Homemade dog bed questions

[Alsatian_MaMa]

Hello!

I didn't know where else to put this question so here I am. I've tried plenty of dog beds, but they are never the right size or what have you so I'm going to make my own.

I live in Alaska, but that doesn't prevent my Bear from over heating pretty easily. Should I use memory foam for comfort for him? Or just regular stuffing and foam pads one can find in any store? Should I use fleece for the outer layer or something more permeable if I'm going to use memory foam? Will I have to treat it with anything so I don't have to worry about pests or anything?

I am aware this is a bit of a strange question, but most of my friends are cat owners and are of little help.

Thanks!

[gagsd]

Sorry can't be of help. My idea of "making" a dog bed is to throw an old comforter on the floor folded up
The one my dogs like best and that has survived longest is a canvas covered one from Eddie Bauer.

[Doc]

Buy a baby crib mattress then put an old blanket down over it.

[Bear GSD]

I don't use one because my dog is the only dog I know of that will not sleep on a bed, lol!
I have heard people using baby crib mattresses for the economy factor. They are large enough for a big dog and you can easily get sheets to cover it and if you want to put something in between the mattress and sheets you could probably add a layer of something? to it.

DOC...we posted at the same time

[Alsatian_MaMa]

Hmm, I'll definitely look into the baby mattress thing. And the comforter made me chuckle a little as it seems Bear will only lay on the floor, my bed, or the couch so the comforter looks like his type of "spoiled rotten" haha.

I have a friend who's an excellent seamstress, but if one of those ideas work well and budget friendly I'm all for it

[wildo]

Recently I bought a 3" thick memory foam topper for my bed. Since, I've noticed that Pimg really likes laying on it and so I started thinking about an orthopedic bed for her. I found this youtube video which though it is clearly full of marketing nonsense, the basic premise made sense to me:

• Memory foam bottoms out but is supportive
• Egg crate foam creates pressure points but doesn't bottom out

How do you make the BEST orthopedic dog bed? Buddy Beds - voted the best memory foam dog bed! - YouTube

How do you make the BEST orthopedic dog bed? Buddy Beds - voted the best memory foam dog bed! - YouTube

The idea of combining the two seemed pretty logical to me and I started researching how much $$$ it would take to make one. You can find "twin" size memory foam bed toppers on Amazon for about $50- up to about 3" thick, though 2" seems more standard. You can even find normal foam pads on Amazon as well (though these are a bit more expensive- around $70 for a size comparable to a twin mattress). Both pad sizes would be enough to make two GSD sized ortho beds. The only thing you'd have to do is sew a cover to encase them both.

And I can sew just fine. I can even install zippers. But I'm kind of lazy, so I took the lazy way out and bought two normal dog crate pads- one egg crate foam and one memory foam. Since this pic, I've reversed the pad order and put the egg crate on top and the memory foam on bottom as I found the egg crate one is a bit softer overall. When Pimg lays on it (and she does OFTEN now!) you can see her sink right in, but still be well elevated off the floor about 2.5" or so. She loves it.



[EDIT]- while a crib mattress definitely seems popular and plenty of dogs seem to like it, my dog does NOT like her crib mattress and never lays on it. I should have returned it to the store, but I pretty much forgot about it.

[gagsd]

Pimg is one lucky dog!

[wildo]

I'm one lucky owner!

[Liesje]

I usually get a twin egg crate topper (or get a new queen one for myself and cut the old one in half the hotdog way), then fold it in thirds and wrap with a blanket. I've also had my sister sew a fitted cover like a pillowcase but find folding a blanket around it works too. Easy to clean in the wash machine.

[Shade]

Delgado likes to "dig" his bed so he has two queen size blankets for his night bed. A queen size blanket in his crate. Also a normal plush dog bed which I wrapped the core with a mattress pad and zipped close again. He loves both kinds