Anyone keep their dog in the garage?

[Always_Thinkin]

I live in Illinois and have recently had over a foot of snow where I live and subzero weather. We have a family labrador that previously lived outside 100% of the time in a pin. With this cold weather/snow I have been keeping him in our attached two car heated garage. Since we have done this I have enjoyed having him in the garage greeting me every morning before work or when I go out to work on projects. We take him out every three to four hours during the day to run and go to the bathroom so he is getting out more which is good for him. I am thinking about getting an area in the garage for him to permanently keep him in the garage. So does anyone else keep their dog in the garage? Have any tips on situating an area for them?

 

[Gasgt1]

We are doing the exact same thing right now.

Previously we had a setup for our dog in the garage.
I enclosed an area under a workbench with a door to the outside kennel as well as a door into the shop area.

After we added onto the shop that area was removed because it was no longer next to the kennel.

Greg

 

[jameswood]

Know what ya mean, have bunch of farm cats that are just too darn cute to leave outside in these bone chilling temps so they been living in my shop lately.
Saw the coolest thing where guy built a dog run on back side of attached garage then attached dog house to the house cutting access hole thru back of it so dog could get inside himself. Was a small kennel inside when he came in.
You'd have never known that access was there.

 

[Bull]

I think that's a good idea, provided the nasty stuff he might get into and make himself sick on is inaccessible.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Mine sleep in the bed with my wife and I.

Out of curiosity, why isn't he in the house with you?

Chris

 

[tinbender 66]

Mine sleep in the bed with my wife and I.

Out of curiosity, why isn't he in the house with you?

Chris

My dog is too big to sleep in the bed but he lives in the house no matter what the weather. Cats are on the bed. I don't understand people who have "pets" and then make them live outside by themselves.

 

[junkman104]

Time was nobody ever kept an animal in the house, All three of ours are in the house.



Times change.

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

Being pack animals I think they need companionship. If you have two or three dogs I can see letting them stay outside and providing shelter from the nasty weather.

A single dog I think should be welcome in the house as part of the family. They don't need to be on the bed or the furniture, they just want to be near you.

At our little 2 acre farmette my sister had four dogs. Two of them spent half their time in the house and the other half out with the 'outside dogs'.

We have a 20x20 chainlink pen for them with a double doghouse. Its designed for sub-zero temperature with sealed and insulated walls. The pen is attached to the backside of the garage and there is a hole cut into the garage with another doghouse in there. Heated water bowls to prevent freezing. The garage dog house has a makeshift heater made of a coffee can with a lightbulb inside.

She also had about 25 cats that lived in the barn...plenty of little bodies to keep each other warm in the hayloft

 

[Always_Thinkin]

Thanks to all that have posted a reply. I am interested in how to make living quarters in my garage for our lab. Jameswood, I would be interested if you had more info on the setup you mentioned.

I think that's a good idea, provided the nasty stuff he might get into and make himself sick on is inaccessible.

I agree and and they are inaccessible. I have little kids now and when we got our lab so I took care of that already. I also keep the towels/shop rags out of our lab's reach. That is one thing people don't always think about and that can cause blockage in their intestinal system and is not good for dogs at all.

Mine sleep in the bed with my wife and I.

Out of curiosity, why isn't he in the house with you?

Chris

We don't have him in the house because he is so big and the more entergetic/hunting breed of labrador.

 

[jmarkwolf]

We used to put a light bulb in the doghouse and a flap across the opening.

A standard 100W light bulb will keep a dog house toasty warm.

Oops, what am I thinking? Standard 100W light bulbs don't exist anymore!

 

[Johnny A]

Yellow lab here, can't stay in my house either.
She has a fenced in 1 acre yard & big 10x10 kennel with roof,electricity & temp control water dish.
She is in & out but during day she is out.
The doghouse is full of straw & keeps her toasty.
Labs are healthiest as outdoor dogs.
When they are confined in a house all day they get no exercise & get sad.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chris Stapley]

A couple years back we started to have an extremes cold winter so my dog finally on her own terms came inside the garage, she went under the stairs steps that ebpnter the house so I made her a nice warm area under there and she has lived there ever since each night during the fall and winter and seems to love it...

 

[Kevin54]

Thanks to all that have posted a reply. I am interested in how to make living quarters in my garage for our lab. Jameswood, I would be interested if you had more info on the setup you mentioned.



I agree and and they are inaccessible. I have little kids now and when we got our lab so I took care of that already. I also keep the towels/shop rags out of our lab's reach. That is one thing people don't always think about and that can cause blockage in their intestinal system and is not good for dogs at all.



