Snuggle Safe Pads, Cold Dogs & Sleeping Arrangements

[Willowlane]

After reading the previous thread I have just gone a bought my cocker spaniel and soon to welcome ESS puppy snugglesafe pads....compulsive shopper much!

My husband and I have recently moved into our first rental property. After coming from a flat off my parents place where we have heating 24/7 through winter to only the occasional heating due to the cost we got a sharp surprise when we got back from our honeymoon a few days ago at how icey our little house got even though we live so close to Sydney...my parents house is 1hr further west so I thought it wouldn't be as cold as my parents house but oh no I was very wrong. I have since been worried about keeping the girls warm enough in the middle of the night then (hopefully) the perfect solution presented itself!!

So thankyou DOGZ Online for introducing me to the Snugglesafe!

Can anyone run me through how to use the pads to get the best out of them?

Also each dog has a bed plus a crate which they will be kept in each night. The older dog a soft crate the puppy a metal one. Would it be a good idea to give them a blanket each? Should I cover the metal cage in a blanket?

Do I put water in with them at night? Im worried they will tip it over...

Thankyou for any help

Willowlane

[Rebanne]

My crate has heaps of blankets in it so the dogs can snuggle in. If I shut the door I don't worry about water. My dogs also wear coats and if a pup wasn't up to wearing a coat I would cover the crate.

[iggy mum]

I put blankets inside the crate and also a couple of thick blankets over my crate, completely covering it. That helps to keep the dogs body heat in and they stay warmer, plus it's like their own little cave. I don't put water in, unless they're dehydrated they should be able to last the night without drinking. I also put jammies on the dog/s, so I don't use a snugglesafe for heating. Maybe after people reply here I may get one myself. I use the crate for my foster dogs, my own dogs sleep in bed with me!

[Little Gifts]

The snuggle safes have instructions on them - you heat them in the microwave and they stay hot alllllllll night. You just might find you enjoy cuddling one in the bed at night too! They come with little fleece covers but they can be used with or without them. They are made of a hard plastic so are good if they get piddled on it can all be washed.

My cold frog dog used to sleep in a soft crate. It had a bed and blankets in the bottom and I also draped blankets over it to create a warm den type of experience. First I tried one of those beds that heat up but my naughty SBT ate the bed and broke the power lead where it connected to the bed(not turned on at the time). That's when I got the snuggle safes. They last forever. You can put the snuggle safe in just one corner of the bedding so if the dog gets too hot it can move away, or you could put two in depending on how big an area you have to warm. I've not had any problems with my girl getting too hot and in fact she now sleeps on the bed with me and our other dog as she still wasn't warm enough in the crate. They are very hard though - not gooey like hot water bottles. But they are definitely still warm come morning so beat the old water bottle in that area.

I've never left water overnight inside with any crated dogs but you can get water bowls that hang on the mesh rather than sit on the floor area.

[Stressmagnet]

Is it bad to consider leaving Ernie's crate door open now that he's a 'grownup' ONE YEAR OLD LABRADOR :D?

He can snuggle with me as long as he doesn't pee on my bedroom carpet OR wake me up at 5am.

What are my chances??

[aliwake]

hmmm. if he's on your bed he might be willing to sleep in. Nixon used to sleep in our room (on his bed, not in crate), and at about 9 months he decided to move out. He now happily sleeps in the lounge on his bed, but still thinks we should be waking up at 6am most days. He just does heavy breathing under the door when he thinks we need to get up :)

ETA, I doubt he'll pee on your carpet, but Nixon did once release some anal fluid on my doona by licking his butt on one of the rare occasions he's allowed on the bed! ICK!!!! SO GROSS!!!!

Edited April 30, 2015 by aliwake

[persephone]

Dogs are nesters ????provide bedding which can be scrunched and rolled and snuggled into, and this is warmer by far than a flat mattress. Heat rises, so a solid top on a crate or kennel helps trap body heat.

Only two of our dogs sleep indoors. The rest are outside including old Gert who is 15. This is the first year she has a coat. She has a 3 ltr juice bottle filled with hot water and snugged an old doona on the porch. She is warm as toast!

The young dogs are often found just sleeping out with few and frost on their fur !

These aren't dogs with long fur.

Inside dogs are protected from drafts and sleep on old Doonas with a pillow to absorb and help hold body heat.

Edited April 30, 2015 by persephone

[Nushie]

Is it bad to consider leaving Ernie's crate door open now that he's a 'grownup' ONE YEAR OLD LABRADOR :D?

He can snuggle with me as long as he doesn't pee on my bedroom carpet OR wake me up at 5am.

What are my chances??

I suggest to try it on a weekend night so that if he wakes you up a few times during the night then you can have a bit of a sleep in the next day.

When Jager was allowed to start sleeping on our bed at 6 months old, he used to wake me up at 6am every morning, it was the time my alarm would go off. So on weekends there he was with his moist nose in my face. Every time he did that on weekends, I would get up, feed him and then lock him in the loungeroom (has access outside for toilet breaks) eventually he figured out that it was better to sleep in with us and wait for breakfast then wake us up and be locked at the other end of the house. Now he sleeps in longer than me. And on weekends when I do get up, he eats his breakfast and then goes back to bed with OH.

I'm worried about Brandy. She is far more active then Jager was at that age. I think it will be awhile before she will be allowed to stay on the bed. Although she already naps next to me while I read at night so maybe she will be okay. Guess we will see.