Dog Beds – Shopping Tips
As dogs became domesticated thousands of years ago, human beings found that the relationship between the two species was beneficial for both. People loved having dogs around to provide safety, for their hunting ability, and companionship for themselves and families. In return, the dog got a little food, a comfortable, warm and dry place to sleep, and a name like, “Fido” and “Rover.” It wasn’t hard to transform these canines into furry friends.
Dog beds have become a large part of this thousands-of-years-old relationship and a lot of things have changed throughout the years. If you’re looking around for a dog bed, our modern production techniques and competition between manufacturers has created a vast marketplace and assortment to choose from. Picking out a good dog bed will depend on many factors – several of them listed below:
1) How big is your dog, and does it have long or short hair?
2) How much does your pet weigh?
3) Does the dog sleep indoors or out?
4) What’s your climate like?
5) Does the bed need to be waterproof?
6) Should the dog bed be heated, or not?
If your pet is a working dog breed and gets dirty quite often, then you need a dog bed which has a removable cover so you can throw it into the washing machine for easy cleaning. Often, a bed will have a long zipper along one side so the cover can be removed in seconds. If the bed cover is removed outdoor, keep the pad within the cover off the ground until you can replace the cover.
Always check that the filling of the dog bed will remain sanitary, or can be washed itself. A dog bed must be kept off of the actual floor or ground surface (unless it is in your home on clean floors, of course). If you use it in a dog kennel, then a flat pad is fine. Some dog beds actually look like a hammock, and the dog is suspended off the ground and kept quite comfortable and dry.
Pay particular attention to the size of the bed to match the size of your dog so your furry friend will find it very comfortable. It’s certainly okay to oversize the bed for smaller breeds, but a bed that does not give ample room for legs and hips can give discomfort instead the comfort you intended to provide. Certain breed of dogs need a particular style of bed, but you really can’t go wrong with a general purpose bed for your above average dog!