Outdoor dog bed

[JudyN]

A few years ago, at someone's suggestion, I got Jasper a carp mat as an outdoor dog bed. Great idea, I thought, because it's intended to be out in all weathers and get wet. Not such a good idea to get something that was concave, though - it might stop your carp jumping out, but leave it out in the rain and it turns into a paddling pool.

So I'm now thinking of getting a raised mesh bed that water will drain through, like this: HiK9 Mesh Bed There are cheaper ones on Amazon, though - but of course, for every good review there's another saying that it fell to bits on its first use. Has anyone with a large dog any experience of these they could share, please?

Some come with canopies, but I wouldn't be surprised if Jasper couldn't work out how to get on it with the canopy on. He got stuck in the airing cupboard today because there was a bucket in there meaning he didn't have room to turn round and he's worse at reversing round corners than I am

 

[Buddy1]

That is the make of bed we have. Although not cheap, I would recommend it. The dog seems to like it – lots of room to stretch out. Other dog beds never lasted very long as our dog invariably returns from walks rather wet and the beds would soon start to smell of damp dog – not this one though. They also don’t take up much space when dismantled so are great for taking on holiday.

 

[JudyN]

Thanks Buddy1 - that's good to know

 

[JudyN]

@Buddy1, on their website, for the XL beds there's 2 options - one says 'No travel bag feet instead', and the other is unavailable in the colours I've looked at. But the blurb says that they come with rubber feet, and I can't see mention of travel bags on their website. Did yours come with rubber feet/travel bag? If you have a travel bag, is it useful or do you not need one?

I suspect this is just a 'glitch' but want to be sure I get what I want (it's going to be my BIG birthday present!).

 

[Ari_RR]

We have one, with canopy over it.. it came with travel bag which was quite useless. If I were to travel with this thing, I would find a way to load it in the car without taking apart.

The bag could be useful when hiking long distance, if one wants to carry this bed along, I guess...

Last summer it just stayed on the deck all summer long. Rain or shine or whatever. Very durable, I think. We got it because it gets very hot there on hot days, to the point where you can’t even stand there with bare feet.

While liking it initially, over time Miles lost much interest and prefers just a blanket on the floor, or the old soft bed thrown there (not raised). Either climbing up on it is unnecessary effort to him, or (more likely IMHO) he likes it really hot, so the closer to the deck surface - the better (the hotter).

Canopy is also useless for us. When it’s hot, it seems that it’s even hotter under canopy. And when it rains, the dog is inside the house. So after a couple of weeks I took it off and it stayed off. It may be useful when traveling with the bed.

Our bed is featured in this movie:
Baby Miles - The Opportunist

 

[JudyN]

Thanks @Ari_RR I remember admiring that one when you first got it. It's a shame Miles has gone off it. Being so bony Jasper does like his comfort, and our patio is usually in the shade. Anything to stop him digging a nice cool hollow in the borders...

 

[Buddy1]

We bought ours from a K9 stand at a dog show so I haven’t been on their website. Ours came with a bag. Handy when we go on holiday, but apart from that it has never been used so I wouldn’t pay any extra for it. It also has rubber feet.

 

[JudyN]

I bought the HiK9 bed Jasper was a little unsure at first so so far, he's only used it with a dog mat on it and he's happy with that. This morning, though, I've discovered that it's a great place to dry woollens flat after handwashing them