Dogs at night

[Michen]

i feel a bit ashamed but hadn't really considered my dog sleeps downstairs at night with no heating on. She is never shivering (though is a cold type and has to wear coats when out and about in winter), but should I consider some sort of pjamas for her.

What do people do? She seems happy but is always curled up on her bed in the morning rather than stretched so maybe she's feeling the cold.

 

[AmyMay]

Just pop a little coat on her. Both our dogs sleep with us, and now the house is colder Daisy’s under the covers. Jack wears a little fleece jacket.

 

[fiwen30]

What is her bed made of/covered in? Some of the fabrics aren’t very warm, and memory foam without some sort of insulating layer can pull heat from the body.

Our lad has a memory foam Pet Fusion bed, with a microfleece cover on the mattress. Sometimes that’s even been too cold in winter, so we pop a wool sherpa blanket in as well.

He also has a little fleece rug which I made for him from an old blanket, which slips over the head and does up with a wide surcingle under the belly, which gave additional warmth when he was removing from surgery.

Any sort of fleece layer should be fine, just be sure to check it doesn’t rub or pinch, or legs/feet wont get stuck when she lies down.

 

[CorvusCorax]

My oldest one has an Equafleece jumper on at night. The middle one has a very tight coat and is in an airline crate with a fleecy blanket.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would just put a little fleece coat on as they are stretchy so comfy to sleep in but are quite warm, ebay do some fairly cheap ones and they are not bad for the price I have bought a few fir my dog.

 

[BallyJ]

Ours have a blanket each in their beds.

Lab always pushes hers out or into a pillow heap.

JRT always burrows.

 

[Andie02]

Tuffies dog beds do a cover for their mattress beds called a Tunnel cover, that they can get inside, it's like a huge hoody/sleeping bag. One of our dogs gets right in it and covers herself up, the other old lad doesn't. They also do a cover for their nest beds called a Nest Sock which fits over most of the bed to keep them warm.

 

[Sparky Lily]

Our two beagles (and one of the three cats) sleep on our bed. One beagle (and the cat) sleep on top of the duvet. The other is underneath the duvet, snuggled against me.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Another benefit of a stove! Our dogs sleep in the living room and are probably warmer than us!

 

[Sparkeyboy]

Have you considered a heat pad? My house is freezing but I didn't want to have the heating on when i'm out at work but I felt so guilty on the cat. I bought a small heat pad that plugs in, it isn't hot to touch but once they're on it it's lovely and toasty. It costs less than a lightbulb to run and she absolutely loves it, I pop it under a knitted blanket in her bed. Appreciate a dog is slightly different but they'd have the option to use it? I tried the microwave ones but they cooled down too quickly.

 

[Michen]

Another benefit of a stove! Our dogs sleep in the living room and are probably warmer than us!

Yes but when it goes out the temp in my sitting room drops very quickly.

 

[Esmae]

Yes but when it goes out the temp in my sitting room drops very quickly.

Mine doesn't go out from October until the spring. Toastie warm for the dogs. However a little light coat might just make the difference.

 

[Michen]

Mine doesn't go out from October until the spring. Toastie warm for the dogs. However a little light coat might just make the difference.

Sorry should have clarified I meant when it burns out, the temp drops quickly. My bathroom is downstairs and by midnight/1am the rooms cold again

 

[palo1]

To my eternal shame my dogs do wear equafleece jammies at night. I thought I was getting soft when I bought pajamas for my retired old hound. I knew it to be true when I got another one for a perfectly healthy young wiry terrier!! Just be careful that you are not too habitual about it cos they can get too warm too. I love the equafleeces and use them indoors and out.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Yes but when it goes out the temp in my sitting room drops very quickly.

Ours doesn't go out in winter, it is banked up, so that the room is warm for us to get up to. It is our main source of heating.

 

[Michen]

Ours doesn't go out in winter, it is banked up, so that the room is warm for us to get up to. It is our main source of heating.

Oh that's interesting- so is it a normal woodburner? What do you mean by banked up- do you chuck a load of wood in before bed?

maybe I need to be doing this!

 

[Clodagh]

We have a Rayburn and the dogs are fine. Tawny sleeps upstairs but has two duvets and makes a nest.

