Georgia the Red

We live in NC where it can get below freezing at night in the winter. We kennel her in the garage at night because at 6 months old we can't trust her and she will definitely wake us up at night or too early by barking if she is inside the house. I want to be sure her bed is appropriately cozy for her so what do I do? We looked at the fancy schmancy Dyson bladeless heat/air contraption and at $400 it's just not in the budget right now. Thought about a heated bed but am wondering about its potential for fire hazard. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Indiana

Yeah I would worry about fire hazards too with anything electric that she might chew on at night. What about a big crate with a big cozy comfy dog pillow in it and some blankets she can dig into a little nest, and a big thick quilt over top of and around the crate to keep the heat inside?

Georgia the Red

Well that may be our only option (but I would love to see her in a Snuggie) lol. I have been a little hesitant due to her weak puppy bladder but its getting better!

peppersb

Your pup might be barking because she needs to go potty. Or she might be barking because she wants to be with you. Dogs are pack animals that are hard wired to want to be with their pack. Poodles are particularly sensitive and desirous of being with their people. Any chance that you'd consider a nice dog bed in the corner of your bedroom? Your young pup might wake you up a few times before she gets the hang of the fact that you want her to be quiet until you decide to get up. But in the long run, I think letting your dog sleep in your bedroom will strengthen the bond that she feels with you and make both her and you a lot happier.

Pamela

I crated Ginger in my bedroom with me. if she wakes you up too early she may have to go out. The bad things about leaving her in the garage is that poodles don't have an undercoate and really should not be left outside. sounds like some training is needed and you may have to suffer for a little while but after they are trained they will sleep good. Mine sleep the night with me and sometimes even after I get up I have to rouse them to go out. They do like to be with you though so a bed in your bedroom may be the ticket. She may be barking just because she is alone.

MyMiles

I have a friend who's dogs sleep outside here in Ohio. They have a shed sized dog house, so her family rigged up a heat lamp that hangs over the bed. It's high enough to be out of the dogs reach, but helps them keep warm when it gets cold.

hunny518

We crate out girl in our room at night,and once I'm confident she can make it all night out of the crate she will be able to sleep with her crate door open which means, she will probably get into bed with my husband, our other dog and I...lol. When we first brought her home I would put classical music on and she would settle down within a couple minutes and go to sleep.. For about a week I would get up and let her out in the middle if the night when she barked but I started pushing her closer and closer till it was time to get up. So I did go about 3 days of a pillow over my head on the verge of tears in the middle if the night while she cried and barked in the middle of the night, but the payoff was great! She has been sleeping through the night for weeks now and does not start whining until after my alarm goes off.. She is 5 months old.


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Georgia the Red

It looks like she will be ready to come upstairs very soon. I read another thread about how they don't seem to mind the cold at all. I would rather not take a chance with my Georgia getting cold.

frankgrimes

Oooh, I would be very reluctant to do this. Ralph has so little body fat (he's still quite young) that he gets cold very easily - I would imagine your pup is the same. Ralph needs to snuggle in to his pile of blankets just to keep warm at night in the house, and we keep it warm in there! Ralph used to wake us up too early in the morning when he was younger, sometimes he had to potty, but mostly he was bored and wanted out. We trained it out of him by letting him out when he yipped, but it was straight to potty and straight back in the crate, no lights on, no fun, no talk, all business. Even when he yipped at us and we were already getting up it was all business and then back in the crate, then we pretended we were still sleeping in our room for 10-15 minutes and then we went and woke him up for the day. This way he learned he gets up when we say so. We don't have him in our bedroom (allergies) but he is just down the hall from us and can hear us etc. Maybe this would be a good comprimise? I worry about your poodle baby being in the garage alone at night. I would be scared and I'm a grown up human!

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Marcie

I don't like the idea of her being out in the garage alone but you can build her an enclosure up off the concrete floor with a covered entrance (something to trap the heat) and line it with straw. Put blankets in to keep the straw from sticking her. Let her wear a polar fleece jacket as well. The straw is a natural insulator and her body heat will heat up the enclosure. I have used this on horses in an enclosed stall and have actually had to dry the sweat off them before I could take them out in the cold.

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GiGi 2012 PRH Alumni & Sasha 2009 PRH Alumni.