...How do they not suffocate?

[SarahandSam]

One of my dachshunds likes to burrow under the covers and sleep deep at the foot of the bed all night. I can’t pull the covers completely over my head without feeling like I’m going to suffocate within less than a minute. But he is apparently perfectly happy with layers of blankets on top of him. Eventually he migrates up to the top of the bed, but not generally until the wee hours of the morning.

How is this possible?!?

(And considering how gassy he is in his sleep, even if there’s oxygen, how is he not Dutch oven-ing himself to death with his own methane? 'Cos right now his butt is sticking out of the blanket next to me and I’m about to asphyxiate from the fumes…)

[VaqueroToro]

:lol:
Ouch, you owe me new sinuses; I just spewed hot coffee through my nose.

Maybe he likes to stew in his own fumes. Makes his eyes shiny and bright.

Critters are weird…but then again, they probably think the same of us.

[bits619]

I wonder the same thing. I don’t know if it’s a small dog thing or if I just think it is because I’ve seen more small dogs that sleep in bed rather than large dogs. We had one chihuahua foster during the winter that would bury himself under the blankets put in his ex-pen at adoption events. It got old telling people that no, he wasn’t scared or hiding on purpose, he just liked to sleep under the covers. .
Our lab, when allowed in bed, insists on sleeping with her head on the pillow. Since she is deadly from both ends, she doesn’t get into the bed very often!

[Crackerdog]

I often wonder the same thing about one of my cats. She likes to sleep face down in a pillow, completely squished in. It’s weird.

[Sport]

Our 2 cats will do this. When we moved last year we had to finally lock them out of the bedroom as they spent all their time buried under the blankets in the bed. Even now if you can’t find them, they are in the bed buried under the blankets.

[Starhouse]

My 80lb Ridgeback does the same thing, fumes and all. I don’t get it.

[KellyG]

My Papillon does this exact same thing (sans the Dutch oven…so far).

I said the same thing to my husband - how in the hell is he breathing under all those blankets???

Silly dog!

[oliverreed]

I used to have a cat that did this. She was a big fat cat too - ended up with the nickname “Lumpy” because all you would see would be this big lump in the bed. She’d get up into the bed from the floor under the bedspread and just chill there all day.

[pinkpony321]

My little rat terrier does this… the hotter she is, the better! Even in the dead of summer, she will find the sunniest place to lay down and just bake herself. I make her get up and come inside to the AC every 20 minutes or so, just because i’m worried about her having heat-stroke in her sleep!
She’s my little lizard dog:)

[ravenclaw]

A couple of my cats like to sleep under the covers, but they usually don’t stay there for very long (probably 20-30 minutes). I figure they either get too hot or they need more air.

[cowboymom]

I’ve been sick for weeks, in the recliner under a heavy sleeping bag and my little chihuahua pup has been on my lap the whole time. She loves it under there and only comes out to eat or bark at something.

[PhoenixFarm]

A childhood friend of mine had a JRT (who I honestly suspect had some brain damage–runt and parvo survivor) who would lay directly under the woodstove. She be under there and it was like 300 degrees and she’d be panting and wheezing and making terrible noises and that 'd have to drag her out by the hind legs and chuck her outside to cool off. And the second she had a chance, right back under. She dropped dead out of the blue at age 5 and I always wondered if she just cooked herself.

[Bluey]

My rat terrier also burrows to the cooking point.
She will turn her dog bed over and that paw is all you can see sticking out: :lol:

[SarahandSam]

I will say it’s convenient in the winter, where he’s basically a very hot brick at my feet. Except that he doesn’t like getting under the covers when the sheets are still cold, preferring to wait until we’re in and have taken the edge off. Sigh.

[Appsolute]

[QUOTE=pinkpony321;6884129]
My little rat terrier does this… the hotter she is, the better! Even in the dead of summer, she will find the sunniest place to lay down and just bake herself. I make her get up and come inside to the AC every 20 minutes or so, just because i’m worried about her having heat-stroke in her sleep!
She’s my little lizard dog:)[/QUOTE]

I have a terrier mystery mix that does the exact same thing! The hotter the better! Loves to get buried in mountains of blankets (and he WILL stay there all night), loves to bake in the sun, he is black so he get really hot! Lays in front of the fire, directly in front of the heater – anywhere he can get good and roasting to the point of panting makes him happy.

He came from the shelter with the name of Luís (think the spanish pronunciation) - We call him our little hot latino dog.

[dutchboy]

As soon as I saw this post, I knew a doxie was involved! My mini spends the entire night under the covers next to me. I have no idea how she breathes, but she won’t sleep anywhere else. My two standards don’t see the need to burrow, thank goodness. I would have to sleep elsewhere.

[vacation1]

Well, it’s not a sealed bank vault; new air is getting in The reason we freak out is our imagination goes to the bank vault, while theirs apparently doesn’t. Funny, that some dogs like heat. Maybe it’s a smooth-coat thing? My shaggy dogs hate the heat and like to bask in the chill draft coming under the nearest door all winter.

[laskiblue]

My Basenjis are dedicated heat-seekers and sleep under the covers year-round. It saves me money in the winter because I can keep the thermostat much lower at night with them to warm me.

[rivenoak]

My very-much-missed Pug mix, Petey, was an under the covers sleeper.

Chopper the beagle learned it from Petey and is now my main source of night-time heat.

Even with flannel sheets and two down comforters, he’s still burrowed under there. And heaven forbid you attempt to restrict his access…

[GotGait]

Mine does it too and he’s a a double coated northern breed. He will chill outside on the coldest days and then burrow under the covers up against my husband who is like a furnace. I don’t know how he doesn’t roast.