# Conservatory as dog room?



## Zoojie (Aug 4, 2011)

I'm just having a think guys,

basically I leave my two in the kitchen in the new place when I'm out and have been crating Amber. 

However, I want to use the conservatory as a sort of 'dog room' for when I'm out. So far it's not been too cold in there in the snow and ice we've been having - especially as now I leave the door to the kitchen open when I'm here.

However, I'm worried in the summer they might overheat. I've never had a conservatory before - anyone else have any idea?

I'm going to start putting all their things in there (bed, water/food etc.) so they're at least out of the way! But can obviously keep crating Amber in the kitchen in the meantime. 

I'd love them to have the space together as they do like to snuggle up and the company. But Amber jumps on the kitchen sides and knocks taps on and the gas on today when I shut her in the kitchen to nip into the garden - I was lucky it wasn't on too long! Hence she gets crated. 

Also worried they'd scratch the glass if they jumped up at the walls. It would be fab to have it as their room, as it leads straight out onto the garden, would mean I wouldn't get the kitchen muddy when I came in, and the food prep area would smell less like dog! Haven't used it before as it's just been storage - only moved a couple of weeks ago and still trying to find a place for everything!

Any thoughts?


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

IMO - no.

It will get FAR too hot in the summer. We had a dining kitchen with a large conservatory type 'window' in the roof and it was awful when it got warm! Even with a window open and a fan on too hot for the dogs. 

It was an ideal place to have them come in from the garden into, but I wouldn't have them in there when we were out incase it got sunny and heated up too much for them.


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## Coffee (Jul 31, 2011)

I agree I'd worry about overheating in the summer. A friend of mine has her conservatory as a dog room but they have proper air con. installed so it stays nice and cool. Obviously this wouldn't be cheap though...


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## Zoojie (Aug 4, 2011)

Yeah, tis what I had thought. Ah well, Amber will just have to put up with being in her crate a couple of times a week haha! 

I can always see what the temp gets like in summer anyway in case it does keep cool. It also has some nice big windows - might see if when they're open it's any better and can always block them off with bars or something - cheaper than air con!

But you have confirmed my fears, so will approach this carefully. can at least have the doors open as an extension of the kitchen and then they have a bigger space at least.


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## nickmcmechan (Aug 1, 2009)

I have a conservatory.

Hot enough in summer to melt candles


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## LahLahsDogs (Jul 4, 2012)

Having your dog in a conservatory in summer would be like leaving them in a hot car... and we all know what happens when you do that! *gulp* :frown:


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## BoredomBusters (Dec 8, 2011)

One of the dogs I looked after I hated leaving even in his living room, as they had a conservatory on the side of the house and they'd knocked through so there was no wall. It was on the east side, so not even the hottest sides! I used to keep shutting the curtains to keep it cool and insisted they got a fan. One day I left him in the bathroom and hall (bungalow) as I just couldn't bear to leave him in there.


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## Zoojie (Aug 4, 2011)

I thought it might be, don't get me wrong! just wondered if people have found a way to keep them cool in summer in order to make good use of the space for the dogs...


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## Milliepoochie (Feb 13, 2011)

PoisonGirl said:


> IMO - no.
> 
> It will get FAR too hot in the summer. We had a dining kitchen with a large conservatory type 'window' in the roof and it was awful when it got warm! Even with a* window open* and a fan on too hot for the dogs.
> 
> It was an ideal place to have them come in from the garden into, but I wouldn't have them in there when we were out incase it got sunny and heated up too much for them.





Zoojie said:


> Yeah, tis what I had thought. Ah well, Amber will just have to put up with being in her crate a couple of times a week haha!
> 
> I can always see what the temp gets like in summer anyway in case it does keep cool. It also has some *nice big windows - might see if when they're open it's any better* and can always block them off with bars or something - cheaper than air con!
> 
> But you have confirmed my fears, so will approach this carefully. can at least have the doors open as an extension of the kitchen and then they have a bigger space at least.


Generally by keeping windows shut and curtains and blinds shut you will keep a room / building cooler. Keep the cool air in and hot air out 

Although no I would never leave a dog in a conservatory although if it had good fitted blinds theres no harm in putting a thermometer in there and monitoring the situation as the weather warms up


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## Tigerneko (Jan 2, 2009)

No, it's far too dangerous!

During summer (when we actually have one) our conservatory is so hot that your clothes stick to you when you walk in. There's just no way it'd be feasable to keep dogs in there, I can see where you're coming from with the idea though.

My friend's brother once left his chipmunks in their conservatory, all 6 of the poor mites were dead when they got home


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

We had a big conservatory at the last house, so plenty of room for the air to circulate. Even with blinds and an air conditioning unit, it was too hot to sit in in the summer. A friend had proper built in air con in hers and even that was too hot.

I certainly wouldn't chance it.


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## Zoojie (Aug 4, 2011)

Milliepoochie said:


> Generally by keeping windows shut and curtains and blinds shut you will keep a room / building cooler. Keep the cool air in and hot air out
> 
> Although no I would never leave a dog in a conservatory although if it had good fitted blinds theres no harm in putting a thermometer in there and monitoring the situation as the weather warms up


Heh, yeah I know - but then I dont think we get hot summers without considerable breeze in the UK (hence my asking )

Thermometer! Why didn't I think of that!! Tis a good plan.

How about if I left the door to the kitchen open, and used a baby gate to stop them getting in the kitchen - would that keep the temp better regulated/cooler or not?

Just want to give Amber more freedom, but she gets herself in so much trouble when I'm not around 

I just have no idea about conservatories - a room made of windows is a bizarre contraption haha!


