Best bed or a pad for crate?

[Seminoles]

Our BC Pancho, will be 7 months old on Saturday. He weighs about 32 pounds now and is super active and amazing. We got him when he was about to 7 weeks old and of course did not realize just how distructive he could be. We purchased a nice bed for him from the Pet Smart. It's a Kong bed with memory foam, it was about to $50. Pancho has been able to flip it over in his crate and chew at the under side of it. It all started with the tag. This dog will attack a tag on anything in a heartbeat. Well, today it was destroyed. We put him in his crate while we went to the store, our kids let out about 20 minutes after we left. We came home about 30-45 minutes later and it looked like it snowed memory foam in July. Now we need a new bed or pad for his crate, preferably one that is pretty indestructible. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Jescano]

Just don't use one until you think he won't tear another one up. In jinx's earlier months he destroyed two beds, ate a blanket, and loved to chew tags off anything(that's where it started with everything.) So I just stopped with the beds for a while.He still doesn't have a bed in his crate but there's one in the room that he's in most of the time and he hasn't destroyed it yet(knock on wood) but I take tags off everything and make sure that he does have appropriate things to chew on.

 

ETA: He's crated while I'm at work 8-9 hours. But recently I've been leaving him uncrated for things like naps, showers, chores out front or around the house where he would get in the way. All he does is wait around or lay down on MY bed, instead of his(even though his is way more comfy.)

[Sue R]

I agree to either leave him without a pad until he can be dependable or use some alternative. Some folks I know cut up a horse stall mat (they are usually 3' x 4' in size and 3/4" deep, and heavy) to fit a piece in the crate. It gives a hard cushion effect and is pretty indestructible.

 

Once he's proven himself able to be left out, you could try confining him to one room initially and then eventually giving him the run of the house, if you choose.

[painted_ponies]

Tractor Supply sells the same kind of mat you use in a horse stall, only it's roughly the size of an extra-large dog crate. They make perfect, indestructible crate mats.

[Cindy Evans]

Actually even the horse mats aren't indestructible. I say this from experience.

[RemsMom]

I use old blankets until puppy gets past point of chewing. If I had a very destructible puppy I wouldn't use any bedding.

 

I prefer to use blankets for my dogs to sleep on because I like that I can throw the blanket in the washing machine. Many years ago I had a bed for my dog with the zip off cover and I would wash the cover but there was no way to clean the pad.

 

I did buy a padded dog bed for my Miniature Schnauzer when she got older but the bed was small enough to put in the washing machine.

[waffles]

I have a carpet remnant piece in Levi's crate. he isn't ever crated anymore but he likes to sleep in there at times and any bed I bought, he would kick out! Apparently he prefers the bare plastic. But lowes sells brand new pieces of wall to wall carpet for cheap and it has held up well. I just stick the vacuum in there to clean it.

 

Not sure if this would dissuade a chewer though. I would rather a dog lay on the bare crate than come home to find a dog who swallowed a whole bed, carpet piece, blanket.

[GentleLake]

Primo pads. http://www.primopads.com/

 

The only problem is that the guarantee is only good for 30 days. Fine if you currently have a destructive dog, but not so great if you end up with a different chewer later on.

 

But in your situation, it could be a good option. If he can't destroy it now, unlikely he will later in.

 

There's another brand with a more canvas like material and a similar guarantee. Can't remember the name right now to look it up for you, but I'm sure it's been mentioned in these boards so you might be able to search for it.

[Gloria Atwater]

I just use old blankets or throws from the thrift store until they get past this stage. Some dog that destroy stuffed beds will actually be better behaved with blankets.

 

Maybe it's the allure of de-stuffing that makes it so fun...

~ Gloria

[olivehill]

I stock up on fleece throws every year on Black Friday. You can usually find them for $2-$4 each and they make great crate mats, car seat covers, sofa covers, tug toys, etc. I keep a cupboard full so they can be changed out frequently; just toss the old one in the wash and put a new one down him to use. All of our dogs seem to appreciate that the blankets are very malleable, too. They can spread it out flat, paw it into a nest, ball it up for a pillow, etc. etc.

[nancy]

Dixie is 2-1/2 now. Her hobbies are chewing, digging (in the trees on our back hill), and harassing the cat (who channels the evil Siamese from Lady and the Tramp - so is no innocent).

There is no pad in her crate. She chewed up two pads already. And she rather likes the crate as is. At night, we give her the run of the whole house. She doesn't chew up anything but her toys - and the cat toys if she can get them.

Oddly, she won't come upstairs unless we specifically invite her. But, downstairs, we have two room with stuffed furniture, throw pillows, afghans.... She doesn't bother them. Now. But she'll shred anything I put in her crate.

[simba]

Gloria- have a dog who loves pulling the stuffing out of anything she can lay her hands on (preferably fluffy or feathery stuffings). She does it delicately, methodically, with her front teeth. So long as she doesn't realise there's stuffing inside something, you don't have any problems.

[Maralynn]

 

I stock up on fleece throws every year on Black Friday. You can usually find them for $2-$4 each and they make great crate mats, car seat covers, sofa covers, tug toys, etc. I keep a cupboard full so they can be changed out frequently; just toss the old one in the wash and put a new one down him to use. All of our dogs seem to appreciate that the blankets are very malleable, too. They can spread it out flat, paw it into a nest, ball it up for a pillow, etc. etc.

I do the same thing. Cheap, versatile, easy to clean. Hold up well to normal wear and tear but no great loss if they get ruined somehow.

[Gloria Atwater]

Gloria- have a dog who loves pulling the stuffing out of anything she can lay her hands on (preferably fluffy or feathery stuffings). She does it delicately, methodically, with her front teeth. So long as she doesn't realise there's stuffing inside something, you don't have any problems.

 

I think some dogs are offended by the fact that stuffing exists.

 

~ Glora

[Gideon's girl]

Micah destuffed everything as a pup, except the Coke polar bear that was a previous dog's(golden mix) carry-around toy. That one he carries all over the house, just like the other dog did.

 

I also keep tons of polar fleeces around for dog beds. I love that they are so washable. Though I have to admit I'm extremely jealous of Celt's sheepskin(at least I think it was Celt).

[painted_ponies]

Instead of fleeces, I collect the Navajo saddle blankets from TSC. Only 9.99 and they're pretty sturdy. (They also come in all kinds of colors, not just red.)

Dogs can and will chew on them so I don't leave them in crates. But they're great for putting over the back seat of the truck or to use over the slipcover on the sofa or as a traction mat in front of elderly dogs' supper dishes or . . . well, bunches of other uses.

I throw mine in the washing machine every week, but you can also just hang them up on the fence and hose them off if they get stuff on them that you'd rather not have in the machine.

[Gideon's girl]

Micah ate one of those as a puppy. Fortunately, we caught him at it fairly quickly and pulled out about a foot of it that he had swallowed as one long cord. If we hadn't caught him so quickly, we could have had a really bad situation. I agree don't leave those or anything else that puppies might swallow a strand of in the crate. We had a cat come in once that had swallowed a piece of tinsel. Because of the peristaltic action of the gut, this cat had multiple perforations and was already to far gone to save.