Category — Dog Bedding

Hello and hopefully this finds you not TOO miserable being back among the working this fine Monday morning!  Just remember, we’re only days away from Thanksgiving and the sleepy, belly-filled weekend that will be sure to follow!  This Monday, we here at DoggiBling just wanted to impart some very important warnings to you:  NEVER give your dog an electric blanket!

That’s right, according to an article I just read, a chihuahua named Bubba in Bakersfield, California, is extremely lucky to be alive after chewing through an electric blanket and getting severely electrocuted.  Apparently, whilst snuggling into his electric blanket, Bubba chewed through and into the power cord and got shocked.  He immediately was unconscious and not breathing so his owners gave him CPR.  Luckily, they revived him and he was rushed to an animal hospital to recover with some severe burns.

Nevertheless, this is just a reminder for all you, like me, in colder climates:  Never attempt to warm your dog up with an electric blanket.  The electrical current running through it can be fatal, as Bubba almost proved.  Dogs chew, and if they chew the wrong things, they might not be chewing long, so please, please heed this warning!  Now, go snuggle up with your pets, keep each other warm and enjoy the rest of your Monday morning!

If you’re a dog owner, I can almost personally guarantee that at some point in time you’ve longed for a type of dog crate, dog furniture or dog bedding that would just blend in beautifully to your home decor.  The fact of the matter is, the majority of dog crates are the large plastic and metal contraptions that take up far too much room while looking extremely unsightly…better suited for the garage than the living room.

Folks those days might just be over.  I just found a pretty amazing piece of “dog-iture” that could put an end to your search for a dog crate that can beautifully blend in with the rest of your home!  The Orvis Solid Wood Crate Furniture does just that.  It provides a safe, comfortable dog crate for your puppy while looking and serving as an end table for your living room.  They designed it in three different sizes to fit just about every possible breed of dog and it really does fit right in with whatever home decor you might have chosen.

The bad news, if there is any, is that with this level of form and function, unfortunately comes a price.  Look to spend anywhere from $200 to $500 for the small to the extra-large variety.  Just keep in mind, you’re not just buying a dog crate, those are much cheaper, you’re also buying some gorgeous furniture for your living room.  Talk about killing two birds with one stone, or rather, filling two needs with one piece of furniture!

Is your dog getting old? The old saying goes, “Every human year equals 7 dog years”, but science and logic proves this to be wrong. Just take a look at this new chart of dog years. Anywho, if your dog is starting to get a bit rusty, you may want to consider getting him or her a nice comfortable orthopedic dog bed to rest on. These are waterproof (some old dogs have problems retaining water) and very, very comfortable. I would even get this for my young pooch to help keep him off of my bed. There is also an orthopedic dog sofa bed. All types of colors and styles are available for both the dog bed and sofa bed.

If you always hated the idea of leaving your dog behind while vacationing or going through the hassle of finding a dog sitter for your pooch, consider staying at hotels that are dog friendly or go with dog hotels. These places offer a kennel-like organization that acts as a hotel for your pet. You check them in (make sure to make a reservation — although not always required), then they take care of your dog for you. The staff will bathe, groom and feed your dog while you vacate around the city. Finding these places is much easier now-a-days because they are gaining popularity. Even smaller cities are now offering these services. So if you are deciding to travel with your dog in an airplane or even the car, make sure to get him or her a comfortable dog crate or dog hammock.

My motto for trips is, ” if you’re going to travel, travel in style and luxury”. The same goes for my dog. I hate the idea of packing him away into an uncomfortable crate, so I opted to buy him this comfortable luxury dog crate mattress. There are different mattress styles and colors and you can find them at local pet stores or the pet aisle of a nearby shopping center. I purchased mine online and since then I have seen these mattresses all over the place. I think they are a great idea and so far my pooch thinks so too.

Then you can add more style and decorate the entire crate as well.

If you are planning on raising pups, there are a couple of things you will be needing to help them grow into healthy responsible adult pooches. These same products can be used if you find abandoned puppies or are just looking to breed.

Esbilac puppy formula is said to be the best replacement for pups.

This heating and cooling dog bed will help to keep your pups warm in the early stages.

It’s always a good time to start training your pooch and these housebreaking puppy pads work wonders.

