Monday, November 23, 2009

New House for Mikey



Mikey doesn't look happy in this picture does he? We bought him a new "Dogloo" on Saturday.

I worried a lot about him last winter being too cold in our garage. He had a bed with lots of blankets to keep him warm and we tried covering him up at night. Sometimes he'd keep his blanket on and sometimes not. So I worried.

When it started to turn cold this year I started to worry again. I wondered if they made blankets for big dogs like they do for horses. When I asked AD about that he just kind of gave me one of those looks.

Knowing how I worry about animals though - any animals - not just ours, AD took one of our little guys' heated pads out and hooked it up for Mikey at night. He put Mikey's other blankets on top of the heated pad and Mikey REALLY liked laying on his bed. Sometimes in the morning he didn't even want to go out - he just wanted to lay on his warm bed.

I still worried because the big guy might be warm on his underside but surely he was cold on top.

Then one of the local farm and ranch supply stores had the Dogloos on sale last week. I asked AD about getting one for the big guy. He agreed that Mikey would probably stay warmer in the Dogloo rather than just a heated bed because the house would keep Mikey's body heat inside.

Saturday we went to the store and bought the house. And we came home and set it up in the garage, of course. Put his bedding in - but without the heated pad - along with some of his favorite treats. And tried to get the big guy to go in. Try as we might, no amount of coaxing could get Mikey to go in! He laid down and wasn't budging. And he's one big dog. Talk about dead weight!

You should have seen AD and me trying to "put" him in the house. We just knew if he'd try it once, he'd like it.

We could have probably won $10,000 on America's Funniest Videos if we had the event on tape.

Then something dawned on AD. Mikey is SCARED of the dark. He has to have his own night light. So AD got a flashlight and put it in the house to see if Mikey would go in and look around. You can see it there on the left.

Mikey did go in all by himself and I ran to get the camera. By the time I got back to the garage though he was coming out. He'd had enough looking around for the time being. That's the reason AD has hold of him so I could snap a picture.

Then the worrying started again. We'd spent all that money on a Dogloo right before Christmas and Mikey wasn't going to like it after all.

But AD had yet another idea. Maybe the flashlight didn't light the house up enough. AD moved Mikey's night light closer to the house, hooked it up (it's really a small lamp) and that did the trick because Mikey went right in, laid down and was happy as a clam.

Now he LOVES his house!

The downside is - Mikey can go clear to the back of the house and if he doesn't want to come out, we can't make him. And he's one stubborn dog.I foresee that being a problem sometime in the future but for now, I'm just glad that he loves his new digs and I won't have to worry about him being cold.

Mikey's snug as a bug in a rug at night - a Big bug - but's he's snug. LOL

8 comments:

  1. Cute!
    I would have loved to see the video. tee hee
    I wouldn't have that problem with my dogs going to the back and hiding. When I enter the room, they all come running.

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  2. I'm betting if you put his heated pad/blankey in the new dog house, he would adopt it for his own! Our Blues Brothers did that with their shelters!

    Good Luck!

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  3. Awww, he is cute in his new house!

    Tip...a finger dipped in peanut butter might lure him out!

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  4. Boyohboy I misread your post earlier! My apologies! It's what I get from reading student papers all day long.

    Ok...Now that I've re-read it and comprehend what I'm reading--I GET IT! He LOVES his new house! Call me slow, Ok?

    Cute! Perfect! Love it when you blog about your dogs!

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  5. Horse-dot-com has horse-blanket-style for dogs! They even have matching horse/dog patterns. Sounds like he's pretty comfortable though... and maybe a wee bit spoiled! Lucky dog!

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  6. we are so alike! I bet Mikey is going to love the house all winter and you can relax knowing he is so comfortable...
    One summer I installed a small air conditioner on our back porch for two labs...What a bill!! The next year I decided they didnt look like they were too hot! ;)

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  7. I feel your pain. I just can't stand to think my black construction dog is in a house with slats wide enough to stick a golf ball through. But we still haven't found out who owns him or if he'd even let us have him.

    So I've been stealing straw from the picked-over rice paddies to shove in his house every night when I go to feed & water him. He's put on weight & his fur has thickened up, so I'm hoping that helps to keep his a little warmer.

    The good news is that he now knows how to sit, but we're still working on manners. The boy just can't sit still. He wants to jump up on me all the time. The only thing that seems to calm him down is when I give him a massage...rub his ears, his face, his chest & legs, down his back. He'll stand perfectly still then.

    Here's the most recent pic:
    http://www.ourjennericlife.com/jennifer/28-days-later/

    Maggie Moo, on the other hand, is loving our electric blanket & won't get out of the bed until after 10am every morning. Spoiled.

    Hope you're having a great Thanksgiving!

    Much love from an overseas Army wife,
    Jennifer

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