Dog bedding options

[meanwhile]

We have two dogs, full size Lab-mix, sleep in the barn at night, have dog run outside with water, etc. The barn has a closed in "box" made of wood for sleeping inside when it is very cold. We do put cedar wood chips in there but someone also gave us huge rolls of poly-cotton mix fabric that is like a sweater or soft sweatshirt type cloth.

Is it OK to use cloth for Dog bedding? The plan would be to just toss the cloth in the compost pile next spring or use it as ground cloth later.

Thanks.

[Windy_jem]

I would just use hay bales... pile it up and make a fort for them. Remember to cover the floor for them too.

[jil101ca]

I don't see why you couldn't use it, dog beds you buy are made from cloth....

[DW]

your dogs must be better than our pup...looked like it snowed one day in the pen...stuffing from pillow! She's better now, 1 1/2 yrs old...she doesn't get the pillow outside and we make sure it's too big for her to drag outside.

[watcher]

Depends on the dog. Some will chew/eat cloth, some won't. Some will drag anything bigger than a hankie out and use it as a toy, some won't.

Personally, I rather use hay. Its easier to clean, just rake it out. After a few weeks with a dirty wet stinky dog on it that cloth is going to be NASTY. The odds are when you try to get it out it will come it in pieces meaning you will have to reach in and peel the pieces off the bottom of the house.

[travlnusa]

Mine get a bale of straw

[meanwhile]

Thanks - we do use the cedar chips and they have the closed in box to sleep in and be warm. Its just that I have these huge rolls of fabric and this will be one more way to put it to good use. Thanks -- have good weekend

[Ravenlost]

Some of our dogs sleep in the garage at night. Since I don't want cedar shavings scattered all over the garage I take large pieces of fabric and sew them into a big pillow which I then fill with the cedar shavings. The dogs really like their cedar pillows.

The outside dogs just get shavings in their doghouses. Anything fabric out there would just get torn to shreds.

[Sheripoms]

Go to Goodwill and get some old blankets for 3.00. Cheaper than a bale of hay. Or you could do like we do and let them come in and sleep on the couch.

[muzzelloader]

Just got straw for my two dogs. They have outside dog houses. I fill the houses so full the dogs can hardley get in at first but by the next day they have worked out a snug nest in the pile and seem to do quite well in the cold weather. These are boath short hair dogs.

[meanwhile]

Thanks everyone. We have piles and piles of fuzzy fabric someone gave us and so we are going to use some of it on the floor part of the dog barn but keep the cedar chips inside their sleeping box. Thanks!

[Little Quacker in OR]

You do know that a quilter would die for this fabric don't you?

It would make great baby quilts for hospitals. Our group is getting together next month for our annual quilting bee for the neonatal unit of the big hospital here. The newborns all get a quilt to take home. Think about donating part of this fabric to a local quilting club. Your fabric shops in the area can help you find them.

LQ

[BlackWillowFarm]

Most likely, like other posters have mentioned, the cloth will get wet, used as a plaything and dragged around, or something else that will make it useless as bedding. Been there, done that. If you want to use it I would put it inside a feed sack or burlap bag and tie or sew it shut so the dogs won't be so apt to mess it up or play with it. Then, if it does get to the point where you want to toss it out, you can just toss the bag with the dirty, wet, stinky, etc.... cloth inside.

I've never tried composting cloth. I don't see how it would break down small enough to be incorporated into the soil in one year. Seems like it would take several years to do that.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by Sheripoms

Go to Goodwill and get some old blankets for 3.00. Cheaper than a bale of hay. Or you could do like we do and let them come in and sleep on the couch.

Up north it is rather hard on a dog or humans system to continually be exposed to the cold and then warm house, etc. Better for the dogs to stay used to it once they are.

[uncle Will in In.]

Dogs are supposed to sleep under the front porch. <>UNK

[meanwhile]

Little Quacker: We did give lots of it away but people did not want the huge rolls. I will try the fabric shops to see if I can find a group like yours. I have at least 10 more rolls...the big size. Thanks for the tip...I will try to fabric shops and I bet they can find a group to use it.

BlackWillowFarm: Yes, it would take longer than one year to break down the fabric in a traditional style of composting. What I do is to toss in the smaller pieces....less than 10 inches in size.....the small pieces you clip off here and there....that goes into the regular pile. We have 3 compost piles and one is for "everything" like cloth, paper, poop, most anything...and it is a passive pile we only toss about once a year.

The other fabric we use outside is placed on the ground....as weed barrier and also we use it as a path liner under wood chips....and as a mud barrier in front of the barn and in front of the dog yard. It will get wet, stick to the ground and keep soil from eroding...and it just rots and holds the dirt down. We use cloth for the cats' beds, then in spring we just put it on the ground some place we need soil erosion control or mud control and it rots.

What we decided to do for the dogs is to continue to use the cedar chips inside their sleeping box (which is a kid-built box about 4 feet long by 2 feet by 3 feet high...with closed up front... box inside their barn area and they get inside the box when it is cold) since we wanted the cedar to keep bugs out.....plus the dogs smell so good.....but then the kids put pieces of the fuzzy cloth down on the floor in the barn part....and when it gets wet they will use it on the ground outside........and stick a clean piece in the barn. They also have a bale of straw in there.

I was mainly worried about bugs in the cloth but since it is winter....and we will get it out in spring....I think it will be OK.

Yes, Windy - the dogs will not be sleeping on my couch! They would like that but I would not! They do come in the house some but mostly are outside dogs.

Thanks everyone.