Rookie question

[KC]

Probably going to reveal my total ignorance here, but I was wondering about Milo  feeling cold. We live in Northern California, and rarely go below freezing at night. However, because of my son's allergies, we keep the house on the cool side. It's kept at 60 during the day, and 55 at night. Milo sleeps in a plastic crate with a mat at night, but I was wondering if he needs to be kept warmer at night. After all, we all sleep under comforters. Any advice? My husband thinks that if we throw a blanket over is crate, that will help keep him warm, but I was wondering if that would feel stifling.
How do your dogs sleep and do you do anything special for them in winter? Am I being a wuss about our relatively mild winters?

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Hi KC
We put a small blanket over top of the crate that goes over the sides. Don't cover the front so Milo can still look out.

[BG and Gavin]

Our boy loves it on the cooler side. He can usually be found sleeping on the cool tile as opposed to the carpet or his bed. Today he has been outside with us most of the day and when we have come iniside he has asked to go back out and lay on the step. By the way it is 28 degrees today. brrrrr

[Sandra Griffith]

Please don't feel silly for asking your question. It's the only way to learn and everyone had to learn at some point. Milo should be fine at night. Dogs have their coat to help keep them warm and the temperatures that you speak of are not very cold for them.

Putting a blanket over the crate with the front open is not usually necessary for warmth at the temperatures of which you speak. On the other hand, a blanket over the crate with the front open does create a more den-like atmosphere for Milo which many dogs do prefer.

[Lynda Kamrath]

We probably tend to keep our homes a little too warm for dogs. Our goldendoodle prefers to sleep on the cold tiles in the kitchen, bathroom, or hearth in warm weather. Now, he will sleep on the carpet, couch, or on his foam bed. Our puppy sleeps in his playpen and doesn't want to get up and go outside early in the morning. We also are in Northern California and it has been cold lately. Today, raining all day. The dogs don't even want to go outside.

[Ann]

Samson also likes to sleep on tile or on the slate in our front foyer. I always wondered why if it is 30 degrees out would it be comfortable for him to sleep on slate?? But, I figure if it bothered him, he would sleep somewhere else. We do have carpet he can sleep on.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

You know how when you're out raking leaves, even if it is a really cool day, you end up taking off your jacket...I think dogs feel that way about running around and playing on a cool day. But inside, I keep our thermostat set at 63 degrees. If the doodles get cool, they cuddle with us. When they get too warm, they'll either lay on the marble hearth or the hard wood floors to cool back down.

Connor has a comforter in his crate and Simon has a faux fleece one in his. If they get too warm, they push the covers out of the way and lay on the plastic crate tray. Since my doodles don't have undercoat, they do need a jacket in cold rain or sleet. Connor has been known to shiver in sleet without a jacket. I think dogs give us a pretty good idea of when they're cold or comfy. If they roll in a tight ball with their tail covering their nose and face, they are getting chilly. :-)

And please don't ever feel self-conscious about asking questions. The most patient humans in the world are on DoodleKisses. They have answered so many of my questions and I have learned so much. The members are a wonderful resource for all things doodle.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I've sewn a pad with fleece on both sides and polyester batting in the middle. I made it about 9" shorter than Lucy's crate so she can sleep either on the cool plastic bottom (by pushing the pad aside) or on the pad itself. She has a larger than average crate. Its funny, but one day she was sleeping with the mat folded over on itself on one end of the crate and Lucy was sleeping on the cool plastic bottom. I commented to my husband that it appeared she didn't like the pad, and 1 minute later she moved to lay on the folded pad, with her body curled up tightly to fit on it. I'm not sure if she was cold or hot or what. She seems to change her mind all the time on her preferences. We tend to keep it on the cooler side in our house (usually never cooler than 68 deg. though). Lucy naps on the cool hardwood floors a lot too, as well as the tile. But I also find her napping on the throw rugs we have throughout the house. So who knows??

[2r03s7272mau8]

Hi KC - My Gus is 6 months old, and is still crated at night. We're in Maine, where the nights are in the 20s and 30s right around now. We keep the house at 60 at night, and he's usually pushing the fleece pad I have in the crate off to the side. He has a towel that I drop down over the front of his crate that helps keep his body heat in. He's always cozy warm when he comes out of his crate and is usually woken up from a deep sleep.

[Kyoko]

We are in Pittsburgh, and it can get pretty cold, too. Charlie has fleece blanket in her crate as well. But because her body is cut pretty short ( almost shaved like), if she looks cold - really curled up - I put a sweater on her. I don't know if that's right or not.... But, in a warmer days, she sleeps stretched out, while curled up when its cold. So, I think she feels cold in the really cold night, too.

[KC]

Thanks everyone. Seems like Milo should be ok in just his crate then. He too sleeps stretched out on the hardwood floor sometimes, and curled up on a dog bed sometimes. But he does seem to prefer lying or sitting on soft surfaces.