The Best Outdoor Dog House Heater of 2020 Reviews

Do you like to keep your dog outside?

If you do, then you most likely have a dog house. However, if you live in a cold climate, then you must keep your dog house heated to prevent your pup from getting too cold.

This article will cover the best dog house heater along with some other methods to keep your pup’s home warm at night.

When You Need to Heat a Dog House?

You obviously must heat your dog house when it gets cold. However, the exact temperature varies by the breed and age of your dog.

For instance, a Siberian Husky will fare much better in the winter than a short haired Chihuahua. Anyway, we can safely assume that you should heat the dog house if temperatures drop below about 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius). Again, this varies depending on the age and breed of your dog, but 50 degrees Fahrenheit will ensure that your dog never gets too cold.

Comparison Table

Best Heated Dog Houses

If you live in an extremely cold environment, then purchasing a heated dog house is going to be your best option. This is because the dog house will come with installation and a built-in heater.

Those two features ensure that your pup stays warm during the cold winter. Now, you do not have to live in a very cold climate to fully utilize a heated dog house. They are still very convenient in a milder climate. The two dog houses we will review also have built-in fans to help cool them, which makes them great if you live in a warm environment.

Best Outdoor Heated Dog House Overall: ASL Solutions Deluxe Dog Palace Large Doghouse

Technical Details

• Brand Name – ASL
• Weight – 62 pounds
• Dimensions – 38.5″ x 31.5″ x 47.5 inches
• Material – plastic
• Insulation – foam, heating element
• Color – different colors

The first heated dog house we will review is the ASL Solutions Deluxe Dog Palace. This doghouse has a lot of things we really like including a heater and a fan.

Our favorite feature is the solar panel on the top. Unfortunately, it only powers the fan, but it does provide enough power to really cool the room down. The solar panel still saves a decent amount of electricity, which we really like. It has a battery to store energy, so you should not have any problem keeping the fan spinning.

The reason that the ASL Solutions dog house makes the list isn’t the solar-powered fan though. It’s the excellent built-in heater that keeps the dog house toasty during the cold winter nights. This isn’t a blower-style heater either. Instead, it’s a heated pad placed under the plastic floor.

You won’t have to worry about dryness or the heater coil burning out with this unit since it’s actually fairly durable. Your dog can’t chew on it since it’s underneath the plastic floor. We do recommend placing a bed of some sort over the plastic, that way your dog doesn’t sleep on the warm plastic. This is not necessary, but your dog will most likely enjoy it and the house will still stay warm. Nothing feels better than a warm blanket when it’s cold outside.

This dog house has a fan, a heater, and it also has insulation. Insulation is really what makes a heated dog house much better than a normal dog house. The ASL’s insulation means the dog house is 25 degrees (Fahrenheit) hotter when a dog is inside the dog house, even when the heater is off.

The exact temperature does vary depending on the size of your dog. A bigger dog will result in a warmer dog house. Fortunately, the fan does turn on if the dog house gets too hot and will push some cool air around the house, which will really cool it down. You don’t have to worry about your dog getting too hot with this dog house.

Finally, the windows combined with the smooth plastic surface make cleaning a breeze. Just open the windows and spray down the floor. The floor is sloped toward a drain in the corner to make things that much easier.

Climate Master Plus Insulated Dog House with Door

Technical Details

• Brand Name – climate master
• Weight – 160 lbs
• Dimensions – 44 3/4 x 47″ x 49 1/4″ inches
• Material – Plastic
• Insulation – PanelAbode Laminated Engineered Panel System
• Color – different colors

The other dog house we’ve picked is the Climate Master Plus insulated dog house. This dog house is the most luxurious one on our list thanks to the many features it has. Some of these include a simulated wood finish, quick assembly, great design, and a high-quality door that even has weather seals.

It’s also the biggest dog house on our list. This thing is absolutely huge. A 220-pound dog will easily fit in this dog house, which means you can fit even the largest dog of the largest breed in this dog house. Alternatively, a lot of Chihuahuas could squeeze into this dog house if that is your thing. The massive size of this dog house really gives you options.

