Keeping My New Pup Warm in the Winter

[NancyR 1]

Hi All ~~

I was searching the net for some suggestions on how to keep my new furbaby warm during the winter months and found this forum.

Our new pup will be coming home in mid-February at about 8 - 9 weeks old. My concerns are keeping her warm enough at night and when potty-training outside. My last pup was a summer baby so I didn't run into these issues.

I usually crate my pups until they are fairly reliable (with housebreaking) and start adding space to their area during the day as they progress. I've never used the potty pads or newspapers. My 1 1/2 year old (Pebbles) was totally trained and had the run of the house at 6 or 7 months. She will actually come tell me when she needs to go by searching me out in the house and jumping up and down. I'll ask her if she needs to go out and she runs for the door. She still has her crate available to her which she loves to lay in during the day when no one is home (not locked in).

My concern with the new pup (who is still nameless) is at night when I crate her in my room -- my room is fairly cool and ranges from 60 - 63 degrees at night. I've been stressing that the puppy will be too cold. If I turn the heat up, the rest of the house gets really hot. My latest plan is to put the crate up on a night stand or other type of table to keep it off the floor where it's coolest, include a plushy bed with soft blankets for her to suggle into and have her wear a sweater. I've even read about a heated bed and am looking into the PetSafe Heated Wellness Sleeper I found on the Petco website (http://www.petco.com/product/106006/PetSafe-Heated-Wellness-Sleeper.aspx?CoreCat=PLB_coldweatherdogCore_coldweatherdogNow). Am I going overboard?

My second concern is house training during the winter months. Is it okay to take a small pup like this out when it is pretty cold? I live in New Jersey so winters can be mild or freezing. So far it hasn't been too bad so I'm sure February will turn frigid! Obviously I won't keep her outside for any length of time, only to do her business.

Any other tips that you have to share about winter puppies would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Nancy

[Seastar 44]

Hi and welcome! I'm currently potty training two and it's a terrible chore for ME. I hate freezing and I hate standing out waiting for pups to potty. We're not doing a very good job. I agree-summertime puppies are way easier to train. If you use a wire crate, cover it with a blanket to keep drafts out and body heat in and use cozy bedding.

[JasperandAkira'smom 4]

Nancy, I keep our room pretty cold and my pups love blankets and do just fine with them. As far as taking them out at such a young age sounds like you know what to do by just not keeping them out to long.

[ParadiseTzu 11,275]

I am in Texas so we dont get as cold as you can get but we have had plenty of 20 something nights. I keep my house at 67 during the night and Sassy Mae sleeps with us but will not use any cover at all. If I ever feel cold I will try to cover her also and she moves over out of it. I think they take the cold much better than the heat actually. Now you, it will be worse for you when going out to potty than the new puppy.

[luvmybabies 165]

For the last four pups I've had I started them out on the nightstand in a crate. Two were in wire crates and two were in plastic crates. I covered them all over with a quilt to keep their body heat in (lots of blankets in crate too) except the side the door was on....so they could see me and wake me up if needed. I am getting a new pup about the middle of Feb. (a malt) and I have bought her a thing called a Sleeppod (google it if you want to see one) and I purchased the heater that goes with it. We will be travelling three days to get her home so want her to be cozy but she will also have it for the nights on my nightstand. My other malt has a heated bed AND covers and sleeps in my bed (I know, very spoiled) and as three others sleep with me I have another heater that I just put under a little dog blanket and whoever feels cold can move on to it till they feel warm again. They all love to be covered up when I first go to bed (I keep it very cool in my bedroom) but as soon as they acclimatize they move to be on top of the covers.

I will be training my malt on cloth pee pads that I have made about 16 of. It is just too cold to take her outside for another couple of months. All my other little ones use the same thing only bigger pads. They mostly go outside in the summer but I am like Paula in winter, I hate taking them out. At one time I used to dress five of them in coats and boots FIVE times a day. No more. We both had to make compromises. My Golden though goes outside for a quickie.