Dog won't sleep in the dog house

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Avispa

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Zeus is a 100 pounder, he had been chained to this dog house for years, when i got him i also got his dog house. it's been pretty cold here and he sleeps on a couple of old comforters out on the concrete front porch and not in his house, he doesn't whine or bark, but i worry about him.
I know the dogs can tolerate more temp changes better than we think, but it's gonna be in the mid to high 20's and i want him to be warm and comfortable, Any ideas?
 
If you have the dog house he's always been chained to, he may avoid it to avoid the bad memory of being chained. Sounds like he's got free reign in the yard now that you have him. Maybe build him a new house. Include him in the build, build it in his presence. Have him walk/stand in it while its just studs and a floor, before you close it in. Just thinking out loud, but ya never know. They are smart animals.
 
And put one of his comfortors in there when you give him the open tour. So he can smell that it is his.

That and bacon. Throw some bacon in there when it is closed in. He'll go in there then.......
 
If you have the dog house he's always been chained to, he may avoid it to avoid the bad memory of being chained. Sounds like he's got free reign in the yard now that you have him. Maybe build him a new house. Include him in the build, build it in his presence. Have him walk/stand in it while its just studs and a floor, before you close it in. Just thinking out loud, but ya never know. They are smart animals.


I agree, this would be good and like mentioned before a heated pet pad/bed works awesome! I know many dogs like being outside, here in Minnesota it’s gonna be -25 tonight, I have 4 outside cats, we live in the country but don’t have any old buildings or shed for them to hide in. If I let them in my shop they just get into everything and walk on my cars so not having that, so I built a big box out of wood for them to stay in, insulated the inside and have a heated pet bed with a rug on top and they do great in there, warm for sure. Maybe your dog likes to be outside...but I think a heated pet bed would be really good...they make several different sizes, they just plug into an outlet.

Could we see a picture of Zeus? :)
 
Zeus is a 100 pounder, he had been chained to this dog house for years, when i got him i also got his dog house. it's been pretty cold here and he sleeps on a couple of old comforters out on the concrete front porch and not in his house

What breed?
 
Zeus is a 100 pounder, he had been chained to this dog house for years, when i got him i also got his dog house. it's been pretty cold here and he sleeps on a couple of old comforters out on the concrete front porch and not in his house, he doesn't whine or bark, but i worry about him.
I know the dogs can tolerate more temp changes better than we think, but it's gonna be in the mid to high 20's and i want him to be warm and comfortable, Any ideas?

Yeah. General rule of thumb is if it's too cold for you it's too cold for them. But my pup will sit outside in the snow and she's a short hair Shephard mix
 
I have seen many dogs stay in a wooden box or plastic barrel filled with straw hay in this climate. I have one of those fancy insulated dog houses with an electric pad in it and the damn dog wont stay in it.
 
I had a lab/retriever mix about 55 pounds. She lived outside for 17 years and had 1 acre to roam on. As a puppy she hated coming back in the house. She had a dog house with a heated pad that
turned on at 32 degrees F. If it was snowing and sometimes raining she would leave her house and go lay on the concrete. Crazy dog. If it was in the teens I would make her go into the garage or laundry room in the house. She couldn’t wait to be released. Again…crazy dog.
 
I had a malamute mix female, stayed outside, built her a nice sized doghouse, fully insulated with styroboard and sheeted inside, floors, wall, and ceiling. Put a doubled up heavy piece of carpet over the doorway and flax straw on the floor, and I had a light bulb on a timer to keep the chill off. She was very happy with it, but I still brought her in the house when the temperature dropped below -25. She would lie right against the back door and as soon as I opened it, she was back outside.
 
Now I have a husky/shepherd mix male that will stay outside as long as we let him, no matter how hot or cold it is. He lies on the concrete patio in the direct sun when it's 95*, not a care in the world. My female shepherd/husky mix prefers being in the house with the a/c in the summer and outside in the winter.
Dogs, gotta love 'em.
 
First Blue Healer I had, had never been in the house. Got really cold, and my ex felt sorry for him, and brought him in the house. laid out a horse blanket for him, and he never left it, until we let him out. Another I had, wouldn't go in the doghouse either. Brought her in the house one time when it got really cold, and I thought she was going to tear the place up, until I let her back out. She did not want to be in there.
 
You can try putting some of your dirty cloths in there as well. If the dog likes you he will like laying on your old hoodie or pants.
 
I had an Akita that hated being in the house. He had a big doghouse I built for him, and he would get in it to get out of the rain, but he preferred being outside. Now, a neighborhood cat comes to our house about every night to sleep on our porch. My wife put him some blankets in one of the various chairs he got in to help keep him warm, but he likes to lay in the chair up at the front end of the porch for some reason. I worry about him getting too cold, but he gets up every morning about daylight, stretches, gives himself a bath and then leaves and goes to work! I have to keep reminding myself that cats and dogs lived outside for millions of years by themselves before us humans domesticated them....but I still worry about it.
 
If you have the dog house he's always been chained to, he may avoid it to avoid the bad memory of being chained. Sounds like he's got free reign in the yard now that you have him. Maybe build him a new house. Include him in the build, build it in his presence. Have him walk/stand in it while its just studs and a floor, before you close it in. Just thinking out loud, but ya never know. They are smart animals.
He will sometimes lay in it during the daytime. I think I will build a new house for him install one of these Wifi controlled heaters, great suggestion.
 
First Blue Healer I had, had never been in the house. Got really cold, and my ex felt sorry for him, and brought him in the house. laid out a horse blanket for him, and he never left it, until we let him out. Another I had, wouldn't go in the doghouse either. Brought her in the house one time when it got really cold, and I thought she was going to tear the place up, until I let her back out. She did not want to be in there.

I brought him in the house last night and tonight, bought s new doggie bed for the room he sleeps in, the only problem is i can't let him out and give him free reign of the house, i also have to be very careful about where the other big male i have that has always slept inside.Everytime i walk by the closed door i can hear him wagging his tail, oh well, at least he's safe and warm.
 
Put him inside and scold the aggressive one...maybe put him outside.

They have already gotten into it twice, and bad too, had to go to the vet to get drains put in their necks, he can be around all the others except the big male, Hobo, but he and the newest pup Baxter really get along well and play.
 
Dogs are group animals. Most likely he wants inside with the rest. The other male is just showing he is the alpha male. If I am reading your post correctly.
 
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