If you're tired of having to replace your large dog's bed and spending a lot of money, I suggest you buy a baby crib mattress and a plastic zippered mattress cover. Put a crib sheet over it and you're set, clean up is a breeze and you'll never need another dog bed.
By Gloria Z from Hoffman Estates, IL
This page contains the following solutions.
We have two large dogs - 90 and 120 lbs. that sleep in our bedroom. After going though several dog beds (starting at $40 each times two), because of their size (they literally flattened the beds), I finally convinced my husband to buy a twin mattress.
Recycle your old bed pillows to make your pet a bed. Put the old bed pillows through the washer and dryer to clean and fluff them up. Then use the pillow fill to make a custom bed for your pet.
I had to throw out the mattress to our dog's bed. So I used packing peanuts with a freshly laundered cover to replace it with. Works fine!
Our cat loves to sleep on something that we use or have used. We had a bunch of odd socks and holey socks from years gone by. Originally I was going to make sock puppets but had a better idea.
My dogs are very destructive and manage to tear blanket, cushions, and conventional dog beds by 'digging' to make themselves more comfortable. They have also destroyed 2 lounges, (sofas/settees), and 3 single mattresses I gave them as beds.
My dogs follow me all day long and I was constantly falling over them in my home office. I removed the closet doors and layed down 2 old couch cushions and covered them with comforters that I bought at a Thrift Store.
If you have ever purchased a pet bed, you will know from experience that the bedding often becomes stinky and needs cleaning. I always look for beds with zippers so that you can wash the cover.
My older dog started having bladder issues. She was having accidents in the house, on dog beds and on our bed!
I buy used outdoor patio cushions for my dogs from our local Goodwill stores. They come in all sizes and colors and provide a lot of comfort and usually cost $1 to $2 each.
We recently got a new sofa, and found out the old sofa cushions fit perfectly in the XL doggie crate we have for our Lab/St Bernard. So we kept them, and will use them as a nice, sofa-like bed for Barli.
I make pet beds for rescues and an easy way to make some is to collect 'shaggy' rugs like bathroom rugs, cut a piece of sturdy fabric the same size and zig-zag stitch it to the back of the rug.
Doggie beds can be made out of used fleece robes found at thrift stores. You can usually pick them up for very little and cut them apart to make a nice bed for your little pet.
I have 6 dogs and 2 require replacing their beds as they have an air conditioned part of my carport and go outside on their own. I simply find old couches that are put out for the trash and if they are clean and don't have wool covers I pick them up and voila!
Take the crib bumpers and fold and layer them to the size bed you want to make or cut a mattress topper to the size of the pet bed you want to make. I had an old memory foam topper that was cut to make quite a few pet beds.
Turn a cardboard box (the kind that reams of copy paper come in) into a bed for a small pet by cutting an entrance and lining it with a blanket.