Don’t worry about assembly either. It comes as 7 different panels that you assemble yourself. It should take about twenty minutes and all you need is a screwdriver or drill. A helper to stabilize the panels while screwing is useful, but not entirely necessary.

As for the features, the one we like the most is the insulation on the dog house. It has 1.5 inches of white styrofoam in all the plastic panels, which helps keep the heat inside and the cold outside. Climate Master has customers using the dog house in Alaska and northern Canada with no problems, so it is suitable for the toughest climates.

However, if things get too cold, then you can easily purchase a Hound Heater or a floor heater. Both will work in cold environments. They really are not necessary due to the large amount of insulation on this unit, but it eventually depends on your environment.

What really sets this dog house apart from the rest, other than the insulation, is the amazing doggie door. It has a seal on it that prevents cold air from seeping into the cabin. The lock on it can also be set to prevent coyotes and other undesirable animals from entering the dog house. The 90-day satisfaction guarantee and 5-year warranty on the door makes this deal even better. You can swap the door out for a standard door in the unlikely event that you are not happy.

Best Outdoor Dog House Heaters

You won’t need to buy one more dog house if your pet already has the outdoor den he likes. Probably, the heating gear installed into the insulated dog house will be enough to keep the comfortable temperature inside. There are heaters on the market that are comfy and safe to use in the outdoor dog houses in the cold season.

Best Dog House Heater Overall: Akoma Hound Heater Dog House Furnace

Technical Details

• Brand Name – Hound Heater
• Weight – 2.72 pounds
• Dimensions – 10 x 4.5 x 10 inches
• Material – aluminium
• Temperature Range – 30-100 degrees Fahrenheit
• Color – black

Our first pick is the Akoma Hound Heater Dog House Furnace.

This heater uses a 300-watt heating element, which allows it to comfortably heat about 75 cubic feet. It does have three different settings – high, medium, and low. This means you can use it on milder nights as well as those extremely cold nights. The thermostat adjusts between 30 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, it only runs when heating is needed allowing you to shorten your electricity bills.

Most importantly, this unit has a heat shield. Basically, this shield covers the heating element and prevents your dog from getting burned.

Other things we like include the wide range of thermostat and the warranty. It goes from 30 degrees all the way to 100 degrees. The warranty is a one-year limited warranty. It covers any manufacturer defects. It does not cover any damage caused by the user.

Heat Storm HS-1500-IMO Portable Infrared Heater

Technical Details

• Brand Name – Heat Storm
• Weight – 9 lbs
• Dimensions – 11.62 x 15.31 x 11.75 inches
• Material – aluminium
• Temperature Range – 40-75 degrees Fahrenheit
• Color – black

Next on our list is the Heat Storm HS-1500-IMO. This heater is just a general heater and not specifically designed for dog houses. However, it works perfectly fine for heating a dog’s place since it does have a heat shield and safety shutoff switch.

It has a 1500 watt heating coil and can heat up to 1000 square feet, which is more than enough for all but the largest dog houses.

What we like the most about this unit is the LED display that tells you the current room temperature and the thermostat temperature. This makes it perfect for keeping your dog house at the perfect temperature. Even better is that it has a remote that displays all this information as well, which means you can control the temperature from the comfort of your home.

Finally, it has an energy efficient setting that reduces the energy consumption to 750 watts. This means you can save a lot of money on your electricity bill with the press of a button.

Best Outdoor Dog Houses

If you do not have a dog house yet, then do not worry. Here are our suggestions for the best dog houses that you can purchase. Keep in mind that these dog houses are not heated, but the heaters listed above will work perfectly fine with the two dog houses listed below.

Trixie Dog Club House

Technical Details

• Brand Name – trixie
• Weight – 52.38 pounds
• Dimensions – 45.5 x 32.25 x 31 inches
• Material – wood,composite
• Insulation – no insulation
• Color – brown

First on our list is the Trixie Dog Club House. This dog house is a budget option, but still provides everything you would want in a dog house. Plus, it is made of glazed pine. This makes it much easier to insulate and makes cleaning much easier.

