SearchNeed opinions on new dog bed purchase
I am considering the K9 ballistics Tuff Bed. Has anyone tried this? I am also considering what size to get. Even though Shelbi is a big girl, unless she is sun-bathing she sleeps all curled up. Do I determine bed size by her size or how she prefers to sleep. I have definately decided rectagular works best for our home, but need to know what size. Any thoughts would be great.
We bought a big square bed from Costco for our dobie when we adopted him. He rarely ever sleeps on it though. He ended up preferring our smaller round bed that our lab mix used and now our lab mix spreads out on the bigger bed! The dobie always curls up when he sleeps so the smaller one fits perfectly for him.
We use pillows... Dakota thinks beds are huge stuffed toys lol but she doesn't do anything to a pillow
I bought a large Kong rectangular bed for Phin, he seems to like it. Like most dobe's, he curls up into the smallest ball possible, but he lays on it all stretched out when he's gnawing on a raw hide etc.
That is funny that you should write this. I've been researching this all weekend lol. We bought a new couch that my husband wont allow me to put in our family room until I teach the dogs to stay off of the couch.
They all have the nice costco beds but of course would prefer the couch over them. Our oldest dog is 10 and a little more arthritic so she needs proper support. I'm thinking of buying one of the Orvis beds for her with the bolsters. One thing that is important to me when looking for the new beds is being able to have a water proof lining and something that I can take off and wash in the washer. All of my Dobermans love to curl up in little balls while they sleep and very rarely stretch out.With this in mind I think I will buy the one boster bed, one of the regular beds that is oval shaped with the sides that support and leave one of our costco beds. Then we will see which ones they prefer. I also plan on buying a scat mat that Dr Foster and Smith catelog sells so that while we are gone they dont get on the new couch or decide to chew the cushion up lol. Romeo has quite the naughty file going
We use the costco bed also, a round one with a cushion on the back...not too expensive(I'd hate to drop $80 bucks on a bed if it's gonna get the Rocky treatment!) and the cover comes off easily to go in the wash. Dakota mostly uses it when she's chewing a bone - no bones on the couch - and the odd time sleeps on it...or sunbathes ;)
Aww she's so pretty!
Here is the bed we got Harely. He sleeps in it every night. The denim gets a beating because Harley likes to scratch at it before he lies down. But it has heldup well! It is waterproof on one side and the cover slips off easily to go into the wash. So far we love it.
http://www.amazon.com/Orthopedic-Memory-Waterproof-Pillow-covers/dp/B001G2V9GK
:) Good luck :) Q's first bed was a luxurious suade design, followed by a sheepskin, followed by a hessian type mat, followed by plush blankets....now he gets the $4 ones on special. I dont know why he wants to eat the blankets?? You know i saw some pics of dobes sleeping on their backs. Ive never seen Q do this...he generally sleeps flat out on his side.
Harely...I use amazon...:) might try that one :)
We got walmart specials a couple years ago and they both sleep on them when we kick them off the bed for the night. Tory has a bladder problem so I do wash frequently. The stuffing wasn't washable so when that got nasty smelling I threw that out and put one of our old comforters inside the cover. Works great, now I can take the comforter out and wash that too. Works great for us.
We bought one of those XL sized theraputic memory foam beds with a heavy duty zippered cover (one side sheepskin-like and the other a heavy canvas) from Petsmart when it went on sale for something like 60% off while Ziva was still a puppy. She looked so small on it at the time---but now, she takes up the whole thing when she's all stretched out. All my little guys love that bed, too, and often Ziva and a couple of littles will all be curled up together on it. It was a great investment.
I used to buy the inexpensive beds, but they never seemed to hold up, and if they were in the crates, they would develop all these strange rips and tears shedding stuffing all over the place. When Red started having problems a little over a year ago, one of the side effects was incontintence. I bought a very good bed from Drs Foster and Smith that not only had a removable washable (and replaceable) cover, but also had an option of a waterproof liner. I then got a second one for Princess, not that she needed the waterproof liner, but at times Red would lay on her pad. (Jake now has a tendency to "claim" her pad, so the waterproof liner still comes in handy).
Both pads are still in use and functional, although the zipper on the one cover was damaged by Dober teeth, so it now has a new cover. The bed, liner and cover is $140 and the cover only is about $37.
Here is the link to the pad and cover. When I bought my last one, it was $80 for the 48x28, now it is $100. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3307+1+11792+22929&pcatid=22929
Here is the link to the waterproof liner. At least it is still $40 for the 48x28. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=8945
Here is the link to the replacement/second cover. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=8931
They are expensive, but I have had very good service from these. I have a larger pad and cover that Red used for about 3 years, but he chewed up two corners and of course when he leaked, the cover was easy to wash, but the foam pad inside had to sit out in the sun for a while to get the odor out. Princess really loves hers, and of course now she really had two since she inherited Red's. The older one is put up so only the two with the liner are in service.
One of the reasons they have lasted is that they are NOT in the crates.
Skyler used to have a bed... now she has a couple comforters strewn through the house.
