How do other people's small dogs cope in cold weather?

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Like many people I have not had the heating on as much as normal. Our short heaired Chi usually starts wearing her fleece on an evening inside the house around now but she needs a new one.

In the meantime I have got out a little heater I bought for her last year that I put on if it looks like she is really cold but she is constantly shivering. Not the usual chihuhaua quivering that they all do constantly but actually shivering. She's costing me a fortune. I have ordered her 2 new fleeces but the rate she's going it would have been cheaper to fly to the country the fleeces are made in and collect them in person.

She was in my arms quaking earlier tonight so I asked DD to get her heater out. the second she spotted it she flew out of my arms, literally flew halfway across the room and threw herself in front of heater. I've just turned it off and she actually whimpered in protest.

Is my house extra cold? My chihuahia extra wimpy? Have I broken her by buying her a heater?

I’ve got a pug short haired but doesn’t seem to feel the cold and seems to find wearing clothing undignified! I do put a hoodie on him for walks if the temp is around freezing outside or if we have to do a short walk in cold drizzle.
Is your house especially cold? Our heating kicks in if the temp inside drops below 16 at night.

would a wrapped hot water bottle be worth considering? And maybe check she isn’t in a draught. We got our boy quite a big bed it’s fabric with a thick cushion and raised sides with room for a blanket too.

I’m in bed with the windows open as I am all year round.
My 3.5kg dog is on the bed with me - proof it’s chilly, as his usual chosen night time sleeping spot is on the cool, hard floor inside my wardrobe!

I don't think my house is extra cold. The dehumidifier says the stairs are 16 degrees. That is the coldest area in the house.

She has a hot water bottle for bed upstairs but I worry the bigger dog would think it was a toy and rip it open if I brought it downstairs. She does have a nice, cosy cave bed downstairs she could go in but I think she worries she'll miss something if she gets inside it. She sleeps on top of it instead

I have a fleece blanket on the sofa that my chi snuggles under when we're downstairs. She has me very well trained to put it over my legs when she chooses ( demands) to snuggle between by knees. I think the change from warm to cold has been quite dramatic this year, so there's been less time to acclimatise. Monday teatime it was warm enough to have back door and windows wide open, Tuesday morning I had to scrape frost off the car and the heating came in for the first time. Not sure if it's been the same where you are.

Yeah, we were all sat in the garden a few days ago. This morning she watched the big dog and the long haired chi play in the garden from the comfort of the sunny windowsill inside with a look on her face that read "you are both insane."

That's what caught me out with the fleeces. I knew she needed new ones. I wasn't expecting to go from sunny to fleece weather in a matter of days.

My friend has a dachshund. Refuses to get out of (the human) bed in the morning or go out when it's raining, she just crosses her legs and won't move. Winter she seems to spend most of her time hiding under a duvet grumbling
Also herds people to bed at 10pm, if they won't go then she flounces off huffing and puts herself to bed

Hmm, I'd say sixteen degrees is pretty cold for a tiny dog. Especially if they're not actually doing anything.

My beagle weighs 19.5kg and he lives under a thick fleece throw in this weather - can you get some warm blankets for her to burrow in?

If she's not a chewer, I'd consider a heated fleece blanket for her to lay on. Very warm and very cheap to run.

My short haired chi has a duvet he burrows under, although he also does this when it's warm because he's an idiot.

Mine is exactly the same, or snuggles in under my jumper.

I have a little (4kg) old (11) short coated terrier and she’s seemed fine so far. She has an equafleece jumper for winter walks but I’ve not dug it out as yet. She has a squishy bed with raised sides and a heat reflective layer which seems quite warm and a crate pad (fleece one side/quilted the other) which she sleeps on top of in summer and buried underneath in winter. I’ve been known to put her jumper on in the house if it gets really cold - our heating is only set to 18.

I have several fleeces on the sofa the little ones snuggle into, or on my knee!
The fleeces she wears sound expensive. Can you knit? It’s really easy & cheap to knit little jumpers for them.

I’ve got a small older dog and he really feels the cold now. I have several cheap jumpers from home bargains or b and m and rotate them now it’s cold. They stay on all day and he sleeps in it then clean one next day. I did put a heated throw on the sofa for him this morning when it was 3 degrees here and the house hadn’t warmed up enough for him at that time. Bedtime he will snuggle up,to me, I also have a springer who likes to steal my body heat at night as well. So I am sandwiched between 2 dogs 😊

Mine is 25kg, but it doesn't stop him trying to get under the duvet. This morning he succeeded.

I'd also suggest a heated blanket.

My 6kg wears a fleece on walks. If I'm sat on the sofa wearing my dressing gown she expects me to open it up so she can climb inside and have it wrapped around her. 🙄 she actually paws at the belt until I open it up.

What about one of those anti anxiety beds that are round in shape and as the dog lies on them they kind of close around the dog, then she still has a good view of everything ? Although as she is so light she may just end up floating on top?

@HappiestSleeping
What an absolutely lovely dog this made me smile

Thank you. He is a handsome boy.

Aah @HappiestSleeping
my dog is in (mild) disgrace after stealing some fruit out of a packed lunch.
you know when you tell them off but you’re smiling inside? He’s 6 but we still call him the pup!

We've got a chihuahua x here (not sure what with but he's basically naked) he sleeps under a blanket, but when we're home he's snuggled on the sofa in a blanket next to me or dh.
I'll be cracking his jumpers out when I take him up to bed tonight though as even snuggled on the sofa he was shivery today.

Mine both refuse to go out, I have to pick them up physically and put them out the door if it's wet or cold. And the little one goes immediately back to bed under our duvet where she stays all day.

My long haired chi (1.7kg) curls up inside blankets. Or my dressing gown!

This was taken about 2 minutes ago. You can see his own bed in the background. 🤦‍♂️

What about one of those beds that are like a fluffy sort of cave - were she can burrow in and be mostly covered?

My Jack Russell basically lives under thick blankets or a duvet when in the house. She sleeps all night under my 15 tog duvet by my legs and on the sofa has heavy fleece blankets although she often takes her self off to bed as not good enough. 16c is freezing for sitting about in.