We don't have him in the house because he is so big and the more entergetic/hunting breed of labrador.

I'll snap a pic of the dog **** in our backyard if it ever thats. Sam the Hell Dog has rainbow turds. He has chewed anything and everything. Those large ropes with multi knots in them, and the knots are impossible to untie by any human.....untied, shredded, and recycled. Shop rags, shredded. I don't dare have a shop rag in my pocket or Sam will steal it every time.

And Sam gets to meet his new trainer tomorrow ANd he better by God act like he normally does and not try to B.S. the trainer.

 

[Cryptic1911]

I never understood the point of having a dog if it's just left outside, or in a garage all the time

 

[daddycreswell]

I have 2 dogs in my garage, when I built it I also built them there own area separte to the rest of the garage. I just took some 2x4 and plywood and built them their space. They have a doggie door to go outside and I also installed a doggie door into the main area so they could have free roam, but I can put them in the space when I need to keep them out of the main area.

 

[Gary S]

Absolutely no critters of any kind allowed in my garage. If they even think about touching my classic car, they will be looking for a new home.

 

[rburke65]

Two dogs and two cats..... 33 years ago when we bought this place, I cut a "dog door" into the side of the house and they can come and go as they please. Back yard is fenced and Invisible Fence around the property. At night, everyone in or on the bed....not always easy......

 

[JakeKohl]

I presume you have a fenced yard if he stays out all the time. If so, does it connect to the garage in any way? Can you install a doggy-door through the wall (or door) so he can come and go as he pleases?

Our dogs have always been inside dogs (including a Pit) but I almost acquired a neighbor's dog (also a Pit) that has always been an outside dog. She would not adapt well to our inside living so I was planning to give her a doggy-door into the garage so she could stay in the yard but get inside during foul weather...provided she didn't destroy stuff in the garage! The neighbor never moved away so he still has her.

 

[dogdad]

All 7 (small ) of my dogs stay inside my house,,,,,can't stand it when I see a dog chained up all the time.....or confined in a small pen....

 

[77thor]

I never understood the point of having a dog if it's just left outside, or in a garage all the time

I used my dog for duck hunting, which is usually done in cold & inclement weather. A house kept dog would never stand up to the conditions, IMO.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Mine sleep in the bed with my wife and I.

Chris

Same here, Bode has the run of the house and is spoiled. Honestly, a few days ago when we got hit with the below zero temps, he wouldn't pee or poop outside when I took him out. He would start rasing his paws and want to go inside. I knew it was too cold for him or anybody.


What is it that they say ? Drastic times call for drastic measures ? A couple pairs of my footie socks and duct tape and he was good to go outside.

 

[anthony42hat]

I used my dog for duck hunting, which is usually done in cold & inclement weather. A house kept dog would never stand up to the conditions, IMO.

Your's is a good point. I have a black lab that I hunt here in Virginia and I try to compromise...he stays outside just about everyday but inside at night. He does well in the cold although when it gets as cold as it has been the last couple of days here he stays at home if I hunt. I'm sure you probably feel like I do, watching my dog work is as much fun as shooting!

 

[Moose97]

4 dogs here. 1 is a 12 yr. old yorkie, he's in the house all the time. Great Pyrenees/ Retriever mix is an outdoor dog but comes in the house at night in the winter and sleeps on my daughters floor. Basset Hound is an outdoor dog. Can't hold his water (or poop for that matter) so he sleeps in the barn with the horses in cold weather. Last is an Andalusia Shepherd. Lives out with the animals. She also sleeps in the barn. Also have 4 barn cats, they stay in the barn.

3 horses - sheltered in the barn in the winter
goats (plethora) - sheltered in a loafing shed in the winter
chickens (too many to count) indoor coup every night
steers - on their own

 

[Dave in Mass]

My grage has a small 4ft wide by 12ft long chain link pen on the outside of it on a cement pad. It is 3 sides with the back being the back wall of the garage. There are then two "doggie doors" cut in the wall at about 18 inche of the ground. These are not professional doggie doors but slide up panels than can be latched from the inside to kee the dogs in or out (Just keeping them down would probably keep the dog on the preferred side but see yeaterdays thread about the escape artist Chow).

Inside the garage, I can tell from the holes in the floor that there was a mirror chain link pen inside the garage. This seems like a good solution where if you had to leave a dog, you could leave the doors open during the day and le the dogs jump in and out. I would guess there were little steps on each side of the doors or one was an in and one was an out.

Kind of cool set up. The inside part was gone when I moved in and the outside part now safely guards my trash barrels.

We have an house dog so no need to put this back, but was a good set up from what I can see.

