Our little pack is outgrowing our house! We'd like to have some of the dogs in an outside situation and rotate into house. We are in the northern area of the U.S. with heavy winters.

Wondering how many of you house dogs outside and what your set up is. Do all outside dogs live in fancy kennels or are there alternatives? Any input appreciated.

I have crates in the basement for the overflow. Everyone gets "house dog time" depending on who's in season and what the weather is (especially now - mud season!) My basement exits out to the fenced yard so it works great to keep the mud out of the house. I've thought about runs connected to pens in the garage but haven't thought of a good configuration yet so that's still on hold.

We keep the Girls in the house and the Boys in the kennel once they reach at least 1 year old. There are times we have to crate the Boys inside when the temps get below zero and the wood stove in the kennel needs to be fed through the night.