If you are building a dog kennel, there are a range of fun amenities and useful features you can add, and if you live somewhere with cold winters, you should consider installing a heated floor in your kennel. Before you start installation, however, here are some tips to consider:
1. Test it out with a mat
Instead of installing floor heating right away in your kennel, you can test out the idea with a heated mat. There are heated dog mats that are designed to turn off as needed, and they are made to be used by dogs, meaning they are chew resistant.
This is a great chance to see how having a floor-type heater can help to keep your dog cozy.
2. Avoid wall heaters or exposed heating elements.
A heated mat won't really affect the ambient temperature of the rest of the kennel, but it helps you to see how the dog enjoys heated floors. If you decide that you need more heat in the kennel in general, do not use a heated mat in conjunction with a wall heater or any other type of heater that has an exposed heating element.
Unfortunately, your dog may chew on these things and get hurt. Instead, turn to heated floors at this point. These will warm the floor as well as the surrounding air, and they also hide the heating element under the floor so your dog cannot get to it.
3. Choose a low voltage heater
If you really want to be on the safe side, choose a heated floor with a relatively low voltage. This way if your dog somehow chews through your flooring, the heating element is less likely to hurt him or her.
4. Keep temps bearable but cool
When heating a dog kennel, you want to keep temps bearable. This structure is designed to keep your dog safe from the elements, and it should obviously be significantly warmer than the outside. However, you also want to keep the temperatures a bit cool. For example, the kennel should be cooler than your home.
If you have a dog that naturally grows a thicker coat in the winter, if your kennel temps are too high, they may disrupt that process.
5. Only heat part of the kennel floor
If possible, don't install floor heating under the entire kennel floor. Instead, leave some parts of the floor unheated. Dogs often enjoy lying on cool floors, and by only heating part of the kennel floor, you give your dog the option between warm and cold floors.
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