Saturday, February 4, 2012

PRODUCT REVIEW: Deluxe Self-Warming Bolster Bed

My Service Dog, Mickey, prefers to sleep on the hardwood floor beside my bed, even though he's welcome to sleep with me. So I had been searching for just the right bed for him. When I saw Drs. Foster and Smith's Deluxe Self-Warming Bolster Bed, I knew I had to have it.

At $89.99-$109.99, it is a bit pricey, but I had high hopes that it would be worth the price. Since Mickey weighs fifty pounds and likes to sleep curled in a ball, I chose the medium size, which is 36" x 26". If I had it to do over, I would order the large size (45" x 32"). The medium is much better suited to smaller dogs, such as my 24-pound Pug, Winston, or my eleven-pound Chihuahua, Mo. (See photos below that illustrate the bed as I received it.)

When the bed arrived, I was a bit disappointed in the amount of filling it contained. The description of the bed promises an "overstuffed bolster" and a "generously stuffed" base; the bed I was shipped didn't met either of those descriptions. I easily remedied those problems by adding a second cushion from another dog bed to the base and wrapping old blankets around the bolster-filling.

All three of my dogs, however, L-O-V-E-D the bed from the first moment they lay on it. The sleeping area is super plush, but the light color would be difficult to keep clean, a problem I avoided by Scotchgarding it. Apparently, the thermal layer lives up to expectations. My heat-seeking Chihuahua curls up on it at every opportunity. So, despite the fixes I had to employ, I would definitely purchase another one.