When Dogs Choose their Dog Beds

Dogs can’t talk. So they have certain learnt ways to communicate their needs to us, mostly for things like “I need out to toilet” or “I want food” or “Come this way please” or “I want in, open the door!!!”. But since they can’t tell you how well they slept in their dog beds last night, we don’t know. Firstly, how would a dog be able to communicate that it was cold or uncomfortable last night? Secondly, once the uncomfortable night is in the past, the dog puts it behind him and only looks forward. In extreme cases of uncomfortable dog beds, he might go in to his dog room or kennel at night and avoid or refuse to go ON his bed, but mostly a dog will just put up with bad treatment and accept his lot in bedding. Some people think that chewing the dog bed is a sign of dislike for it, but this is clearly not the case. You might argue that if your dog has a little, cheap dog bed that he doesn’t like and kicks it OUT of the kennel, it would probably be a sign of disapproval or at least a message saying that the bare floors are better than these types of inferior dog beds.

So, in other words, we have to guess. We have to try and think like a dog, so if your dog lives in a kennel, you can imagine how he would like to have some warm, sheltered, dark space where he can sleep on a scrumptious warm dog bed away from any wind and rain and light. In the enclosed part of a good quality kennel, warm waterproof dog beds perhaps with a fleece on, are really good as he will be running in and out, even on rainy days, and he will probably drag a bit of wet and mud in to the dog bed. If it is a waterproof dog bed, he will not end up making it soggy all the way through, the dampness will simply evaporate from the surface and leave the inside warm and insulating, which is essential if there is a concrete floor in the kennel.For the outside of the kennel, draught excluding dog beds are highly recommended. Dogs LOVE to be outside in the day time, but they don’t always want to be standing, they like nice dog beds to lie on. The absolute ideal one is a Raised Dog Bed with high sides. This way the dog will be high up to see the world, raised from the cold floor and be protected from the draughty wind. Tuffies supply a raised bed with a liner, which is very quick and easy to remove for washing.