Dog beds - revisited

The bigger, more expensive orthopedic dog bed arrived a few days ago.

Meadow - and I - question whether this really is a dog bed.

This one came from Drs. Foster and Smith. When the FedEx guy brought the package to the door, I thought there was a mistake. It was too small. I cut open the box, and still thought there was a mistake, even though the fabric encased in the plastic was what I expected based on the online photos. I had ordered a waterproof liner for the bed's inside, to protect the foam (Maia has occasional "flooding"); I didn't see it in the box. I read the packing invoice, discovering that Drs. Foster and Smith are proud to reduce shipping bulk by vacuum sealing products like this bed. "Let the bed sit, and the non-memory foam will expand to its normal shape with several hours," the literature advised. I cut open the plastic, set the bed on the floor, and within about ten minutes, voila...

Bed, having breathed a bit, berber/furry side up.

Maia cautiously checking out  her new bed, poly/cotton twill side up.

The waterproof liner? It was already "installed" around the foam interior. Sweet! 


This orthopedic bed cost $85; the plastic liner was another $40. The bed cover is washable with a generous zipper for easy removal. The foam seems firm, completely fills the bed cover, and being non-memory, returns to uniform density after each use. The "berber" side was advertised as "hair-catching" but I'm not sure that's the case (although I admit nothing can catch all the malamute hair these dogs produce and shed on a regular basis). The berber looks rather like some cheap sort of fake fur, on the thin side, which wasn't what I was expecting. Were I to order another of these beds - and this point, I would; it seems to be a good bed - I'd skip the berber option and just get one entirely of twill.

As with the other bed, Maia was reluctant to try this new one. Because of the liner, it makes a swishing sound when she steps on it. She walked across it, at my insistence, but stepped right off. I set it by the sliding glass doors, where she frequently snoozes and where the other bed seemed to entice her. And waited. Later that evening:

Close, Maia, but not quite what I had hoped.

I guess malamutes and beds are just not a natural combination.


I moved the bed over to the left. That produced better results, first with Finn, then Meadow, and finally Maia:

Finn needs no enticing.

Meadow, demonstrating that I got the sizing correct - large is large enough.

And finally, the next day...success!

Maia now uses the bed about half of the time she's inside. She especially likes it after spending most of a night outside on the grass. (Sleeping outside is always her choice; I'd prefer she come inside with the rest of us, but I think Maia's always hoping to see something come near the yard - a deer, elk, coyote, raccoon, fox; doesn't matter.) When she asks to come inside, in the wee hours of the morning, she heads straight to the bed. I can hear her doing about three circles on it before settling down with a big sigh.


The other bed? Finn likes and uses it a lot. A couple nights ago, I experimented by placing it where I had a throw rug near my bed, where Meadow typically sleeps at night. Meadow was willing to use the bed, but she's one of those dogs who sometimes scratches her bedding with a fore paw, moving it into a lumpy pile, making a nest. She also tends to drag her hind feet lazily, and often caught the edge of the bed as she stepped onto it, folding it over or moving it away from the wall. I often awoke to see her half on/half off the bed, or the bed moved three feet away from its starting point, abandoned.


Can't say I didn't try!

Two very different beds, each with their pros and cons. 

The ortho bed has more cushioning. I tried it myself. The dogs can't even feel the floor when they're on it. It's more substantial, so doesn't slide around on the floor. One they got used to the sound of the liner when they stepped on it, they completely accepted it as a good place to snooze. While I'll put it in the back of the car (where Maia can lie on it during) and take it back to Seattle with me when we go, its size makes it less appealing for travel, and it will take up a significant chunk of available floor space in my small townhouse.


The Canine Hardware bed, at $40 and a third of the price, completely washable, and big enough for even the malamutes. Having its own stuff sack is a real plus for traveling. On the down side, the stuffing is minimal - rather like a down sleeping bag but slightly lumpier - so I'm sure the dogs can feel the floor when they snooze on it. Still, it provides some cushioning for aging elbows and hips. And if the girls don't use it much, Finn totally appreciates it.