Furthermore, it comes in three different sizes. The largest size will work perfectly fine for dogs that weigh around 100 pounds.

As for the features, it has a hinged roof, which makes cleaning it extremely easy. There is no need to crawl into the house and clean it. It also has an off-center door, which provides a little extra protection from the wind and rain.

The one downside of this dog house is that it does not have a door. This means you will have to install your own door, which is not too difficult. Later on in this article, we will cover how to easily install a door on your dog house.

Giantex Plastic Dog House

Technical Details

• Brand Name – Giantex
• Weight – 21.4 pounds
• Dimensions – 27 x 25 x 28 inches
• Material – plastic
• Insulation – no insulation
• Color – different colors

The other dog house we recommend is the Giantex. This dog house is similar to the Trixie Dog Club House. However, this dog house is made of a thick resin, which makes it extremely durable during inclimate weather and extremely easy to clean. All you need to do is spray it with water and scrub it with some steel wool.

Even better is that this dog house has a removable roof and is extremely easy to disassemble. Those two features also make it easy to clean.

As for the setup, well that is easy too. The resin pieces snap together without any tools necessary. That’s right. No screws, bolts, or wrenches required. You can even stake the dog house to the ground if you live in a windy area since the dog house is relatively light at 23 pounds. Staking it into the ground is certainly not required, but is strongly recommended.

The Giantex also includes a vinyl door, which will keep the interior warm in the winter. It also prevents water from dripping in during a rainstorm.

It does have a few drawbacks though.

First, the dog house only works for dogs that weigh 70 pounds or less. The other drawback is that the house is not completely waterproof. Your dog will still stay dry because it has a gap in the resin that allows water to drip through to the floor.

The final drawback is that this dog house does not have any insulation. A lack of insulation is not really that big of a problem. You can easily insulate your dog house or add a heater to it. The next section will explain exactly how to do that.

How to Insulate a Dog House

Insulating a dog house is an important step in keeping your dog house. Obviously, you can use a dog house without insulation assuming you have a heater. However, it greatly improves the energy efficiency if you insulate your dog house.

Here are the steps required to insulate a dog house.

Petmate Barnhome III Door

Technical Details

• Brand Name – petmate
• Dimensions – 16.14 x 12.59 x 0.08 inches
• Material – plastic

The first step is to install a door on your dog house. A door for a dog house is simply a vinyl door that your dog can easily push to enter or exit. Its main purpose is to prevent rain from entering and to keep the warm air inside the dog house. You can remove the door during summer months but only do that if it does not rain in your area. Otherwise, your dog house will get water inside it.

The actual installation of the door itself is easy. The doggy door will come with some nails and holes in the vinyl. All you have to do is nail the door to the entrance of the dog house. Just make sure that you buy a dog house door that will fit the opening on your dog house.

We recommend the Petmate Barnhome III Door. It is made of vinyl and works great. Its dimensions are 19.4 x 12 x 1 inches, so it should fit most dog houses.

K&H heated pad

Technical Details

• Brand Name – K&H Pet Products
• Dimensions – 18 x 14 x 1.5 inches
• Material – fleece, plastic
• Color – different colors

The next step is to install a heated pad. Now, this step is not 100% necessary, but your dog will find it much more comfortable. This is especially true if you live in a very cold climate.

Anyway, installing a heated pad in a dog home is not difficult. The main difficulty is safely getting electricity to the dog house. Some pet parents will wire an outlet to their dog house, but that can prove difficult for many people. If it goes beyond your skill level, then you should consider hiring an electrician to run an electric line to your dog house.

The actual process of installing the heated pad is easy though. You simply place the heated pad in the dog house. You should not leave it on all day. Only use it at night when it gets under freezing. You do not want your dog to get too hot!

A good heated pad is the K&H heated pad available on Amazon. This pad is super easy to install and comes with a protective coating that prevents your dog from chewing it to pieces. Even better is that the temperature automatically adjusts to the body temperature of your dog. This means that your dog will not get too hot or too cold while using it. They will always stay at a comfortable temperature.