After flipping through old photo albums and going through the final year I spent with Stanley II (my Brittany Spaniel before Stanley III), it occurred to me that a post about comfortable bedding for old timer dogs was fitting. The final years are sometimes the most special and emotional with our buddies…I’ll be honest, I shed a few tears amongst my smiles looking through year 16 for Stanley II. Though we never got special bedding for him, I was not surprised to see the variety of options and great coverage in the marketplace.

For the older dogs, it seems to be all about orthopedic bedding. Starting my search at BizRate.com again for orthopedic dog bedding, I was pleased at the variety of merchants, including: Drs. Foster & Smith, PetsMart, PetCo, All Pet Furniture, Orvis, Dog Bed King, Pet Solutions, CritterPetSupplies.com, etc. Prices range from $20 to $200, with the sizes of the bed and the amount of orthopedic material being the main factors in cost.

Of all the sites, I liked drsfostersmith.com the best. Not only was their selection of dog beds nice, but alongside 19 results for my search for “orthopedic dog beds”, they also returned a tab with 17 articles about dog health. The most interesting one to me was an article titled Arthritis Maintenance Care: 7 Steps. The writing discussed topics such as pain relief, proper exercise, proper diet, ideal bedding, and best practices for food and water set ups to minimize problem points. Though each section was commercialized by links to products on the site, it wasn’t pushy at all, but rather fantastic content linked to products that clearly could help the quality of life of a pooch.

Though Stanley II got all of the attention in the world in his closing years, I wish I would have known of some of these smaller tips and specialized bedding to have given him a little bit extra. But then again, he spent quite a bit of his closing year on a king size Sealy Posturepedic (mom and dad’s bed), so life couldn’t have been that ruff. :o)

So the discussion continues…from car dog beds, which seem pretty cute and even comfortable, to now luxury dog beds, which in my opinion seem pretty over the top.

PoochieHeaven.com has a huge selection of luxury bedding options. No, we are not just talking about fluffy beds here, but rather chaises, murphy beds, ottomans, cuddle couches, and yes, even trundle beds and canopy beds. Seriously, canopy beds…I don’t how long the canopy actually remains in tact. Seems like a classic chewing opportunity for Sparky. And a trundle bed or sleigh bed frame, of mahogany wood? Who the heck is buying this stuff?

Well, for $100 to $400, you can find some luxury for your pooch at Poochie Heaven. A few others stores with such options are Precious-Pets-Paradise and Petsmart (I searched on BizRate.com and came across the following beds from Petsmart).

At the end of the day though, who am I to make a call on if such luxury dog beds are ridiculous…let’s have the four legged sleepers call it how they see it…

“Heck, the more expensive the bed, the madder my mom gets when I eat the wood, rip up the fabric, and drag the furniture out onto the balcony…I’ll take two of the canopy beds…charge it on my mom’s card!” — Sadie

“Some knuckle head product designer perhaps forgot that we dogs don’t have thumbs…how can I open up the cupboard for a murphy bed? Sheesh…this stuff is ridiculous.” — Leo

Though the masses haven’t spoken, Leo, I am with you here…

Outside of the tremendous love and happiness dogs bring to our world, they do three things with the majority of their time: eat, sleep, and poop. All three deserve a series of discussions (there is some pretty outrageous stuff out there product wise in all of these areas)…let’s start with sleep, because this by far takes up the majority of any dog’s day.

With dog bedding, you can go for luxury, comfort, and style, not too different from us humans. So let’s kick off the conversation with some style…how about dog beds that are cars?!?!?!?

The website In The Company Of Dogs seems to have a decent selection of these sporty and stylin’ beds, however, be prepared to cough up some bones, since they run about $250. You can find similar beds at Amazon.com as well.

I spoke with both Stanley III and Lola about such sleeping options, and I quote them on the following:

“I dig the Furcedes…it’s served me well pickin’ up the babes at the dog park. Everyone loves going for a ride in style…plus the back seat is spacious.” — Stan Da Ladies Man

“It didn’t get any better than rolling through Malibu in my mom’s FX35, then snoozin’ in the afternoon in my Furrari at the beach condo…I’m beautiful and a fast mover, and my bedding needs to reflect my personality.” — Princess Lola

I couldn’t find a Hummer dog bed, so it appears that Marmaduke will have to wait until GM sells the TM rights for this set up…