Do you have pets that live outside….even in the winter? I know that God did a tremendous job of preparing animals for winter…..just look at a the snow piled up on the back of a cow, just look at those tiny little legs and feet of the tiniest bird! AMAZING! Cattle’s normal body temperature is around 101.5°F And the snow just SITS there! Doesn’t melt at all! That’s some good insulation! Birds have a normal body temperature of 102-109°F. I guess that’s warm enough to keep those little toothpicks from freezing!
All that to say…I know they PROBABLY would be OK with just a doghouse, but I don’t want my animals (dogs, cats) to HAVE to be that tough!
(Here’s a bit of VERY random and interesting trivia, in case you didn’t know it: to type a degree sign, on my computer anyway, you put your number lock on, and then press and hold the ALT key while you type 0176! Oh, the things I learn! Ha Ha!)
I grew up with pets in the house. The husband did NOT. I would be MORE than happy to have my furry friends at least live in the enclosed back porch/utility room, but…..ain’t happenin’!
To be fair, we have lots of company, some of which are allergic to pet hair and dander, so we do try to keep that in mind, also, so we don’t have a houseful of pet hair!
Winter gets VERY cold here, sometimes. Not all winter long, but when it does, you NOTICE it! …..into the negatives a ways, and so, preferably in the fall, before those bitter temps get here, we spend quite a bit of time and effort preparing for it!
Up until this year, when it got REALLY cold, we would move dog, cats, electric water and feed bowls, litter boxes and big huge boxes and pillows into our insulated shop for a few days, ’til the weather broke. We have have 4 heated water bowls like THIS (paid link) around our place. One for the pets, one or two for the chickens, and one for the wild animals. And yes, I could go around and break ice, and fill them regular bowls up on a regular basis, but……I prefer to pay the up front cost and the bit of electricity they use, and we’re all happy!
However, this year, to save the hauling back and forth, we decided to just put up not one, but two infrared heat lamps in the garage, where they usually sleep. Go HERE (paid link) to get one for your pets! The cats think they are in kitty heaven, and hopefully Breeze appreciates it more than she lets on. She just goes into her corner “house”, like usual, even though there’s a nice soft pillow under the second lamp. We shut them all in at night, (and if it is TOO cold during the day), and they seem to be faring quite well!
NOTE: Heat lamps can be a fire hazard! You can’t be careful enough when using them! Go overboard on the carefulness!! SECURELY fastened, so even if they get bumped, or knocked, they won’t fall. And high enough so that it’s just mildly warm-I think mine is at 27° under them at about 12-18 inches…..too hot, is not good for sleeping and burnt doggy noses aren’t good either. OUCH!
Well, here’s hoping your pets are toasty warm….spring is coming!
Thanks for coming! Let’s do it again, soon!
"Never trust a person that doesn’t like dogs."
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This is great!