There are a few common ways to go about getting or creating a heated dog house for your dog
. Obviously, your dog doesn't have the dexterity or common-sense to stoke a wood stove in their home away from home; so it's necessary to make sure you're providing a heat-source that is going to be safe for your dog to be close to. The heater must be either safe to the touch, or be mounted somewhere that your dog can't burn themselves on.
First things first: It doesn't matter if you're buying a heated dog house with a heater built in to it, or if your adding a dog heater to your dog's existing shelter -- following a few general guidelines will make your expenses that much more beneficial to your dog.
1.Get the dog's house up off the ground. The very best thing you can do to maximize heat in the shelter is to place the doghouse on concrete cinder blocks. While it may seem pointless to put ice cold cinder blocks between the ground and your pet: The closer you are to the ground, the colder it will be (think of how cold a basement is compared to the upper levels of a home).
2.A heat holding blanket, or bedding material will go a long way to help hold heat in the dog house and let your dog's body maintain an even temperature.
3.A ceramic heated dog house will be slightly cooler than a heater that utilizes a heat bulb as the source of heat. Each have their own advantages, but be careful that heating elements, or direct heat from a bulb shouldn't be directed at any wood. Instead have the element/bulb directed at open space for safety (or read the instructions with your heater or ready-made heated dog house).