home bbs files messages ]

Just a sample of the Echomail archive

Cooperative anarchy at its finest, still active today. Darkrealms is the Zone 1 Hub.

   DOGHOUSE      International Dog Lovers Echomail Confer      383 messages   

[   << oldest   |   < older   |   list   |   newer >   |   newest >>   ]

   Message 32 of 383   
   Richard Webb to Bob Ackley   
   sad world   
   24 Dec 10 14:49:30   
   
   Hi Bob,   
      
   On Fri 2038-Dec-24 06:44, Bob Ackley (1:300/3) wrote to Fred Burgess:   
      
      
      
   BA> Hmmm.  If the dog is kep outside the important thing is to keep it   
   BA> out of the wind.   
   BA> If the dog has a shelter - even if it doesn't have a door - it   
   BA> should be OK.  I have    
   BA> five dogs that live outside in a fenced yard.  They have a building   
   BA> they can get into   
   BA> through an open 'doog door;' the building is only partly insulated   
   BA> but it IS windproof   
   BA> (concrete block).  Their water bucket is frozen solid - but I make   
   BA> sure they have    
   BA> water when I feed them every evening.   
      
   I'd agree with Bob here.  INsulated is good, but shelter   
   from the wind, and insulated from the ground are the   
   important parts.   
      
   Another story about Buddy, my Marmaduke lookalike from the   
   '80's ...   
      
   IN 1989 I moved from Des MOines back to my boyhood home town in southeastern   
   Iowa.  I rented the apartment in the house I grew up in from my dad, (the   
   small upstairs one of course)   
   and one of mom's insistent points was that Buddy live   
   outside.   
   Dad and I built a good sturdy kennel for him, 6 ft. fencing   
   all round, had a guy who builds dog houses do me one,   
   insulated, built so as its floor was off the ground.  Usual   
   m.o. was to acquire bales of straw for extra insulation, and place one to its   
   east.   
      
   BAcking up here a bit, dog house door faced east.  Bail of   
   straw was situated east of doghouse to permit him access,   
   but still provide a wind break.  There was some old clothing of mine to   
   provide some bedding inside, and a blanket I'd   
   used as well.  Buddy had lived in my home until about 3   
   months before I moved to Burlington, as I was staying with a friend and Buddy   
   living with another friend of mine who kept him in outdoor kennel with   
   doghouse along with a Doberman   
   he'd rescued.   
      
   since I sometimes would travel a few days (up to 2 weeks) at a time I had one   
   of those livestock style feeders mounted to the back of the doghouse which   
   would provide him a few days' food.  dUring cold weather I'd at least bust the   
   ice out of   
   his water bowl at morning feeding and provide fresh water.   
      
   Back in maybe '90 or '91, can't recall which, we had a very   
   extreme cold snap for quite an extended period, after some   
   heavy snows just after Christmas.   
      
   Temps got down in double digits minus for days at a time,   
   and one night temp was going to get quite cold, with wind   
   chills of around -50 or so.  BUddy stayed holed up in his   
   house, and hadn't been able to get much water during morning feedings last   
   couple of days.  I fought my way inside secon   
   day of this, and surmised that bedding in the doghouse was   
   wet/possibly soiled.  so after hearing weather   
   forecast that night instead of watching Johny CArson's   
   monologue I went outside and got BUddy, provided him bowls   
   of food and water inside and allowed him to sleep in the   
   house that night.   
      
   Next morning before heading off to work my mother stops by   
   to talk to grandmother downstairs a minute, hears Buddy bark at something out   
   the window.  That evening I was at local   
   watering hole downtown after band practice, mom stops by   
   after some sort of meeting to have one, and see if son needs ride home as I   
   often stopped by there for a couple beers   
   after rehearsal .  She says something to me about dog in   
   house in violation on informal agreement.  I explained to   
   her that he was going to get an opportunity to actually   
   hydrate himself, he'd busted his wind break bale of straw   
   for some reason earlier, (hence wet/soiled beddding) and until I could put   
   clean bedding down in the doghouse he was going to spend nights inside   
   until the extreme temps spell was finished.  I then   
   explained that "I was looking for a place to live when I   
   found this one."   
      
   Another comment I made was that if she wanted to trade him   
   places and sleep in that doghouse with inadequate protection she could, but if   
   she wouldn't do it she shouldn't ask my   
   dog to.   
      
   wHen temps moderated I did build snow windbreak with a   
   shovel, got the bedding from dog house, washed and dried it. Until that   
   problem was solved Buddy spent quite a bit of   
   time indoors!!!   
      
   Regards,   
              Richard   
   --- timEd 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin:  (1:116/901)   

[   << oldest   |   < older   |   list   |   newer >   |   newest >>   ]


(c) 1994,  bbs@darkrealms.ca