Dog beds....

[Jescano]

Is having one important? I've read things that say it's bad for joint etc for them to just sleep on the floor. Jinx had a dog bed in his crate for 4 weeks didn't chew it at all. Today all of a sudden he decided to tear it open and destroy it. GREAT. Hope he didn't eat any of the stuffing. will he be ok if he did? good thing it was a cheap bed(just in case he did chew it.)

 

And here I was planning on going camping with him worried he'd chew up my sleeping bag... Now I'm really worried. I'm going to spray everything down with bitter apple spray and hope he doesn't like the taste.

[erin_ohagan]

I'm curious what others recommend for this too. My dog also seems to have a thing for de-stuffing her beds. Like you I started off with cheap ones just in case this happened. She destroyed the first one. I waited a while and then got her a second one. This one seems to have lasted longer. She de-stuffed about half of it and has left it alone for quite a while. I was hoping she'd gotten the idea out of her system. Eventually I'd like to get another bed for her. In my research, I ran across this bed. I wonder if anyone has tried it and how their dog did?

 

http://www.k9ballistics.com/Original-Tuff-Bed_p_155.html

[TEC]

My six year old decided to eat and destroy her bed for the first time. She coughed-up big wads of coarse fibers for about 4-5 days. She drank water a little more than usual, but I didn't see any other change in her behavior. Her eating, pooping, play, stockwork all remained normal. After 2-3 days of hacking-up big chunks, I took her to a trusted vet. He looked her over and asked about her habits. He advised that x-rays can be taken to be sure there is no obstruction, but that they can easily show a false negative. I didn't see evidence of fibers in her feces. I continued to watch her closely, and she was fine.

 

If Jinx begins to act oddly, or throws-up more than normal, I'd take him into the vet for a check. It will give you peace of mind.

 

I looked for the ballistics nylon bed as shown in the above post, but not finding one in the brick-and-mortar stores, settled on Kong Brand. It's heavy nylon and has held-up for quite some time.

 

The strangest thing about the entire episode for me was that the wads of bedding usually had no particles of food debris with them. They were clean as a whistle. -- Best wishes, TEC

[Liz P]

I would have him crated in the tent. Too risky to sleep with a loose pup in a tent (might escape while you are sleeping).

 

If he throws up, gets diarrhea or acts at all sick he should go to the vet ASAP in case of a blockage.

 

I have dog beds all over the house, and mine choose to use them most of the time. Dogs who don't chew them have memory foam bath mats in their crates (cheaper than the dog crate mats).

[Shetlander]

Quinn didn't have a bed in for most of the time I crated him (he was finally loose all the time somewhere between 18 months and 2 years). So he slept on the hard surface of the crate floor and it didn't seem to do him any harm. I would have preferred he had a nice bed, but didn't want to run the risk of an obstruction, in addition to throwing money away on beds. I would also vote to keep an active young puppy crated in a tent.

[Gideon's girl]

I would have him crated in the tent. Too risky to sleep with a loose pup in a tent (might escape while you are sleeping).

It took my JRT all of 10 minutes to figure out how to work a zipper. Fortunately, it was while the kids were camping in the pasture at home.

 

Gideon can have a bed, but hates them, though he will nap on the couch for a little bit sometimes. Micah ate beds to the point of being very dangerous as a puppy and has just recently been allowed a bed again. He doesn't really use it either. I use old towels and blankets that can be thrown in the wash. I just today got a Pet Pillow from Jeffers for traveling to classes and such. It's like a very small thick quilt, only $10.

[Oko]

Feist has a bizarre quirk in that she enjoys peeing on dog beds, so she doesn't get one until she's house trained.

 

But she does sleep on my bed or some other squishy thing quite a bit. She also chooses to sleep on the hard wood floor frequently. Between that and the bed peeing, I don't understand her.

[GentleLake]

There's also this one that a friend swears by:

 

http://www.primopads.com/index.html

[GentleLake]

When one of my fosters swallowed a hunk of stuffing from a plush toy he destroyed, my vet told me to put 2 fingersful of petroleum jelly on the roof of his mouth so he'd swallow it. (Silly dog thought it was yummy and licked it off my fingers. ). Vet said it would help the fluff pass through his intestines without blocking. Casey passed a slimy wad of stuffing easily the next day.

 

Not sure how quickly you'd have to do this for it to be effective, but IMO it's a good thing to know about.

[Liz P]

Most of those cat laxative products are actually flavored petroleum jelly.

[GentleLake]

Most of those cat laxative products are actually flavored petroleum jelly.

 

How soon after the dog ate stuffing would the petroleum jelly have to be administered?

[Gideon's girl]

There's also this one that a friend swears by:

 

http://www.primopads.com/index.html

That's my favorite too.

[Mdaniels]

If you are tent camping, you're going to want something for them to lay on. Ground is very cold. Also, I use a joggers leash that's very long. I just loop it around my waist when we're sleeping, and the dog doesn't leave the tent. Not that he tries, but just to be safe!

[Liz P]

Yeah, but a puppy might eat the tent, sleeping bags, cloths, etc. Pups should be safely contained in crates.

[Mdaniels]

Yes, true!

[Jescano]

Yeah, but a puppy might eat the tent, sleeping bags, cloths, etc. Pups should be safely contained in crates.

