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Preferred type of dog bed?


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What type of dog bed does your dog prefer?

 

I have thought about this off and on for a little while once I started noticing that my dogs seem to prefer the lower cost polyfill beds over the memory foam beds. The polyfill beds have a bolster entirely around, and the memory foam beds have a bolster on 3 sides.

 

I recently perused the Orvis dog catalog and was noticing the overabundance of memory foam beds being marketed.

 

Since my dogs don't appear to like the memory foam beds that much, I was wondering what other dogs seem to prefer. Are they in the minority, and most dogs really do prefer the memory foam?

 

 

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The only dog bed ( and it's not really a dog bed ) mine consistently use is a crib mattress. Otherwise they seem to prefer using their crates with blankets or the human furniture. Bug uses a cardboard box I originally had out to fill with clothes to donate but ultimately ended up with a couple of fleece blankets.


I've TRIED both memory foam, big pillow, and those round ones but they just don't get used here.

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They prefer the human bed. :P

 

Honestly they basically live on couches and my bed. They do have a GIANT kong bed that I got (on a good sale!) with the idea that they could all fit on there at once. Nope. If even one tiny papillon is in one corner of the bed the rest seem to view it as off limits. I could probably fit 12+ papillons on this thing but nope, only one dog at a time.

 

Hank has shredded all the crate beds so he just has a kong mat now. :/

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I have two molly mutt duvets stuffed with old blankets and comforters that Crow likes. Like these: http://www.muttropolis.com/products2.cfm?ID=21880&Name=Doghouse-Fun-Dog-Bed-Cover&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=CSE&gclid=CjwKEAiAvauyBRDwuYf3qNyXmW4SJACX9-fXo17Qa26ecDyK0k4pZdgt-zqvX7Khl89MkisWlY6cCRoCKTvw_wcB

 

I also have a round bed that comes up on both sides that I got from walmart. Tess loves to curl up in it. She's always liked the beds with sides the best. Like this: http://source-www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/7/729849112490BS1.jpg but the sides aren't quite that tall.

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Livi has a fleece pad in her crate just because it makes me feel better, but no bed yet. I think she might enjoy a bed (if the kids leave a couch pillow on the floor she'll find it and lie down on it every time), but I'm waiting till she's a little older in hopes it'll last longer if we get it after she's past puppyhood.

 

A friend of mine manages an independent pet store and she tells most people to go with the cheap or no beds. But she does recommend the nice memory foam beds for older dogs who are just not comfortable on a regular bed or the floor. I guess the better cushioning helps with comfort and the stable surface helps them get up and down safely. Makes sense.

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Mine all prefer the Costco round beds. They run about $30 and are huge. Nothing fancy, but sturdy and thick. They develop a depression in the center as the dogs use them, but the redistribution of stuffing is so minor that I don't fluff them to fix it.

 

I don't know why the retail price is listed at $42 on their web page since I pay $27 at the local warehouse.

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Kieran doesn't seem to show a preference for any bed. He has a memory foam one and a cheap polyfill one. I guess if anything, he prefers my bed, but if we're not in my room he'll randomly choose one of the beds to lie on. Usually, he seems to go for the one that is closest to the family. He'll even go in cardboard boxes, though, lol.

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I prefer a raised bed with legs, as it's easy to clean (both the bed and under it) and the dog isn't lying on a hard surface. I don't know which tipe Tess prefers as that's the only one she has. But she seems to like it allright. At night she sleeps in my bed but only gets on furniture when invited.

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Of all the different dog beds in my house, I can tell which are the favorites by which ones I have to de-fur most, and the dogs' favorites are the bath mats that are what we use for rugs. I prefer something that easily goes in the wash, and lo and behold, so do they. Since I live in Florida and cold is never an issue, they don't like warm beds, not even ours.

 

We do call Micah the cave dragon, because he prefers his "cave" on the bare floor most of the time.

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Cal loves her dog bed (Link) so much that we got a second one to put upstairs so she wouldn't try to haul the original up the stairs (yes, she tried to drag it up). She curls up in it, puts her tail over her eyes, and sleeps like the dead.

 

She's never been fond of just flat memory foam. We also have a cheap bed we got from WalMart that we regretted buying because it had sharp wood chips mixed into the fluff (and they refused to accept a return because they claimed WE put them there...) so we emptied the fabric shell of the fluff and wood chips and stuffed it full of two or three pillows. She sleeps on that one when she's hot because the fabric stays cool longer.

