had extreme chills from fever. My sister filled a 2-liter pop bottle with warm water and put it behind my knees. Very comforting. Well, we couldn't get Max to leave his behind his knees

but we did fill four of them with hot water and put them in his house and he did just fine overnight. He was out this morning playing GD when he saw a squirrell trespassing on "his" property.

 

[boxermom]

Remember though, as the water bottles cool down, they will cool him down too. My dogs are house dogs, but they LOVE laying on fleece. Fleece is always warm, not messy and easy to wash. If you have on old fleece blanket, try that for him. That will help keep his body heat inside the doghouse and will keep him nice and cozy.

 

[zazouse]

I just put hay piles out my dogs all use them .
And the geese like um too.

 

[sheila3935]

I know from your post you did leave him outside. I am a big softy when it comes to my animals. We have 4 dogs of various sizes. They are house dogs. I have an 80lb lab mix and a 40lb basset mix that sleeps with us everynight. DH got us a king size bed so he would have room to sleep

If it storms we have all 4 in bed with us. I have chickens and ducks outside and it drives me crazy knowing they are out there but they have semi warm cozy coops and do fine. So far our weather has not been that bad, but its early in the season so it will get worse I am sure. But honestly I worry more about the chickens when its hot outside. They seem to do better in the cold then the heat.