# Dog Beds



## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I am looking for recommendations for dog beds.

Tigan currently uses the off cut of memory foam that I bought for my old dog. It is looking well past its best now and I would like to buy a new one. Doesn't have to be memory foam though he is used to it and seems to like it. He likes a bolster and I roll up quarter of a single duvet to make a bolster for him against the wall.


I have looked at Orvis beds as they look lovely but I have seen some bad reviews on their durability. Tigan likes to rake his bed with his claws. He would not like a flimsy bed I don't think.


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## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

I have tried several types but have not found one that is Benson proof! One of our springers likes a bed....he usually sprawls across it! He rakes it too, but does no damage unless it has been Bensoned first! I have a memory foam bed in a waterproof cover that has lasted, but it is flat and not a bed. Currently it is in a disgusting old bed from the rugged range at Pets at Home.


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## WildThingsKev (Dec 29, 2009)

Yap Dog Zacht seems to do the trick.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

That looks like it might suit Tigan Kev.


Has it got a fairly sturdy base? So many of them are a bit flimsy in the base and I have had dogs that are frightened to enter because they wobble so much. I suppose I could cut up the existing memory foam to fit if necessary?


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## MEES (Apr 20, 2006)

We finally gave up with dog beds with our Dalmations as they were frequently destroyed.
We settled on a selection of folded throws in a pile which they cold rearrange to suit themselves and could be washed or throw away as the case may be.
Someone recommend sewing an old duvet in a robust cover in half but sounded difficult to launder to me and duvet stuffing all over the room did not appeal either ��


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I have cut up a single duvet into four and sewed the edges. They make quite good simple beds. The trouble is they look so tatty ( I could not be bothered to make covers for them). I just get so fed up making his bed! Wanted one that looks reasonable and that stays tidy!


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## Lesleykh (Apr 13, 2009)

We kept the cushions from our old sofa and I have used them for the dogs. I made covers from a cheap fake fur throw, so I can wash them. 

We have lurchers and they do feel the cold, especially in the van, so they also have furry blankets, but I did wonder if one of the dog bed cave/igloos would be good for them. Somebody gave us a brand new one, but it's way too small, so is on my to do list to stick on ebay.

Lesley


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

We always used plastic beds with pads in the bottom....but do remember that big dogs need big beds!:wink2:
Calle always did pick the smallest bed:grin2:

PS. Calle is pronounced as per the French port....Calais.....an unfortunate error on our part many years ago as we are not Francophiles!


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## WildThingsKev (Dec 29, 2009)

patp said:


> That looks like it might suit Tigan Kev.
> 
> Has it got a fairly sturdy base? So many of them are a bit flimsy in the base and I have had dogs that are frightened to enter because they wobble so much. I suppose I could cut up the existing memory foam to fit if necessary?


The bottom cushion is removable (easy to wash) and is quilted as well as fluffy, so the sides do not move when stepped into. The cushion does flatten after a while so I did cut a piece of 1" foam to put underneath for extra padding. We've had a couple of these and the old cushion makes a nice duvet for when it's cold outside.

consecutive photos:


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

This is Pippa's bed.



And this is where she sleeps!

We let sleeping dogs lie!


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Well, as the wood burner is alight from lunch time onwards, he is now choosing to sleep on the rug in front of it. He was using Chris's armchair, when it was unoccupied, but since one of the springs went he has gone off that. He does sleep on his memory foam bed through the night but rakes all the covers up and looks very uncomfortable when I get up. Hence the search for a sturdy bed that does not flop all over the place when he enters it.


I suppose I could buy one of the cheap, floppy, kind and insert a piece of memory foam into it?


Had a funny incident at Agility training today. It was our turn to try the line of jumps we were practising and, after the instructor had given me my pep talk, I turned around to find Tigan missing! It was raining and he had run off to shelter in the tea hut!


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## MEES (Apr 20, 2006)

Most dogs behave as they would in the wild when they settle for the night .
They circle and rough up the area as if they were flattening grass and removing prickly bits befor the settled.- usually under a hedge.
So any hope of keeping a neat tidy bed is a vain one.!
They are not children and don't need too much cosseting


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

*Bit late to reply Patp*

Here is our dog bed. It has so far served 4 dogs, 2 Shelties and 2 GSD´s. Its Shades (GSD) bed now.

The bed itself is made from a sleeping bag I brought from a jumble sale for 10p about 30 years ago, zip removed and cut to fit a German style pillow case. 
It goes in the washing machine now and then, but the cover is changed every 2 weeks, they are the original covers :laugh:

None of our dogs have ever destroyed a bed.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Ha ha1 We had sleeping bags as dog beds for years. They do, certainly, fit the bill in most areas. Used to see them all the time in jumble sales and charity shops. I changed to memory foam for my old arthritic girl and it worked wonders for her aches and pains.


This dog bed is more for me than the dog. It sits right in my eyeline when I am in the lounge. At the moment it is a piece of off cut memory foam with a bolster pillow behind it. If I was handy with a sewing machine I could cover it and attach the bolster to the, recovered, bed and bobs your uncle! 
If I cover the whole thing, now, with an attractive throw he rakes the whole thing over and over and drives me nuts with the noise and then I have to look at the mess all night


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

At home he would spurn a bed

Choosing wooden floor or rug 

In the van (garage)

He has a picnic blanket, stitched water proof side in, filled with a duvet , covered with an incontinence sheet which wicks wetness into the core and holds it , several interchangeable ones, if he swims or it rains 

Inside the van he just has an incontinace sheet layed on the carpet to wick away wetness or even wet paws 

We carry four 

Too big for a bed inside 

Sandra


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