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

Zoojie said:


> Heh, yeah I know - but then I dont think we get hot summers without considerable breeze in the UK (hence my asking )
> 
> Thermometer! Why didn't I think of that!! Tis a good plan.
> 
> ...


Imagine sitting in a greenhouse all day. That is what it is like in a conservatory in the summer - no way could you shut dogs in there - they would die of heatstroke. That is the bottom line, sorry.


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## Zoojie (Aug 4, 2011)

Fair enough, just trying to work it to give them more space instead of being stuck in a crate. Ah well, will keep thinking.


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## Grace_Lily (Nov 28, 2010)

I think you'll have to wait and see how warm it gets in summer, and make a judgement based on that. Most conservatories are like summerhouses, but the one on my parents old place was _always_ cold! The roof had a slight tint on it but apart from that there was no apparent reason for it always being cold. Having it built was an expense for nothing really, the room never got used as a living area because no central heating in there meant it was literally freezing in winter and it was always cold in summer.

The dogs were never kept in there but I did keep my bunnies in there with no problems. It was one of the doors onto the back garden though and the dogs did scratch the glass. Unfortunately we could never get the scratches out, depends if your dogs like to paw at doors though.

I'd say it probably won't be suitable in summer but don't lose all hope yet, it may be a rubbish conservatory (like ours was!) but a great doggy room.


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

my mum's conservatory has been the puppy room and more recently kitten room. when we got our first puppy, she was in the old conservatory that was plain glass. We got her in March time so it wasn't too cold to keep her in there at night in case she had accidents and to keep her from tempting things to chew. But she was out of there by autumn so we didn't use it as a long term thing. Now the new conservatory can be temperature controlled with blinds on the roof and a ceiling fan for summer, and it can be heated in winter with an electric heater. When mum got the kittens last summer she kept them in there for a while whilst they were quite small with a litter tray. They were used to living outside in a cat run so night time didn't bother them. The glass door was quite useful for letting them have a look at the other cats and the dogs whilst feeling safe.


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## Milliepoochie (Feb 13, 2011)

Wiz201 said:


> my mum's conservatory has been the puppy room and more recently kitten room. when we got our first puppy, she was in the old conservatory that was plain glass. *We got her in March time so it wasn't too cold to keep her in there at night in case she had accidents and to keep her from tempting things to chew. But she was out of there by autumn* so we didn't use it as a long term thing. Now the new conservatory can be temperature controlled with blinds on the roof and a ceiling fan for summer, and it can be heated in winter with an electric heater. When mum got the kittens last summer she kept them in there for a while whilst they were quite small with a litter tray. They were used to living outside in a cat run so night time didn't bother them. The glass door was quite useful for letting them have a look at the other cats and the dogs whilst feeling safe.


Ohhh so you managed to use it as a pup room throughout the summer?

How did you keep it cool in the day?


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## MollySmith (May 7, 2012)

Our conservatory faces south and we have solar reflective blinds and special glass plus I always leave the doors to the house open to keep it cool as our house is ancient and rarely gets hot in the summer as the wall are too thick. But even then, I would never give Molly access to it unsupervised. It's way to hot even with a tiled floor. She's too dafty to move from our open fire unless I lure her nevermind a comfy sofa in a conservatory.


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## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

In our old house we had a north facing conservatory that never got very hot even on the hottest days so we did use it as a dog room - but we had been living there a couple of years and new what the temperature was like out there.
We kept the blinds closed and the windows through to the lounge and kitchen open.

It really depends on how modern your conservatory is, what type of roof it has and which way it faces - I'd get a couple of thermometors and see what the temperatures are like on the hottest days in the summer


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

I have a large, south facing conservatory. We have covered the roof on the outside with canvas sheets which does help to keep the heat down, but even with all the windows open and a ceiling fan on I would never shut my dog in there. It still gets very hot if the door is shut - we have had thick candles bend in half before now. If the connecting door is open it helps to create movement of air which does help keep the temperature down, but I would not make him stay in there. He has a sofa out there and he likes to lay and watch the squirrels, but he will often move himself to the living room when it gets too warm. When it's really hot, we close the connecting door to stop the heat spreading into the lounge. 

I have a large radiator out there connected to my central heating, but it is still too cold to shut him out there in the winter.

I wish I had actually had a proper roof put on it when it was built because I think that makes it much more useable, all year round. I would not have one again 

When I go out I shut lounge and bedroom doors and give Jack the kitchen, hall (both with lino floors), stairs and landing (which is where I put his bed, toys, chews etc. This works really well, cos he has some space, but not enough to charge about, also he can't see outside so doesn't get wound up by outside noises.


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

Milliepoochie said:


> Ohhh so you managed to use it as a pup room throughout the summer?
> 
> How did you keep it cool in the day?


I don't think she stayed in there a lot during the summer, in fact we had builders in as my mum was having an extension built so a lot of the time the door was open and she was free to come and go (and steal builder's tools)


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## BoredomBusters (Dec 8, 2011)

Zoojie said:


> How about if I left the door to the kitchen open, and used a baby gate to stop them getting in the kitchen - would that keep the temp better regulated/cooler or not?


You obviously didn't read my post...


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## Zoojie (Aug 4, 2011)

BoredomBusters said:


> You obviously didn't read my post...


Nope, you're right, I didn't. It got posted in between me writing and posting the post just following it. Don't be so quick to assume I ignored you. Having read it now, it's a little all over the place and not a post I would respond to directly normally, but thanks anyway, as I've said before - points have been taken in and I'm rethinking where I can keep them.


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