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…

So it’s Earth Day today, and just as we focus on how to save energy in own homes, apartments, vehicles, and offices, so too should we think about where to conserve and help the earth with all of the goods and services we provide for our pooches. Here are my top five suggestions:

1.) Eco Friendly Poop Scooping

You would be surprised at the types of bagging options you have for Sparky’s doo doo. A contraption called Pix-It-Up boasts biodegradable bags. If you don’t want to take care of the dirty work on your own, DooCare is an up and coming eco friendly pooper scooper company. They are currently based in Arizona, but are seeking to build 200 franchises in the next five years…check out their video from a news clip.

2.) Recycling

Dog biscuit boxes, canned food tins, and all of the mail catalogs you signed your buddies up for can all go into recycling.

3.) Turn Off The Lights

I talked to Stanley, and he said he wasn’t afraid of the dark. Just because your pooch is at home doesn’t mean you have to keep lights on all over the house.

4.) Turn Down The Heat

Our furry buddies have nice natural coats and love to burrow into a fleece or wool blanket, perhaps a warm and cozy dog bed, so you don’t have to leave the heat turned up just for the pups to stay warm.

5.) Use Reusable Bowls & Cups

Whether for food or drink, try and use cups and bowls that are reusable. When in Santa Monica a few weekends back, I saw a couple running with their dogs using a folding fabric and rubber bag to pour their water into…it closed right back up to fit in a small backpack, ready to use a mile or so down the way, and it was easily washable.

Happy Earth Day!