If you are considering buying your dog a bed, you've got a whole load to think about – namely type, size and the personality of your dog.
But even after you've figured out your dogs sleeping behaviour, measured him, found the perfect size bed and are about to click buy... have you thought about you?
No, we’re not talking about how comfy you’ll find it, or whether you can snuggle up on the floor with your fur baby (hey, this is a judgement free zone). But about the practicality of the items you will buy.
Here’s 7 questions you need to ask yourself before you commit to a dog bed, especially an expensive one.
1. Is it the right bed for you dog?
The first thing to consider is the need of your dog. We’ve written a whole guide about how to buy the perfect dog bed, so if you want details on the kind of bed you might want to consider, you know where to go.
There’s a bed for every dog. If your furry family member is on the older side, have you considered an
Take your time, investigate every type of bed, don’t just get the first one you see – you’ll might find that your pooch has other ideas and continue using your favourite rug.
2. What’s the best material for my dog bed?
With some dogs, you run your hand over their scruffy necks and you end up being able to stuff a whole pillow with the hairs on your hand, others won’t shed a single strand. Some dogs furs carry every trace of dirt and mud, others would rather die that step in a puddle. There is as much variation in the materials of dog begs, as there are types of dog beds. There’s nothing wrong with getting a comfy pillow bed that also happens to be easy to wipe.
Equally, you may want to consider extra strong materials for happy chewers.
3. Is it easily washable?
If you’ve read our notes on dog hairs and mud, you’ll know both of these are generally part of the woes and joys of being a dog owner. Try as you might, the dog bed will eventually need washing.
If you have a large dog, get a large bed that has a cover you can wash. Nothing worse than having to go to the laundrette every month to wash the cover. If you have a smaller bed, make sure it fits in your washing machine, or look for beds with covers. You don’t want to be washing a bed in your bathtub, scrubbing on all fours every month.
4. How often do I need to wash a dog bed… really?
The official answer is that you should wash the dog bed every week, or a minimum of twice a month.
The honest answer, as a dog owner and friends of dog mummas and papas everywhere, is… when you remember to, and when you can’t avoid it any longer.
We know a couple of french bulldogs who fell in love with their Daddy’s ‘gamer’ leather bean bag and claimed it as their own, where they cuddle up as cute as two peas in a pod. This suits their owners, as their heavy shedding can be hoovered quickly enough off the leather, but who knows when he last ‘wiped’ the bean bags clean. Now no one uses it but the pups.
And whilst you we don’t recommend you go that far, hygiene wise, this isn’t the worst thing in the world. At a minimum, make sure you clean their beds every other month, and in between, pass the hand-held hoover over the bed every time you hoover the house or carpets. It’s all down to what you can live with and the breed of your dog.
If you have a mixed poodle breed, such as a cockapoo, you may find you don’t need to wash the beds as often as a working Border Collie who’s been running in and out of the fields on a daily basis. If you pampered poodle spends more time at the salon than you do, you’re probably ok shaking out their beds out of the house once a week.
You have to be practical and clean. The only exception of course, is accidents. If you don’t clean Urine or Excrements the moment it happens, chances are it can soak through to the beds and ruin your dogs favourite resting place.
5. Do you own more than one dog?
Generally speaking, it is recommended that every dog in your household should have their own bed. For all the reasons we listed above, it’s important for them to have their own space.
However, there is a reason why your puppy is desperate to climb onto your bed: dogs generally quite like to sleep in piles. So if you have more than one dog, it’s worth getting at least one bed that can fit multiple puppies.
If they can’t all fit in one bed, they may not use and rather sleep on the floor cosy up next to their brother and sister rather than alone in their little nest beds. If you are unsure what they might prefer, make sure at least one of the beds is a pillow bed large enough for two of them.
6. Do I need to transport it easily?
Travelling with your dog is not as difficult as you might think. Ruff Rascals is a big advocate for the fact that you can live your life with your canine friend right beside you every step of the way; from camping, to cycling with your dog, to holidays.
But we also know that life is complicated, and there is a lot of things to consider. For example, it may not be practical to take your Great Dane with you on your summer holidays with the family every year, but your friend or dog sitter is happy to have him – but then what do you do for beds? Drag his big ass
It’s really not possible to drag a bed along with you every time you go on holiday or he has to go to the dog sitter, considering investing in a good camping dog bed or/and a blanket. It will give them comfort, that smell of home, and camping dog bed should be easy to take with you wherever you go.
7. Do I need more than one?
Unless you live in a larger than average home, chances are your dogs will be happy with one bed each. So if you have one dog, you don’t need to buy more than one bed. This is especially true if your dog is restricted to living in a particular part of the house or outdoors.
But maybe you want to and maybe you want more flexibility?
Not because they are spoiled (which they might be), not because you want the best for them (which you do), but because it’s easier than having to drag a bed to different rooms in the house.
This is only for people who allow their dogs free roam of the home. If you’ve taught them not to jump on furniture, this is generally not a problem. But if you like your dog sleeping in your room upstairs at night, but then spend most of your time downstairs, you may not want to drag their bed up and down the stairs every morning and evening.
Maybe you live in a warm country, where you have the doors to your patio open, and it’s nice for them to have a safe space outside, as well as indoors. There is a multitude of reasons why you may need more than one bed, for your sake as much as theirs. You have to do what’s right for you and for you fur family.
Do Dogs really need dog beds?
So why can’t you just put a blanket on the floor and let them have that? Well, you can, but there are many benefits to giving your dog a bed.
Beds gives dog security, their own space, teaches them where to go and where not to go, and is good for their health in the long run.
- It is important for your dog to have a safe and comfortable space to sleep that is completely theirs. Even if you are the type of owner who are happy for their little rascals to sleep on human sofas and beds, it’s still important for them to have one space that is their own which they can go away to when they need time by themselves. This also seconds as a ‘security’ blanket, of sorts, for when you are away from them.
- Dogs will find the cosiest, nicest space and go to sleep. Do you know what are those spaces? The sofa, your mother’s favourite chair, your bed, even your toddlers bunk beds. This may not be ideal for all sorts of reasons, and a dog bed gives you dog boundaries: it tells them that this is where they sleep at night and all other human furniture is out of bounds. Because, let’s be honest, if you have a dog that sheds, likes to roll in muck, or loves nothing more than a good swim, you want to teach them that there are limits to where they can and cannot go.
- Most importantly, in the long term in won’t do your dog’s joints or bones any good to constantly sleep on the floors. They will sleep on the floor a lot of the time. Because that’s what they do. But as they get older, you’ll notice that they will head to their nice soft cosy bed more often than not.
If you want to try and avoid expensive Vet bills later in life, it’s worth investing in a couple of good dog beds for around the house or a hammock bed for the outdoors.
They can’t talk to you and let you know what they need, so it’s up to you to do the research. Once you’ve found what you need, you don’t need to spend the earth – there are a great many good budget beds as well as high end luxury, and many in between.
