Having a safe place for your dog to consider their own helps them to settle, and to relax in their own home. It’s a space where your dog can sleep or chill undisturbed (and child free).
Jake and Truly like to take their treats to enjoy in their own beds. That said, if Jake and Truly have a raw meat treat I tend to move them to the garden. As a non-meat eater myself, I don’t really like the thought of raw meat smeared on my carpet! I monitor Jake and Truly closely in the garden, highly prized treats have the potential to cause disagreement in a multi dog family, even in the most harmonious households. Supervision and lots of space outside is therefore vital.
Back to talking about beds….
Jake and Truly have beds downstairs and upstairs. Jake also has a soft crate in the spare room as a place he can disappear. The ‘door’ is zipped away underneath so the crate is always open. They do chop and change beds, and have been known to share.. although that’s quite rare.
Jake and Truly’s beds are designed to be really comfortable for their joints, especially given their respective ages. With a combination of conventional firm foam and memory foam.
If you’re looking for a memory foam bed for your dog, you’ll find a huge range of pre made memory foam beds online. Some are beautifully designed with personalised embroidery! As memory foam tends to have a shorter lifespan, I think £200-300 is a lot to spend. With the cheaper beds I find the memory foam is too thin. But shhh, I’m happy to share with you how I provide Jake and Truly with the same level of comfort, at a reasonable price.
If your dog beds have removable covers (or you’re gifted in the sewing department) you can also buy foam separately and replace the foam yourself.
What to look for?
I buy the foam as ‘off cuts’ from furniture factories. With a strong pair of scissors I cut the foam to the required shape. Before buying I make sure the supplier is UK based and that the foam meets UK standards, I also read the customer reviews to make sure the foam doesn’t smell of chemicals, and that the foam arrives flat packed (rather than rolled). When the foam is delivered, I tend to leave the foam outdoors to air before using.
Jake’s main bed is a Ferplast plastic bed that once belonged to my first dog Winston. Jake has two rectangular mattresses that fit one on top of the other. The first mattress has a ‘normal’ foam base to provide the structured cushioning in the base. The second mattress is 7.5cm of memory foam, as a minimum. Any thinner the cushioning benefits disappear.
Truly’s main bed is a corner sofa style, and again the cover is removable for washing, so the foam can be replaced. The Kirkland beds although reasonably priced, now seem to have foam crumb and I don’t think this is as good as the solid mattress style. I order 12cm depth of replacement memory foam for Truly’s bed.
How much does it cost? I pay approximately £46-50 including delivery to replace the foam in two beds. All the luxury Jake and Truly deserve, but at a fraction of the cost
Until next time
Jen
