Sleeping outside on winter
Winter has now arrive to this part of the world and temperatures have started to go below 40º.  Lennon just wants to sleep outside, he's reluctant to give his balcony away.  We allow him to do that, but we put a blanket on the floor so he does not touch the freezing floor and leave the balcony door open so he can sleep on his bed when things get too cold.
What's the lowest temperature an OES can safely sleep outside? I don't want him to get sick or freeze, my wife would kill me! 
Thanks for the advise!! Saul. |
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| We lived in the Patgonia area of Argentina when we bought Abbi. During the winter, which begins in June-July, it would go down to freezing and Abbi would play outside all day. She loved it when it snowed.
Abbi has never slept much outside at night. She whines so pitifully, so we let her sleep in our bathroom. She knows to jump in the tub if she needs to go to the bathroom.... So I guess I cannot help you. I know they like it cold though. It is down to 50' here and Abbi is so happy to go out! |
| Woof still seems to want to go and lounge outside when its below 0'C (that's about 33'F I believe). If we shut the kitchen door (because we want to warm up a bit...after all we're only human) - he scatches on it as if to say "Hey! What's your problem?" |
Dougal spends most of his time outside no matter what temperature. Whenever he's inside the house after about 30 minutes he's scratching to get out. He tends to lay just outside the closed patio doors on the cold ground while we're warm inside the lounge. (He can see us from there). So I guess their coats work well - oh and he loves the rain. He seems to go crazy when he's soaked and starts running round like a lunatic  It's quite funny to watch. |
Mikeyg wrote: "Woof still seems to want to go and lounge outside when its below 0'C (that's about 33'F I believe)." Nigel&Faye wrote: "Dougal spends most of his time outside no matter what temperature. He tends to lay just outside the closed patio doors on the cold ground while we're warm inside the lounge, so I guess their coats work well"
Yes, it seems that their coats work very well! Last night was 40ºF (9ºC) and he kept on waking me until I let him sleep on the lawn, he just lays on his bed for a while and then gets hot and wants to go outside . Your comments made me feel lees anxious about leaving him unsupervised in the winter nights, since it rarely falls below 15ºF here. I'll just leave the balcony door cracked open so he can come in and get warmer if he feels like it.
Any more experiences in snow country?? |
| All of your responses are great. I was worried too about keeping my pup out all night in SC in the winter. But it usually does not get below freezing here so he should be fine. Thanks for info. |
| It would be part of my guess that it all depends on the weather to which your dog is acclimated.
Use your gut instincts... think about bringing your dog inside in a cold (or hot) snap. My 3 cents. |
| In this case, Lennon is acclimated to very hot weather (110ºF on the hottest days), but he was a puppy then and now he's 8 months old, so I'm concerned about the effect that the winter cold (15ºF Minimum) can do to his system. His coat is longer now and he seems very comfortable staying outside, but I want to allow him to sleep outside as long as he has a way to come inside if it gets too cold for him.
For the time that we're at work (From 7:30 to 5:00) I want to get him a dog house. We have the choice of wood or plastic. The wooden ones seem solid but need to be winterized so the wind does not flow inside it, the advantage is that it will be more ventilated on the summer. The plastic ones are very solid and seem indestructible (A plus with Lennon ) but are more expensive and may be too hot in the summer.
Any sugestions on Wood vs. Plastic?? |
 Wow I thought I was the only one with a sheepie that I had a hard time keeping inside. My Sammy loves the outside at night. I feel like a heel, but he is so happy out there. There have been twice when we go to bed he starts barking. Thats my cue and I go out bring him in and he is happy. The times he barks to come in, there is no weather problem, I guess he just wants to be in the house. It gets down really cold here in the mid west with the snow. He was born the end of Dec last year, so I really don't know how he will be then. I do know he loves it when it rains. Of course in the summer when I would water my garden, he would go nuts until I would "mist" the water over him so it was like it was raining. He loved that.
Sahara |
Quote: In this case, Lennon is acclimated to very hot weather (110ºF on the hottest days), but he was a puppy then and now he's 8 months old, so I'm concerned about the effect that the winter cold (15ºF Minimum) can do to his system.
We got Dougal just before the summer, so all he knew was hot weather (really hot this year!). Now winter is here it's very cold but he loves it outside. He actually sleeps outside every night. We bought him a very large kennel with a run (cost a fortune!!  ). We paid extra to have the kennel properly insulated and with anti chew strips to stop him destroying it  . It's all fully water proof and sheltered from wind etc.
Actually I just posted a picture of it here (see link below) if you want to see it. I would recommend this type of kennel to anyone. Dougal loves it, it's his own little space! Of course he always has access to our house all day also but chooses to spend most of his time outside. http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/mountain_n |
This must be a quality of the breed. Our OES loves the cold, too. She thinks we're nuts during the winter  |
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