Outside in the winter - Advice please!

[PstLyfDiva]

Hi all.

First some background:
We are "fostering" a 7 yr old German Shepard/Basset Hound mix, Yappie. He has the body and coat of a GS, but the legs of a BH (makes for an adorable dog). He is my father-in-law's dog, but they moved 3 months ago; originally their new landlord said it was fine to have him, then changed his mind. They found the dog a new home, he escaped...no one told my father-in-law for a week, when he was told he tracked the dog down to the pound and found out Yappie was scheduled to be put to sleep in 3 days. Obviously we couldn't let that happen so we took him in, supposedly for a couple of weeks until they could find him a new home. Here we are 2 months later and he is still with us, with the promise that they are buying a house in 30-60 days and they will get him then.

My question:
How much can he stay outside in the winter? I live in the moutains in Virginia, today's high is 27F and the low tonight will be 14F. We have lucked out up until now and it has been unusually warm, so he has been outside during the day and in the basement at night. (We have a pug and a cat in the house, whom he would love to have for a snack, so he cannot be in the house itself.) We have a large covered porch and have made a make shift shelter on it for him lined with bedding. My question is, can he stay out during the day in temperatures like this as long as he is brought in the evening? How cold is too cold to have him out during the day? I have no experience with keeping a dog outside (I wish we didn't have to). He seems content being out there, still very playful and active. When I let him out last night to do his business he didn't want to come back in (I finally got him in about 45 mins after letting him out), so it appears cold doesn't bother him.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[Jamiya]

I think as long as he has shelter, he should be okay. You can stuff straw into a dog house for him and it will stay quite warm. My husband's family used to have a German Shepherd and they would totally fill the house with straw and then the dog would cram in there and when he came out he would steam because he was so warm. There are also warming mats you can buy and put under his bed to keep him warmer, if he needs it.

Alas, I had terriers that were outside dogs and they were fine (I was stupid and didn't know any better). We live in Kansas. They had a kennel inside the garage and a doggie door from the kennel to the backyard, so they could come and go as they pleased.

[honeybears]

I have also heard that straw is a good insulator, I would put that in his kennel along with bedding and I think he would be okay as long as you dont leave him out at night. I am so glad your grampa was able to get him back.

[PstLyfDiva]

Thanks for the advice, I will look into getting Yappie some straw.

[lil96]

Something you need to be careful of is the wind chill factor. A friend told me it has been -19 after the wind chill and school was closed. But then last week was 60's! But it is back to being cold this week, so be careful. Good Luck!

[MollysMom]

We have a lab that stays outside all day, unless it is severely cold, then she goes into the detached garage. But, labs are a breed that tolerate cold very well, as they are hunting dogs that are bred to tolerate cold water when retrieving fowl.
At night, she sleeps in our car garage.....otherwise she howls to be let in. (spoiled) She sleeps on an old feather down bed cover.

We used to use straw in our dog houses also, until one of our labs developed a rash that the vet said was due to mites in the straw. She had to go through a series of cortisone shots.
In 20 years of having labs, that was the only time we ever had a problem with straw...otherwise I think it's a great insulator.