# I have a 6'X8' shed I need insulated for the dogs for winter



## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

What type of heater? What type of construction is the shed?

A picture of the shed and interior would help considerably.


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## mnp13 (Jan 16, 2007)

What kind of door is on the shed? No matter what you do for the insulation, you should have a "hall" that is at 90 degrees from the door to reduce wind.

Really, the best for them would be a double walled dog house that one or both can fit in. Their body heat will warm the smaller space. The larger the space, the more you have to heat, and the less efficient it is overall for them. If your electric heater was ever to fail for some reason, they could freeze.

One of my Pit Bulls was a kennel dog in Maine, and he made it through a couple of winters there - and Pit Bulls don't grow winter coats! He had a plywood dog house raised 12 inches off the ground, double walls and ceiling with straw in it. 

This is him right after I got him in March a few years ago - no extra hair or body fat on him.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Is that one of those people eating pit bulls.....

Just kidding of course. Love the breed. Loyal and fantastic animals when properly socialized.

Rescue dogs people. There are plenty of lovely dogs that need homes.


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## mnp13 (Jan 16, 2007)

Yup, that's him!! lol

He's a bred dog, his breeder gave him to me, but by far the best temperament of the three is our Pit that had been starved and thrown away in a dumpster. Fantastic dogs if you want to deal with the high probability of dog aggression. Only breed I'll ever own!


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## Blondesense (Sep 23, 2008)

mnp13 said:


> Really, the best for them would be a double walled dog house that one or both can fit in. Their body heat will warm the smaller space. The larger the space, the more you have to heat, and the less efficient it is overall for them. If your electric heater was ever to fail for some reason, they could freeze.


I was thinking along these lines too. A utility heater around dogs sorta scares me. Rather than trying to weatherstrip and insulating the entire shed, I would suggest you build a well insulated doghouse for them. Then put IT inside the shed. With lots of straw. To hold their body heat it should be just large enough for them to get in, turn around and lay down. Bigger is not better. 

FWIW, our dogs are all spoiled inside dogs, but when we bought this place the previous owners had beagles. They left their old dog house. I thought it was really well thought out and built.
They started with two of those 50? gallon blue plastic barrels. They supported the barrels on their side with 4x4s. Encased them both in a single 3/4" plywood box (with shingled roof) slightly larger than the dimensions of the barrels and insulated all the voids including underneath the barrels. Then they cut a hole in the top/end of the barrel big enough for the dogs to get in and out of and covered the opening with a piece of carpeting secured along the top edge for access. Plenty of straw inside the barrels for sleeping finished it off.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Blondesense said:


> I was thinking along these lines too. A utility heater around dogs sorta scares me. Rather than trying to weatherstrip and insulating the entire shed, I would suggest you build a well insulated doghouse for them. Then put IT inside the shed. With lots of straw. To hold their body heat it should be just large enough for them to get in, turn around and lay down. Bigger is not better.
> 
> FWIW, our dogs are all spoiled inside dogs, but when we bought this place the previous owners had beagles. They left their old dog house. I thought it was really well thought out and built.
> They started with two of those 50? gallon blue plastic barrels. They supported the barrels on their side with 4x4s. Encased them both in a single 3/4" plywood box (with shingled roof) slightly larger than the dimensions of the barrels and insulated all the voids including underneath the barrels. Then they cut a hole in the top/end of the barrel big enough for the dogs to get in and out of and covered the opening with a piece of carpeting secured along the top edge for access. Plenty of straw inside the barrels for sleeping finished it off.


+2

I missed mnp13 recommendations but they are absolutely spot on.

Insulate the structure very well and the dogs will make their own heat. Straw is great insulator as mentioned and would be great for inside the walls as well for that matter. 

No need to worry about vapor barriers or dry because you won't be heating the space but the amount of moisture their breath might condense in the cold winter months. Straw is great because it stores and releases moisture slowly.


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## JoJo-Arch (Sep 15, 2011)

I've had a faithful and obedient dog most of my life, usually toy poodles as they don't molt and are intelligent beyond belief. All they need is a doggie door so they can go outside and do their business. The poodles were indoor dogs and rarely messed up. Ok, I was given a chesapeake bay retriever, with a short coat but this one preferred the outdoors and loved sleeping at night just outside our window. During winter, our lowest temperatures were down to -32F, possibly not as cold as some of the American States around Michigan and the Great Lakes. The dog did at times have little icicles over his fur, so I built him a metal kennel (though not insulated) for him to sleep in. I also had an underdesk panel heater which was warm to the touch that was similar to an electric blanket but mounted at the end wall. He liked the kennel for a while, then I noticed he preferred sleeping under the stars again, and didn't use the kennel any more. Eventual, he died of old age. I won't enter into the argument about keeping pit bull terriers or not, but I suggest you be very very careful with yours, as he can turn on a small child he sees as a threat. We have had three fatal attacks on young children (1, 2 and 4 years old) in the past three months the youngest last week and fighting for her life in intensive care. A friend of mine had one a few years ago and said come and meet him, which I foolishly trusting him, put out my hand for the dog to smell and see me as friend, not a foe. The dog looked wierd, he lept up and skinned my arm from my elbow to my wrist as I wrenched him off. Luckily he was on a leash, and I stepped back out of the way. You know this 'friend' started to laugh at this and to this day I wondered who was madder, him or the dog. Does it take a mad owner to own these viscious and totally stupid dogs? Guess what, three weeks later the dog seriously attacked the owner and when I asked what happened to him he said "I killed the bastard".


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## mnp13 (Jan 16, 2007)

And the first face transplant in history was done on a woman whose face was removed by her purebred Lab. Pit Bulls are no more or less "vicious" than any other dog breed, and they certainly aren't stupid either. Your friend and his dog both had a few screws loose, and that has nothing to do with an entire breed as a whole 

That is as far as I will go on this forum on that topic.


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