Would love to put him in a crate, but we are hiking in and Jinx and I are sharing a two person backpacking tent...His crate would take up more than half my tent, and I don't even think it would fit through the door or fit height wise at all. For those that don't backpack that's a very tight fit for two people. Comfortable fit for one and a dog.

 

If you are tent camping, you're going to want something for them to lay on. Ground is very cold. Also, I use a joggers leash that's very long. I just loop it around my waist when we're sleeping,

Oh it's going to get cold. It will probably be in the 20's MAYBE the teens... My hope is he'll sleep in my bag with me, he'll act as a nice little space heater. There's definitely enough room in it for the both of us. I would wrap him in my down jacket...but he is not to be trusted. I was considering the leash thing before you mentioned it... I think I will do that and just keep him harness on him and attach him to me like that. Hiking up with a ruffwear leash where the handle can also be a belt.

 

 

I sprayed down everything that will be in the tent with an apple cider vinegar/vinegar mix that seems to offend him, so I think that will help. Also going to bring him things to chew on so hopefully the fact that the equipment will taste bad and he will have good things to chew on will help keep my stuff safe. I'm also a very light sleeper and he'll be playing with the two other dogs that are going with us all day, so with them, plus the hike in(it's not that long, couple miles) I'm hoping he'll be tired enough to just sleep. He probably will be. And thankfully I'm a light sleeper while backpacking and if he decides to wake up and move around in the tent he really can't go anywhere without walking on top of me so it should wake me up.

[G. Festerling]

And they can not chew up the primo pads?

 

I have one that is terrible about eating everything!!!! Had some close calls with things disappearing just to make an appearance a few days later and not out the back end either!

So I am super hesitant to give her anything she can swallow!

[Jescano]

I like the idea of the primo pad too... I don't think I'll try a "real bed" though until he's over the chewing thing.

[GentleLake]

And they can not chew up the primo pads?

 

I'd never say never, but they do have a replacement guarantee.

 

The thing I don't like about the replacement guarantee, though, is that it's only good for 30 days. So if you have a dog who didn't start out chewing and decides to start after the 30 days is up, or if you get a new dog later after the warranty has expired and that dog manages to chew it up, then you're SOL.

 

But, still, from what I've heard they're a pretty tough pad, and I plan to buy several so all my crates will have them, as soon as my budget allows.

[Gideon's girl]

And they can not chew up the primo pads?

 

I have one that is terrible about eating everything!!!! Had some close calls with things disappearing just to make an appearance a few days later and not out the back end either!

So I am super hesitant to give her anything she can swallow!

Yes, they can chew up the Primo Pads. It was harder to chew up than some things, but mine didn't find it all that hard. I think I'd be safe getting another one by now.

[GentleLake]

Btw, my dogs all love their beds . . . and there's one that's even a favorite and all 3 will try to get that one. The old gal (~15-16) will stand looking longingly at the bed if someone else is on it. I bought it for her, so I'll call whomever's on it off so that she can have her chance at it. If the dogs are lounging, that bed's always occupied, even if someone's on the couch with me and there's a free dog bed.

[juliepoudrier]

I just get the thick cotton bath mats, fold them in half and they fit perfectly in an intermediate Vari-Kennel. I also use folded up Mexican blankets for cold times. All are cheaper, easy to wash/replace. My dogs who chew beds get nothing in their crates at home. Willow gets some newspaper for absorbency should she have an accident while crated, but at 16.5 years still can't be trusted not to destroy bedding in a crate. Interestingly, when we travel, the dogs who normally chew bedding generally don't so they all can have bedding in their crates in the van.

 

At home, bedding mainly consists of old bedspreads, blankets, afghans, and similar folded to make a thick bed and placed in strategic sleeping areas. There were once two wicker beds (one a Moses basket that Twist loved, but Willow ate that too). The other still exists and is well used.

 

I like the idea of an indestructable bed, but honestly I wouldn't want to sleep on a plastic/vinyl covered anything, and although I know dogs don't sweat, if I''m giving them a bed, I want it to be "cushy." Just my opinion.

 

J.

[Gideon's girl]

I like the idea of an indestructable bed, but honestly I wouldn't want to sleep on a plastic/vinyl covered anything, and although I know dogs don't sweat, if I''m giving them a bed, I want it to be "cushy." Just my opinion.

 

J.

I tend to think this way too, but the beds that I like the most are usually the ones my dogs like the least. Of course, I live in Florida, where it never actually gets cold, that may have a LOT to do with it. When I get a cushy bed, they will only use it as a pillow, but they do like their new pillow.

[juliepoudrier]

The beds my dogs like best are my human bed, and the pillow they like best is my human pillow. Makes for a struggle at bedtime, but they all happily sleep on folded blankets (then again that might be because I have hardwood floors and keep the thermostat low, so in winter if they don't want to freeze to death they need to get on a bed...).

 

Bad cell phone photos of dogs hogging my bed:

 

 

I think Pip is resting his precious big ol' head on my very expensive Tempurpedic neck pillow....

 

And Phoebe puts a new twist on it, preferring to rest her legs at a hotel:

 

Pip after a long midsummer's day setting sheep:

 

Yep, people beds are preferred!

 

J.

[Maja]

One of my recent dog beds