Heating Dog House

Years ago when I lived in the frozen north I made a heated dog house. It was well insulated and in the back wall I had four 100 ohm resistors (series/parallel) mounted on heat sinks with a muffin fan blowing over them. It was behind expanded metal so the dog couldn't get to it. A Honeywell T86 thermostat set as low as it goes ran the whole deal. That was about 120w of power and it kept the dog warm. ~55-60f You don't want it too warm. Just be sure everything is grounded/bonded and use GFCI protection.

The OP didn't say anything about a dog using the dog house, only asking for ideas on heating one. Why is everyone getting OT about how warm a dog should be, the OP only asked about heating a dog house, nothing about dogs at all in the original post.

Yeah!!

Mine is heated because I'm always IN IT!!!

Gotta stay comfortable on those snowy nights...

;-]

Do you already have the doghouse? One factor in how the warm the dog stays in the doghouse is the house's design. The traditional cartoon type dog house with the big door in the middle is gonna be pretty drafty when there's any wind. In the one I built, the long wall is the front wall, and the door is off to one side, with an internal baffle so there is an inner chamber that is relatively cozy. Viewed from above ----------------------------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -- --------------------------

However, after a while I took the baffle out cuz the dog always laid with his nose at the door anyway. Dog: golden retriever. Location: cold, windy Chicago.

I live in Nebraska where the winters can get pretty darn wicked. I have 3 dogs. One large, and two small. I have an X-large dog house they share when the weather is cold. In the doghouse I have installed a large outdoor heated pad. The dogs love it. I don't leave them outside for long periods of time, such as the 8 hours I'm at work, but when I'm home and don't want all my dogs underfoot in my small home, they are outside and I want to provide them with a cozy spot.

You can find outdoor heated pads at the following site:

Look half-way down this page.

Shoulda put a plexi window in the back room. Of course he lays in the door. Dogs are social and territorial- he wants to see who is coming. My former BIL had a windowed dog house on his deck- one night, the dog refused to go outside, and it took a little while to figure out why. A nasty-ass raccoon from the woods had kicked him out of his cozy house, and moved in. Nice view, shelter from the wind, and a bowl of fresh water and a bowl of food twice a day. The life of Riley, raccoon-wise. BIL quit putting the dog dish outside for a couple of days (it was outside because the Lab was a sloppy eater), and the coon soon moved on.

aem sends....

Craftsman 100 watt Work Light with All-Weather Cord and Circuit Breaker