My family has recently adopted a one year old half German Shepherd half Australian Cattle Dog. He was well cared for by his previous owner...she had to give him up because she moved to a small apartment. Things have been going well so far. I've been reading from this site and I ordered a few videos. I do, however, have a few questions that maybe some of you could help me with.

1. Dog House - We bought Wiley one of those igloo shaped dog houses. Our intention is for him to sleep outside (we have a fully fenced/walled backyard), though he is inside (often in a crate) most evenings when we are sitting around the house. Anyway, he doesn't seem to like going into the dog house. I have tried feeding him in the dog house, and if I give him larger meaty bones, he takes them out to eat. When I feed him cut up meat (or a can of mackerel) he will eat inside. My question: should I even care if he goes in the dog house? I suppose I am worried it will be too cold for him outside (the forecast for Saturday is a low 15F). And, if I should care, what can I do to encourage him to sleep in the house? One possibly relevant detail is that there are lots of 'outside' dogs in the neighborhood, including some in adjacent yards, and there is a lot of barking at night. He does approach the fences or walls in the direction of barking, but less so than when he moved in a month ago.

2. Albuquerque Vet - Can anyone recommend a vet in Albuquerque or the area? I'm looking for someone friendly to raw diet and avoiding vaccinations.

3. Albuquerque Food - Does anyone know of a good place to buy raw food in bulk? I'm looking for things like chicken backs, organ meat, and larger bones that can be purchased on the cheap. So far, I've mostly been feeding him chicken leg quarters, pork neck bones, beef ribs, and cans of mackerel purchased at Smith's for about $.99 per pound.

Thanks!

I have the Dogloo dog house as well. At first I was concerned because he didnt really seem to be using it. I tried feeding him in it as well to make him more comfortable in it.

As soon as I added straw and the temps. started dropping he started using it more.

Even now he isnt in it very much, but if there is a good snow happening, or its night and everything is pretty quite and nothing making him feel like he needs to keep on eye on things he is sleeping inside his house.

As for your other questions, I dont think I can be to much help. Im not in your area.

To quickly follow up, how cold would it have to get outside before you were worried about leaving a dog outside at night?

Temperature isn't nearly as criticle as getting the dog out of wind and drafts.

All my Dogs have always lived outside, and looked great
The last two between them lived 31 years, never went to the Vets only on rare occasions as they got Older.
My Two German Shepherd Pups live outside, and have done so from 8 to 9 weeks old
They have a Concrete Floor in there Run which is about 3.5M + 3M each. made of Steel and is 7ft high, with a roof over, but all four sides are open to the weather
Then they sleep in a Wood Kennel with a Plastic Basket inside. But there is nothing in the Baskets at all just the Basket
On the Front openings of the Wood Kennels is a tunnel one foot deep which breaks up any wind that may be blowing in that direction plus it stops draughts which is not good for anything
They keep in tip top Condition.
Of Late we have tempertures of 7C below freezing but those two Pups are Outside sitting in the Dark outside the Wood Kennels and just laying on the Concrete floor and they were again last night at 9.oclock. Young Goran was trying to stir up Fred next Door but he had no effect on him
I never worry about them in the winter, but i make sure the water is changed regular as it freezes up in a hour or so so i change it during the day quite a few times

Location of the dog house may be a issue. Years ago, I built a great insulated dog house for my 2 GSD's. They didn't use it. They wanted to be on the deck next to the sliding glass door where the action was inside the house. I shouldn't say didn't use it. When the temperature got down to minus 5F or lower they used it. It had to be at least that cold before they would bother with it. I was in a area with no wind and the deck was covered. Dogs desire for human contact always surprises me.

I had the same problem with our platic dog house. I washed the dog house then i put some straw/hay in there and she went in. The house was brand new but i guess maybe some type of smell was in there she did not like. The food and treat method did not work either initally.

I have the house's door about two feet from our French door. Wiley sits in that two foot space, presumably all night. That area is pretty well sheltered from wind as there are two walls of the house and a 8 foot wall to the neighbor's only a few feet away. I will try washing it out and putting in some hay.