The K&H heated pad also only uses 20 watts of power to power the heating coils and has a 1-year limited warranty. Overall, you can’t really go wrong with this heated pad for your dog house.

The final option for keeping your pup warm in his dog house is to use a self-warming dog bed. Yes, self-warming dog beds do exist. They work by reflecting the heat from your dog back to your dog. No electricity is required.

The bed keeps them warm as long as they continue to sit on the dog bed. Anyway, we have selected the top two luxury self-warming dog beds to make things easier for you.

Aspen Pet Self Warming Bed

Technical Details

• Brand Name – Petmate
• Dimensions – 35 x 27 x 11 inches
• Material – fleece
• Color – different colors

Our first pick for a self-warming dog bed is the Aspen Pet bed.

We like this bed for a few different reasons. Most importantly, it is available at an excellent price on Amazon. We like it for more than its price though. The fleece outer coating feels super comfortable and your dog is sure to like it.

Since it’s fleece it also makes the cleaning process much easier. You can simply hand wash it and it’s perfectly fine. We don’t recommend machine washing a self-warming dog bed since that can damage the reflective layer.

Finally, the Aspen bed comes in a variety of sizes that will work for dogs of all sizes. This can range from small dogs (and even cats) to dogs weighing about 70 pounds. It even has two different colors available, so you can find one that matches the interior of your dog house.

Best Friends by Sheri Luxury Shag Faux Fur Donut Cuddler

Technical Details

• Brand Name – Best Friends by Sheri
• Dimensions – 45 x 45 x 9 inches
• Material – fleece
• Color – different colors

The final item on our list is the Best Friends by Sheri Luxury Donut Cuddler. This is pretty much a luxury dog bed so your dog can sleep in comfort.

Now, this bed is an utter luxury, which means it is going to cost more money than some other beds. However, it does have some interesting features that make it quite unique for a dog bed.

First, it has a shag (faux) fur outer lining, which makes it super comfortable for your dog. In fact, this bed is so comfortable that it actually helps your dog fall asleep. Next, the bed is super easy to clean since it’s machine washable, which is probably surprising for a luxury dog bed. Just make sure to put it on the lowest setting in your washer. You also must place it in the dryer for maximum effectiveness.

This bed also comes in three different sizes that cover every possible size dog. A ?hihuahua can sleep in the smallest bed while a 150-pound dog can sleep in the largest size bed.

As for the drawbacks, there are not really any drawbacks other than the higher price. One point to note is that you should not purchase this bed if your dog likes to chew up everything. This means it is not suitable for puppies and some dogs. It just does not have the protective layer that a lot of other dog beds have. Other than those two drawbacks there really is nothing wrong with this bed.

We recommend it if you can afford the higher price tag and have a dog that does not have a chewing habit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to heat my dog house? – This just depends on the climate of where you live. Generally, dogs can handle temperatures around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but this varies by breed. Some breeds do better in cold than others. Some dogs are more comfortable in cold than other dogs. If you notice your dog shivering, then you definitely need to purchase a dog heater. Fortunately, dogs are good at finding warmth and a self-warming bed is often sufficient in a milder climate.

Will my dog house get too hot? – It should not get too hot. All the ones on this list have a thermostat that regulates the temperature. You should keep the temperature somewhat low though since your dog can always hide under a blanket if they feel too cold.

Can I insulate my dog house with fiberglass? – Yes, but it is not recommended to use fiberglass. Insulating your doghouse yourself is not recommended since it can pose a fire hazard and your dog may chew into your insulation.

Can the heater injure my dog? – Not very likely. All the heaters have heat shields, which should prevent your dog from getting burned. Your dog will also be able to sense the heat and avoid getting burned if the heat shield fails for some reason.

Final Thoughts

All in all, we recommend a dog heater of some sort for just about every dog house. The worst case scenario is that you never have to use it, but you do not want your dog to need a dog heater and not have it.

PIN FOR LATER!

Images credits: Amazon.com, Chewy.com, photo stocks