 

Obviously the human bed or the couches are preferred though. ;)

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The tricky thing about the beds that are called "memory foam" is that they are actually that egg crate foam. They aren't the tempur-pedic style memory foam (if you want one of those you'll pay a good deal for it.

 

My oldest dog has always loved wicker dog beds with something soft inside to sleep on. For years she slept in a Moses basket, until some puppy(ies) chewed it to the point where I had to dispose of it. I have the round Costco beds and the bolster style. I have one that's sort of a bolster that I bought at an agility trial, and I have another that I bought at a pet expo that is just regular thin foam, maybe an inch thick. Then there's the "cup bed" someone gave me. And all the various old quilts and blankets that are no longer fit for use by the human, but which make fine beds for the dogs. My dogs have shown no preference for any particular bed of the many choices they have. In summer they prefer the concrete floor, mostly, and I have a couple who really believe the only place to sleep is on my bed. And the easy chair or love seat.

 

I, too, prefer something that is easily washed, and that's the quilts and thinner beds. But my older arthritic dog(s) really needs to be up of the floor on softer bedding, so I keep a selection of beds. I had another old dog who loved one of those thick foam (4") orthopedic beds. It was pretty stiff, but she loved it.

 

When Twist is feeling particularly achy she will ask to get on my bed, which has a tempur-pedic style topper. If she asks, she gets to get up there for the night.

 

J.

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If I buy beds, I only buy orthopedic foam. I don't bother with the overpriced egg crate foam or cheap poly filled beds. My dogs definitely prefer the foam beds, especially my cripple boy. They aren't allowed on the furniture. I have blankets laying around too, but they are slick on the hardwood floor. I worked at a pet resort for several years and saw how much better the arthritic dogs did on the ortho pads. I've also made several from the green foam at the fabric store and did homemade covers for less money. Very durable!

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I have a few of the old style Costco dog 'blankets'. I fold them in quarters and there's one by my desk and one in the car.

 

I've also picked up some polar fleece type throws at thrift stores, and fold them in quarters as well. Those go on the carpet in the other parts of the house.

 

Gibbs spends the first half of the night at his favorite spot, just about the dead center of the house, it's got a folded throw on carpet. At some point, around 3 or 4 a.m., he comes in and jumps up on the bed with me.

 

I had a couple of the beds that you could take a cover off and wash the cover, but I never felt that the whole bed was clean. Gibbs seems fine with what we've got, if he needs something cushier as he gets older, I'll get him one.

 

Ruth and Gibbs

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Mine prefer the foam, but that actually is all I have available to them.

 

They LOVE the memory foam topper on the regular bed. Bandit and Dean both like to sleep on it on their backs!!

 

But Dean and Tessa like the foam dog beds. They were both ortho beds for Speedy and they are pretty nice.

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Smalahundur, mine love hay too lol. Given the chance, I would happily leave mine out in the barn, and they would love it, but having moved where I have neighbors, I just don't leave them out if I'm not there. They are used to barking at whatever and in my efforts to be a good neighbor, I keep them in. So since I've given up on having rugs in the house with seven dogs, I purchase beds out of necessity. So I go for the ortho beds. Especially since I don't allow them on the furniture and I have a couple oldies and a uncoordinated neuro issue dog.

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My dogs like my bed the best :) , or the couches, of course. But they have beds of their own as well. Kit likes her extra-thick egg crate foam that is under my bed, so it is her den at night. Jester prefers a large polyfill bed that came from Costco and is quite firm. Digger and Boo like smaller beds that are round and have a side all the way around it so they can curl up (which is also what the cats like best and it's just a matter of who gets there first). But most of the time they just curl up wherever I am: couch, loveseat, bed. As for my preference, a dog bed has to have a removable cover that is washable or forget it.

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What I am calling 'memory foam' is not the eggshell type of foam, but rather the 'hard' foam. At least that is what comes in those Orvis dog beds that say they have memory foam. [Note: I do not buy full price Orvis dog beds $$$$$, because we have a local thrift shop that will sell Orvis dog beds for about 1/3 of retail. I think these beds are returns, but they go through a 'cleaning' before being put on the sale floor.]

 

My old girl has her polyfill bed with a bolster, but I notice that if she isn't in it, one of the other dogs immediately claims it. I have to remove them (or a cat) before she will go to her bed - because of course, she can not share. ;)

 

I think that the memory foam bed might be too hot, as a couple of other people have mentioned.

 

And to tell the truth, the 2 boys are usually lying on the floor rather than a bed.

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