Insulated dog houses are the backyard solution to housing
your dogs outdoors all year round.
Making cold winters and hot summers equally bearable,
advances in materials technology means an insulated dog house will insulate your
dogs against extremes of temperature, keeping them healthy and comfortable no
matter where you live.
Before you consider dog houses with specialized insulation,
you may be able to upgrade your existing house. For example, if you already have
one of the wooden A-Frame dog houses and you love it, but are concerned about
its insulating abilities (plywood doghouses are not as well insulated as cedar
or fir log houses), there are easy-to-fit insulation kits that add a cavity wall
plus insulation to the inside.
The most basic form of dog house insulation is found inside
the walls of almost all plastic doghouses. Air is actually a decent insulator,
and the volume trapped within the hollow walls of these houses provides a degree
of insulation between the inside and outside surfaces. On sunny days, this
prevents some of the heat passing to the inside, and at night it keeps some of
your dogs body heat inside the house.
The next level of insulation typically adds some foam
material to the inside walls. This is convenient because it allows the walls to
stay relatively thin, while boosting how much they insulate. It is however still
relatively minor temperature control.
Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP) – The Ultimate Insulation
The most effective type of insulation is when Structurally
Insulated Panels (SIP) are used to build the house. Structurally Insulated
Panels (SIP) are a building material made up of two solid facings and an
interfill of foam insulation all laminated together. The resulting composite
panel is extremely strong and has very high insulating properties – yet is
surprisingly light.
Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP) up to several inches
thick are used to produce extremely well insulated shelter for dogs, achieving
very high official ratings as high as R-19.
The size of Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP) does mean
that the walls of the doghouse are very thick, so the resulting shelter is much
larger than a wood or plastic doghouse with the same internal dimensions. You
should always be careful to choose based on the internal dimensions and how they
fit your dog, as these are the measurements that really matter!
Insulated doghouses are available for all sizes of dogs,
and there are some very large models available, including a duplex style with
two separate (but adjustable) compartments, each with its own doorway.
Designers usually turn the thickness of insulated walls
into a feature, emphasizing the sturdiness of insulated shelters by facing the
Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP) with facing that imitates brick or stone
blockwork.
All these houses have many of the benefits of a plastic dog
house, being very robust, easy to clean, hygienic and maintenance free. The
roofs can usually be removed completely to allow easy access to the interior for
cleaning.
Of course, you should do everything else you can to help
your dog shelter from the elements. Consider not only the temperature aspect of
sheltering your dogs, but also factors like how the roof sheds rain or snow –
indeed, what weight of snow can the roof support? You should consider fitting a
suitably protective door, and carefully locating the doghouse so it is not
unduly exposed to prevailing winds.
If you live somewhere with a very extreme climate, you can
take things to the next level by adding an external heating and cooling unit to
the doghouse. These units can maintain an even internal temperature across a
wide range of external temperatures, but they are best used with a house that is
insulated as this make them much more fuel efficient.
The same applies to some of the dog house accessories that
involve heating or cooling. If you are spending money on a heating pad, bed
warmer or forced cooling, it may be worth considering an insulated house to
reduce the energy cost of these devices.
In the long term, choosing the right insulated shelter for your dog is an investment in their well-being
that will be repaid many times over in the years to come.
Next: Dog Beds -Let
Sleeping Dogs Lie In Comfort