 

[AmyMay]

Oh that's interesting- so is it a normal woodburner? What do you mean by banked up- do you chuck a load of wood in before bed?

maybe I need to be doing this!

Providing it’s good and hot when you go to bed, pooping a good size log on and then turning it right down should provide heat all night. In the morning open the vents and voila, fire bursts back in to life ?

 

[Starzaan]

We have a pet safe electric blanket for the old boy. So he can choose to go onto it if he gets chilly. It’s worked wonders.

 

[twiggy2]

The lurcher has a rayburn and a duvet, she buries herself under the duvet if it is cold

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Oh that's interesting- so is it a normal woodburner? What do you mean by banked up- do you chuck a load of wood in before bed?

maybe I need to be doing this!

Ours is multi-fuel, so we put (smokeless) coal on it overnight

 

[windand rain]

You are all crackers my dogs have lived in kennels with no heating in a straw filled shed in 3 ft of snow and temps close to -15. The indoor dogs have slept in the kitchen on just a thin bed for years. Willow is the most spoilt one as our heating is always between 15 and 21 so not cold its a new house well we were first occupants 12 years ago so she has always slept in the warm. Never bought a dog coat although was given a waterproof one to try and stop the wet dog smell didn't work as we usually forget to put it on

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

Just gonna leave this here... (not a sensible suggestion, I realise it's ridiculous although she's not got a lot to work with in the way of fur so it does have a practical purpose as well) She does also have a proper bed now - foam and memory foam mattress with a pillow mattress thingy on top inside her crate which is covered, plus a fluffy blanket to keep her cosy. Spoilt noodle!

 

[only_me]

ours live downstairs in an admittedly cold kitchen/open plan area. As Nahla is getting older and arthritic we got an electric blanket which goes onto the ”dog” sofa and then a blanket on top. She loves the heat from it and if gets too warm can easily get down and move somewhere else.
It has definitely helped with her old bones, she doesn’t like dog rugs in general so we don’t want to stick one on her if we can help it.

 

[AmyMay]

You are all crackers my dogs have lived in kennels with no heating in a straw filled shed in 3 ft of snow and temps close to -15. The indoor dogs have slept in the kitchen on just a thin bed for years. Willow is the most spoilt one as our heating is always between 15 and 21 so not cold its a new house well we were first occupants 12 years ago so she has always slept in the warm. Never bought a dog coat although was given a waterproof one to try and stop the wet dog smell didn't work as we usually forget to put it on

Good for you ?

 

[twiggy2]

You are all crackers my dogs have lived in kennels with no heating in a straw filled shed in 3 ft of snow and temps close to -15. The indoor dogs have slept in the kitchen on just a thin bed for years. Willow is the most spoilt one as our heating is always between 15 and 21 so not cold its a new house well we were first occupants 12 years ago so she has always slept in the warm. Never bought a dog coat although was given a waterproof one to try and stop the wet dog smell didn't work as we usually forget to put it on

All our working dogs are outside in kennels with straw and last winter it was minus 22 some nights, the lurcher however does really feel the cold.

 

[[139672]]

I think I’m right in saying that a dog’s temperature is about 2 degrees lower than humans and they do feel the cold at night. My dog has an extra blanket on his bed that he can snuggle into or under. He has cried at night sometimes in really cold weather and when I’ve felt his ears they’ve felt pretty cold, or maybe I’m just soft ?

 

[AmyMay]

maybe I’m just soft ?

Nope. Just keen to make sure your dog is warm ?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Erm, it's never occurred to me that a healthy dog needs any sort of coat indoors...

They've always had decent beds though. Ours sleep downstairs at night, but the heating is off from about 10.30pm - 6.30am.

Genuine Q - what about hunt hounds in kennels then?

 

[FestiveG]

Erm, it's never occurred to me that a healthy dog needs any sort of coat indoors...

They've always had decent beds though. Ours sleep downstairs at night, but the heating is off from about 10.30pm - 6.30am.

Genuine Q - what about hunt hounds in kennels then?

Hounds don't spend half their time in Centrally heated houses, to then go into cold kennels. They tend to be bedded on straw and share body heat, as they are kennelled together.