Pip came home the second week of December, a four-year-old terrier-Chihuahua mix who weighed 13 pounds and shook at the sound of a cupboard closing. He was scared of loud noises and scared of being left alone. For his first nights he slept under the kitchen table on an old fleece blanket. I had bought a flat foam bed the same week I brought him home. He ignored it. That bed is in the hall closet now.
On his third day home I ordered the Best Friends by Sheri Original Calming Donut Dog Bed in Small, 23 inches. It arrived on his tenth day, the day after he backed out of his flat collar at the back steps and ran two houses down. I put one of my worn T-shirts in it. For eight nights he sniffed it and went back under the table. On the ninth night after the bed arrived, about eighteen days after adoption, he stayed in it all night and woke at 5:40.
The bed he finally stayed in past 5:40
Pip is 13 pounds, and the Small is rated for pets up to 25 pounds with a 17-inch sleeping surface. It is not a medical fix. It is a place for a scared dog to lean.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →The round shape gives a scared dog a wall at his back
Pip does not like open spaces. He likes a wall. The round shape of this bed gives him an edge on every side, so when he curls up he is not exposed. The first time he used it, he circled twice and pressed his back into the bolster. He did not sleep there all night that first time. But he stopped walking around it like it was a trap. For a dog who spent his first nights under a table, that was the whole point.
The 17-inch sleeping surface fits a 13-pound dog without crowding
The listing gives the Small a 17-inch sleeping surface. Pip measures 17 inches around the chest and 11 inches around the neck, and he weighs 13 pounds. He can curl up with room to spare. If your dog is closer to the 25-pound top of the range, or likes to sprawl flat, measure first. A round bed rewards a dog who tucks his feet under himself. Pip is that kind of sleeper, so the size worked for him.
The raised bolsters give him something to lean on
The raised-edge bolsters are the part that mattered most. Pip likes a boundary. He circles twice, drops, and pushes his back into the bolster. I am not going to tell you the bolsters support joints or muscles, because I am not a vet and this is not a medical product. I can tell you he leans on them, and he stays put. That is a small thing. It was also the first thing that made the bed look like his.
The 7-inch height is easy for a small dog to step into
The bed is 7 inches thick. For a 13-pound dog, that is a step over the edge, not a climb. The first week I set it on the bedroom floor and he walked around it. The second week he stepped in on his own. If you have a very small puppy or a dog who has trouble stepping, put it on a rug so it does not slide. I put mine on the bedroom carpet and it stayed where I set it.
One bed can follow him from room to room
I own one bed. It sits on the bedroom floor on my side at night, and I carry it to the living room in the day. That is a choice, not a feature of the bed. It weighs 2.18 pounds, so carrying it is not a chore for me. If you want a bed that stays in one spot, this one will move around your house because you will move it. Pip follows me from room to room, and the bed follows him.
It gave him a place to land on July 4th
On July 4th the fireworks started around 8:30. Pip would not stay in the living room. I put the bed in the bathroom, turned the radio on low, and sat on the floor beside him. He was shaky, but he stayed in the bed. The harness stayed on its hook that night because he did not go out. I am not saying a bed fixes noise fear. I am saying he had a place to put his body.
The shag faux fur makes it warm without a blanket
The cover is shag faux fur, and the fill is high-loft polyfill. I do not use a blanket in the bed, even in January. Pip is a short-haired mix and he runs warm when he sleeps. The fur is soft enough that he kneads it twice before he lies down. It has not matted into clumps in ten and a half months, though I shake it out and vacuum it. That is not a care instruction from the listing. It is just what I do.
A worn T-shirt turns it into his spot
The T-shirt is the reason he uses it. I wore one of my old cotton shirts for a day and put it in the bed before he ever slept in it. The shirt stayed in the bed. I think the smell is the invitation. If you try this, use a shirt you have worn, not a clean one from the drawer. The first eight nights he still went under the table. The ninth night he did not.
It shows you he is settling, not just hiding
A scared dog hides. A settling dog chooses a spot and stays there. The difference was easy to see with Pip. For eight nights he went under the table. On the ninth night he stayed in the bed and woke at 5:40. After that, when he was tired, he walked to the bed on his own. That is not a cure for anxiety. It is a small signal that the room felt safer.
It has held up to ten and a half months of daily moving
The Best Friends by Sheri bed has been carried between two rooms every day and sat on. The bolsters still stand up. The fill has not flattened into a mat. The bottom is still whole. That is not a lifetime guarantee. It is a report from one house with one 13-pound dog who is not a chewer. If your dog digs or chews, this bed will not survive the way mine has.
What I'd Skip
I would skip the Best Friends by Sheri bed if your dog is a chewer. Pip has never shredded anything, but a dog who digs at fabric will find the faux fur. I would skip it if your dog is over 25 pounds or likes to stretch out flat, because the Small is 23 inches across with a 17-inch sleeping surface. I would skip it if you need waterproof, because nothing on the listing says it is. And I would skip the idea that any bed treats anxiety. If your dog is hurting or panicking, call your vet. The bed is a place to rest, not a medical device.
On the ninth night after the bed arrived, about eighteen days after adoption, he stayed in it all night and woke at 5:40. I woke up before him and just watched.
If your dog is a leaner, this is the shape to try
The Best Friends by Sheri Original Calming Donut Dog Bed comes in Small, 23 inches, with a 17-inch sleeping surface and raised bolsters. For Pip, that was enough to make the bedroom floor feel like a place he could stay.
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