Until recently Raven chewed all her beds up so like some of the others I stopped getting her one until last November. We took her crate out of her room and I put a round bed I got on sale from Dr. Fosters size Large (she weighs 83 lbs) in it's place and she will lay in it when I put her in the room and I use a baby gate to block the door and she don't seem to know she can jump over it so it works great. I think she don't chew her bed anymore b/c it's not in the crate and she just turned 3.
Yeah Kaiser has a bed it's a sealy posturepedic quite pricey and comfortable lol, I share my bed : (... can't resist my pup and his snuggling. Thinking of getting one like harley though for the living room. I really don't mind my bed b.c it is just me, but I really don't want him on the couch. He thinks he's a lap dog. Good luck in your quest... It is sweet to watch them sleep all comfy..
Mary (Kaiser is that your name, I'm sorry I don't remember?) you crack me up! LOL!
We brought Drake the biggest bed at Petco.
I wish our Costco carried these kind. The only thing that they carry are the plain round ones. Drake looks very comfortable.
When Thorn was a puppy, he used a floor cushion. He quickly outgrew that (see pic!) so we tried a bunch of random dog beds that he loved to chew and shread. Now that he's a bit older, he sleeps on a memory foam bed from Sam's Club at night and he's got a Kong Brand bed in the living room. He prefers the couch to the Kong bed though. If Shelbi chews her bedding, save your money and use old towels. Otherwise, spoil her with a big bed!
Ginger has a round bed that we keep in her crate (we never shut the door). That's where she sleeps all day when we are not home. We just bought a Beautyrest memory foam mattress pad (full) from Bon-Ton for $30. I don't think it would do much if you used it on a bed in one layer as intended, but we folded into fours and it now it is super thick. We wrapped it in a sheet for washing and put it underneath her regular bed in her crate. It fits perfectly. We laugh now that her new "housey" is no joke!!! She loves it. If you buy a memory foam bed specifically for dogs, the price is outrageous and they are still thin. Good luck!
Here's the photo I meant to attach to my last post. I'm new to site and I'm still trying to figure out how to attach images! (I hope this works!)
What a handsome boy!!!! It's the best looking thorn I've seen :)) gives new meaning to "watch out for thorns" hahahahaha, I would definitely say he out grew that cusion. Great pics.....
I can't believe that bed lasted that long. Harley's bed made it this long, but I think it's because he is not allowed on it unless it is bedtime or I am in the room. Left unattended and his bed would be in shreds.
Ben has the orthopedic bed from petsmart too - that one is in his crate, it was on sale also, and he got Goofy's bolstered bed after Goofy died that is in the bedroom and he has a small bed in the living room that is not super thick and smaller. Before finding these beds I usually went to my local "foam and fabric" store and they had bins of fabric by the pound and that was great - our whippet who loved to burrow in loved them and as they got soiled by dirt and muddy paws they were just tossed and new ones by the pound purchased - so you might look for a store that sells fabric by the pound. I have tried all sorts of expensive - inexpensive beds. I found that Big Lots sells nice dog beds that typically have bolsters for heads to prop on and they usually run about $25 and last; the fabric store also has a seamstress who uses tough fabrics and makes dog beds on the side and now they keep them in stock and they range from $15-25 a great alternative, that way you don't feel that you are throwing money away. The orthopedic foam though is worth having at least one I am considering a second one for Ben. What about outdoor sofa/chaise lounge cushions??? they are made of a tough canvas type material that might hold up to chewers?? and they are long and not super wide and come in a variety of colors/patterns and are waterproof. We have to get inventive with the doggies......
Oh, I've spent money on beds like you wouldn't believe!
Thry ALL last about three months (we have three rough-and-tumble dogs). I now buy them at Ross. Usually, a $40-$70 bed is $10-$20. It lasts jut as long, sill has removable covers that I can wash, and the dogs usually like them just as well. :)
Since I posted my original question my husband found a bed at tractor supply for $25.99 he calls me and says it has a zipper that means we can wash the cover. I said well get it we will try it. She has used since about mid-January and not a chew mark one (knock on wood). However, the zipper is deceiving you have to pull the stuffing out of it, and it is not encased in anything and it has cedar chips in it to soak up odors.
I also went to Jo Ann's fabric and proceeded to buy material and made her a bed to be used in the living room and our bedroom. I had to teach my daughter how to use the sewing machine anyways. I have taught her "Shelbi's bed" and she knows what that means. She has not chewed that one either (knock on wood). Secret to be kept I spent about $85.00 on the material for the bed that I made, but I made it bigger than she needs, and I have re-evaluated that and I could have probably gotten by with $55.00 - $60.00 in materials.
I however will be making a pillow case for the stuffing in the first bed. It is a mess to pull all that stuffing out by hand and the cedar chips go everywhere.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and opinions,
Jeri & Shelbi
That's a good looking Doberman!
When Beck can treat a bed with respect then he can have one.....for now he likes the beat up ottoman in the living room, it already has an accomodating dip in it. Would like to have a second one in the office, to keep the bugger under my watchful eyes, but he's just too determined to fight dragons.
Photo Gallery
Rocky pics...& friendsI gave up on beds long ago, Rocky gets old towels now for the winter months, they seems to last longer than beds. Good luck though, I wish I could get him a nice thick comfy bed to sleep on but he just shreds them all.