Dear Dog is Freezing!

Rocky was always an indoor dog until about 1 year ago, when we moved house and I decided it was time for him to stay outside, as he is a Pitbull and I just cannot risk him in the house with DD.
He loves it outside, won't even come inside if I ask him to anymore, but it's getting cold, and I see him shivering, and the yard has no shelter. He does have a brick kennel, which he's a bit scared of and never used it.

How can I convince him to use the kennel?

What do you guys do to keep your dog warm in Winter?
(He has a cosy warm dog bed but it gets wet when it rains.)

Will he wear a coat? There are all sorts of coats you can buy, sew or even knit.

Mum's dog, a jack russell mix has a Drizabone dog coat, wool lining but it's waterproof oilskin on the outside so she doesn't get wet. Would he wear something like that without tearing it off? You can also get Weatherbeeta dog rugs, like a horse rug but dog size.

Have you tried enticing him into the kennel with food? We used to feed our dog in his kennel so he got used to it. Or maybe putting an old sheet/blanket inside so it's not quite so hard to lay down in?

Failing that..if he chooses not to use it and gets wet and cold that's his fault..lol.

Where is his kennel? If it's miles up the back of the yard he probably wants to sleep closer. My dog likes to sleep right by the door and she only uses her kennel if it is there or under a bedroom window.
You can get him a warm jacket and a trampoline so he is off the floor. My dog uses her kennel but she still wears her PJ's in winter.

our dog wouldn't even go near her kennel until we moved it right outside the back door so she can look inside when she is in it. the day we moved it there she suddenly started using it so it may just be cos he wants to be able to see you. being a brick kennel though may be a little hard. are you able to put him in the laundry at night or when it's raining maybe.

My dogs won't lie in their kennels unless they are next to the back door ... a waterproof coat is an option, but will require training to keep it on the dog. Put it on the dog and feed the dog, or take the dog for a walk so the dog associates the coat with good and not evil. I have an oilskin with flannel lining for my terrier x kelpie. She hates it, but she doesn't shiver ...

Some great advice here, I'm going to really try and get him in the kennel, it's close to his favourite spot, he's just such a timid thing, he's even afraid of doors opening.
Otherwise, may have to get him one of those coats.. I can't imagine him getting used to one of those though..
Hmm I foresee some diligent weeks of training ahead! Thanks for the ideas ladies!

We put a couple of our old pillows in the kennel. They help keep her warm, make it more comfortable and smell like us. We have tried the dog coats for the past 4 winters, but she just chews them to bits. We will attempt it again this winter and see if she has outgrown that chewing stage.

our families dogs prefer the trampoline/hammock style beds to others and prefer to be right near the door as well.
u said that he has a warm bed, would that fit in the kennel maybe?
also, our old kennel had a space heater installed in the back wall so that the kennel didnt get as cold but that was under the veranda connected to an all weather switch.
other than that i dont really have many suggestions cos our dog sleeps in her basket in our room.....

You might have to get a moveable kennel and put it closer to where the family is...they like to be close to the rest of the "pack".

The other thing you could do is leave a really juicy treat inside the kennel, hang around and reward with praise, cuddles etc as soon as he steps foot inside.

BTW if he's really timid it's probably a good idea to move him away from DD. Otherwise think about what other spaces you could house him in, our little doggie has a kennel for daytime but when the weather is really bad and overnight he has a condo set up in the laundry, which is a space the kids generally don't go into. We have a plastic bed (to insulate from the cold floor) lined with a thin cushion for softness and an old 100% wool blanket from the op shop for warmth...he does love snuggling down there :).

we use rugs on all of our girls. They're called 'PRESTIGE Cosy-Fleece Dog Vests', but they can be hard to find. I bought the last ones off the net. They're great because they have a zipper on the back, and hug quite nicely to keep the dog warm. I also have some other ones that I use sometimes, but can't remember their names.

In the kennel, we use cheap rugs from the opshop (or kmart), and try to put our smell on them before putting them in the kennel. But it doesn't take much to get the girls into the kennel on a cold night!

We have a dog door into our laundry so he is not in the house when we are out or at night but still inside. my nephew uses it at times too!

It is freezing here atm too, my dog is lucky though cause our laundry is a room out the back ofthe house, so we just leave the door open all day so she can go in there and sleep in her bed if she is cold. The hot water heater is in the laundry too, so at night we put her to bed and lock her in the laundry.

I saw those drysabone doggy jackets yesterday, they look great, were a bit expensive for me atm though, my little dog wears a polar fleece jumper in Winter.

I used to get him in the laundry on cold nights but now he refuses to come inside whatsoever, despite the cold. His kennel is very close to us, but instead of sleeping in it, he sleeps far away on the other side of the house.. he's a Guard dog, so I guess he feels he can assess the area better on the other side.
We can't move the kennel, it's a brick built in one.
I've put his bed in the kennel, but he still doesnt use it. I'm going to get some crappy old pillows and chuck them in (after sleeping with them a few nights to get our smell) and I guess I will get a real tasty treat and put it right at the entrance..
I have little faith though, he's not easily bribed and very independant. If all fails, I guess I just hope he's smart enough to use the cosy kennel when ihe can't bear the cold?

Thanks so much for all your ideas, certainly once I've tried all this there's nothing left but for him to decide,

Goodluck, hope he stops being stubborn and gets out of the cold

Our dog has had a kennel for a while but never uses it, we were having the same problem, we would look outside and she'd be on the doormat shivering her little tail off..
2 weeks ago we thought that it was time we through the kennel out as she never uses it, so we put it at the front door to get rid of the next day, she went straight in it, curled up like a cat and fell asleep. She is way too big for it, but she can see the door when she is in it now and she has been using it all the time.
But that doesnt help as yours is brick. Have you tried building another one closer to the door?

Our first dog took to the kennel so well - it was a second hand kennel so it had lots of doggie smells to entice her in! When we got our second dog, she was hesitant, until we started putting her food bowl in there at dinner time. Didn't take long after that and she was in!!

Corelly x