The Chihuahua & the Waterbed: Ned Floats Off to Sleep

Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my five funny dogs, Poppy, Bailey, Kodah, Ned, and Fred.

You know that old wives' tale about how goldfish grow to match the size of their tank? Well, I think that Ned has experienced a similar phenomenon…with hot water bottles.

Being a dog of the Chihuahua variety, we never expected our little Nedrick to break any growth records, but he is such a diddy little thing, especially compared to his rather more robust cousin, Fred. Obviously, genetics and metabolism play a big part in body size, but I have another theory to explain Ned’s diminutive size, and it’s all to do with his love of a hot water bottle.

Chihuahuas are particularly well known for their heat-seeking behavior, and Ned is very much the quintessential Chihuahua. So it was no surprise that, during his first winter, he honed in on the hot water bottle underneath Husband’s feet. Ned was around five months old, and his little body fit perfectly on this warm and toasty waterbed. From that day onwards, he did not gain an ounce.

The cynics among you might point out that it’s not unusual for a tiny dog breed to reach their adult body weight and size at 5-6 months old, and you cynics would be correct. But I like to believe that the Ned-to-hot-water-bottle ratio also played a part.

Don’t Neglect Your Hot Water Bottle!

When it comes to our pets, we have always been a ‘safety first’ sort of household, but Ned’s little obsession has made us up our game in terms of hot water bottle maintenance. The bottle itself is replaced annually to make sure there is no danger from perishing rubber, and there are no threadbare covers here – only the best for our Ned! You might wonder if we’ve thought about introducing pet-safe heating discs or heated blankets – and we have – but part of the attraction for Ned is the whimsy of falling asleep on a floaty waterbed.

Ned’s waterbed has become so ingrained in his daily life that we now recognize his specific request for it. There is one type of begging for food, another to be let out to the toilet, but when he wants his hot water bottle, his demands become more vocal, though it took us a while to work this out. There are few things in this world that elicit the enthusiastic, two-legged tapdance normally reserved for treats, but the hot water bottle is one of them. So strong is its allure that he will follow the sound of the sloshing bottle as readily as he will follow the words ‘dinner’ and ‘nap.’

Fred: Bigger and Slower

Ned’s cousin Fred has always been a little bit slow on the uptake. It took him almost a year to realize that Kodah and Ned were right about sitting on top of the dog crate in the window, and it was almost as long before he worked out that hot water bottles are also the pinnacle of luxury. The trouble is that, with Ned having grown to a size that fits perfectly on the bottle, and Fred being of a rather more rotund body shape, we were going to have a bit of a problem.

Fortunately, it was a problem easily solved with a quick online shopping trip; it turns out that hot water bottles even come in Fred size!