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need indestructible dog bed

3.5K views 21 replies 16 participants last post by  Peacock  
#1 ·
My son has a chocolate lab who has eaten/destroyed every bed we get for her.

I've done the google searches, and most of the reviews say that the dog ate it anyway.

What bedding do you use for destructive dogs?
 
#2 ·
We have one like that. We have an indoor kennel built under the basement stairs, and I finally just started lining the floor in there with old comforters that I pick up at Value Village for a few dollars each. If one gets ripped apart, I just pick up a new one the next time I'm at VV. The dogs actually prefer it to the "real" dog beds, at least they don't tear them up like they used to. I think it's got something to do with the stuffing.
 
#4 ·
Another vote for the cheap, used comforters. I will never buy a dog bed again when I can get the blankets at Goodwill for $2. And the dog loves being able to "make" her bed.
That's part of the reason why I think they rip them up. Both of my dogs "dig" at their beds, trying to get the lumps and bumps just where they want them. I think it's frustration with not being able to do this with a commercial dog bed that causes them to rip them up. The comforters still get torn up occasionally, but it seems to be through wear (digging at them to get them where they want them) rather than gratuitous tearing apart, as it seems to be with the beds.
 
#5 ·
Our 2 year old german shepard now has a plastic calf hutch in her kennel, with rubber horse mats on the floor of it. We keep it bedded in pine shavings. She has eaten every dog bed, blanket, etc. that we've given her in the past.

She also tears up toys. So we finally gave her a horse stall ball and thus far she hasn't been able to totally destroy it (although after about a year a piece is missing off the handle). :)
 
#7 ·
For outside dogs, pine straw. Unlike cedar shavings, if they kick it out of the dog house, you can shove it back in, as long as it's dry. For the porch dogs, I've found that patio furniture cushions work well. They're somewhat waterproof, hold up better than dog beds, and cheaper--especially if purchased at the end of the season, on sale.
 
#12 ·
This is what we use for inside dogs:

Image


That's right...they sleep on the furniture! I keep slipcovers on all the upholstered furniture (buy them when I find a good deal) and I've found they are not nearly as likely to tear the furniture up as they do blankets or dog beds.
 
#16 ·
We get those $5 blankets from Wally World in the biggest size they have. Then cut them up, King sized ones make 4 doggie blankets, full makes 2. They dont fray, they are easy to wash and when the doggies tear them up we just replace them.

THey are warm and the doggies can cuddle in them. With afghans you cannot use hay!!! Oh dear I can just imagine the mess!!!!!

Alice

P.S. These are just for the dogs in the kennel the house dogs are where ever they want to be.
 
#17 ·
I have the most dog proof bed ever! It's called a Kyra bed & had survived 5 Great Danes, 2 Weimaraners & one insanely destructive English Mastiff....The mastiff did manage to tear the bottom of the cover, but you can't see it...

Here is a picture of Jasper laying on it in his crate:
Image


The bottom of the cover is canvas, with the cute, but sturdy animal print on top.

The bed itself is about 18" thich, is made of water & rip proof marine vinyl & is filled with memory foam cubes......This sucker is more cozy than MY bed!! lol

I strip the cover off (which closes with the strongest velcro I've ever seen!) once a month for washing, & since the bed itself is water proof it holds no odors or hair. I've had the mastiff try to destroy it.....Various puppies & fosters have peed/vomited on it.......Two Danes drug it out, chewed on it, played tug o' war with it, dug on it, & tried to shred it......In 6 years the only visible damage is the rip on the canvas cover bottom. Best dog investment ever, plus it holds up well to the weight of my giants so they are always cozy & free of ugly elbow calluses.

A Dane breeder created these beds & named them after her destructive Dane who was the inspiration behind trying to find some Dane proof bed..... I know she took a break from making them for a lil while.....Dunno if she started again though or not......Google search will tell ya though. :)
 
#18 ·
This is what we use for inside dogs:

Image


That's right...they sleep on the furniture! I keep slipcovers on all the upholstered furniture (buy them when I find a good deal) and I've found they are not nearly as likely to tear the furniture up as they do blankets or dog beds.

Does it get cold enough for a 3 dog night down there? lol. I use pine shavings in a big box, I add a few cedar shavings, keeps the fleas out too. No dog in the house around here....James
 
#20 ·
Crystal, I can't find an active link that the PURCHASE process works on at all.
Let me shoot Kim an email & see if she has any avialable. I know she's had some hard knocks in her family life so perhaps she disabled it for now...... I got a second cover for mine from her about a year ago just to have an extra, but didnt ask about the actual beds then... I know a gal who used to foster Danes, but she's not any longer due to an upcoming deployment... .She had 3 of these beds so maybe she'll be willing to part with one for a good price..... I'll send out emails & let ya know what I hear back :)
 
#21 ·
Does it get cold enough for a 3 dog night down there? lol. I use pine shavings in a big box, I add a few cedar shavings, keeps the fleas out too. No dog in the house around here....James
LOL...obviously the dogs think so! Some nights they think it's a five or six dog night! Maybe that's why we keep our heat on 60 or so all the time!
 
#22 ·
My lab mix does this too. Drove me nuts. Not only did he tear up his, but he'd also rip up the other dog's bed, which made my old GSD pretty angry. :) This was a few years ago, when we only had two dogs and mostly they slept in crates at night, on the back porch. With Rocky I think it was boredom, because he'd drag it out into the yard in the process of destruction.

One solution I found was just to let him have the beds at night. Close up the cages during the day so he couldn't get to the bedding. Just open it up at bedtime.

But then we got new living room furniture, and put the old stuff out on the porch - a couch and loveseat - to function as dog beds. We have four now, and those couches are in sad shape, but the doggies sure are happy sprawled out on them.

Except that once again, my youngest pup (a 6 mo GSD) is digging through one of the cushions. :(

It's clearly about boredom. Maybe you could work on giving the dogs something to do besides tearing apart their beds. Just an idea!