 

[regguy1]

My dog is too big to sleep in the bed but he lives in the house no matter what the weather. Cats are on the bed. I don't understand people who have "pets" and then make them live outside by themselves.

No dog is too big to sleep in the bed.......

 

[lilredex]

Could you leave this cutie in the garage? This is our P/T dog and gets to sleep right in the bed.......when she gets permission for that rare sleep-over date.

 

[aka Larry]

Mine sleep in the bed with my wife and I.

Ditto for us. Our miniature Dachshund would not survive outside in the heat or especially cold as her coat in very thin. She's what I'd called 'climate controlled'. Even on a nice 75 degeree day she'd rather be inside that out.

 

[Johnny A]

My 65 pound lab is outside in a secure yard or large 10x10 kennel. She is a LAB & needs to run & exercise so her joints don't get all bound up. My dog is 12 & can jump up on a 36 inch platform & has no hip issues. The vet believes that because she is treated like a lab & has been outside playing she is healthy. Labs are not lap dogs & are a breed that needs daily exercise or they will become depressed. She is in & out of the house but she loves her outside time. When she is in the workshop/garage she is with me or the guys. We don't just put her in a garage & leave her. My lab is a great dog that loves the fresh air. I don't understand why a person would have a large breed dog & leave it in a house where it can't run & observe & enjoy nature... Opinions are like ****$les, everyone has one.. I just get disappointed when I drive by a house & see the big dog looking out the window wanting to go out & enjoy being a dog..
It's not fair to have a big breed
dog confined...

 

[Cryptic1911]

Artie and Joey both like it inside

 

[ZRX61]

Mine sleep in the bed with my wife and I.

Out of curiosity, why isn't he in the house with you?

Chris

That was my thought.

A dog is part of your world, but to the dog you are his entire world. My wolves slept in the house.

 

[skyking]

I dont sleep with ugly women or animals. I do make sure they are comfortable and secure ...outside. Both !!

 

[rburke65]

Sky king.....everybody needs love......even the ugly ones. Uglies are better than nothing at all........right now, I'd take an "ugly".......

 

[rodm1]

I have a work bench on the back wall of garage. I cut a doggie door in the back wall of garage under the bench sow the dog can enter and exit. I don't heat the garage except I made a dog coop under the bench that is heated.

One thing to keep in mind is they are very sensitive to smalls. If you paint, have chemicals in there they could have problems.

 

[KPSquared]

If you want to lock the dog in the garage I would just suggest keeping anything and everything out of reach. Any dog that is ignored for long periods of time is going to find things to entertain themselves. Keep lots of fresh water available.

I firmly believe that unless you have more than one dog, someone needs to be home and not working full time. Dogs were not designed to be stuffed in kennels until its convinient for the owner.

As far as the cold goes, I woulnd't even worry about it. Lots of dog survive outside in cold temperatures. I know my dog is built for the cold more than most (Great Pyrenees/Bernese Mountain) but it has to get below -5*F before she'll even go in her dog house. Any warmer than that and she sleeps on the deck. It's all in what they are conditioned for.

 

[LennyTheLizard]

We have 2 black labs. Installed a doggie door on the bottom panel of overhead garage door (attached garage), and they can come in and out as they please. They both have a big fluffy bed next to the door that comes in the house.

I was a little worried at first if something else would come in the doggie door, but it didn't take long to find out: With 2 black labs, they aren't letting anything else come crash their pad! Even in this cold weather they still like to go out a bit, but they don't stay outside too long.

 

[Steevo]

Our dog? Outside?
Not unless he's taking a ****.

He has his own bed in the house:

He's too spoiled to spend much time outside.

 

[metaldad]

ours. their favorite activity is guarded the remote.

 

[Sleipnir]

I took in a dog that was in the garage from my aunt n uncle, they're getting too old for the demands of pets.. my only thing is that people shouldn't judge each other about the situation of another's pet as long as the thing is happy. My buddy definitely prefers pampering over a
cardboard box in a humid n hot garage

 

[Koken]

If your dog is truly a member of your family, it should never have to live outside or in a garage. Our three Boxers have the run of our house, including the couches and bed. We cover the couches with quilts/blankets to protect them. They also love riding in my classic cars (nothing better than riding around town in an old car/truck with them hanging out of the window). I even built them their own couch with recessed dog bowls in the arms.

 

[skyking]

Sky king.....everybody needs love......even the ugly ones. Uglies are better than nothing at all........right now, I'd take an "ugly".......

Lol.... the funny thing is that if she is yours and loves the heck out of you.............she becomes beautiful .