Dog beds: a UK buying guide

Dogs sleep for twelve to fourteen hours a day. A bed is the piece of equipment your dog spends more time on than everything else you will ever buy them, combined. It is also the one people choose based on how it looks in the living room.

This guide covers how to pick a dog bed that your dog will actually use, will survive the washing machine, and will not need replacing in eight months.

Watch how your dog sleeps first

Before you buy anything, spend a week watching. The sleeping position tells you which bed to buy, and it is the single most useful piece of information you have.

The curler

Sleeps in a tight ball, nose tucked under tail, back pressed into something. This dog wants raised sides and a bolster. A flat mat will be ignored. A donut or nest bed is what they are asking for.

The sprawler

Flat out on their side, or on their back with legs in the air. This dog wants surface area and no walls. Buy a large flat mattress. A donut bed will be too constricting and they will end up lying half off it, which is the classic sign you bought the wrong shape.

The burrower

Goes under blankets, under the duvet, under the sofa cushions. This dog wants a cave bed or a bed with a blanket built in. Terriers and dachshunds are the obvious candidates but plenty of others do it.

The leaner

Sleeps with their head propped on something, always. A bolster bed with a raised edge gives them a headrest. Watch where their head goes and buy accordingly.

Sizing

Dog bed sizing is unstandardised and frequently optimistic. Ignore the breed suggestions on the listing and measure.

• Measure your dog while they are asleep, in their favourite position. Nose to tail for a sprawler. Widest point for a curler.
• Add 15 to 20cm. A dog should be able to stretch out fully without any part hanging off.
• Then check the internal dimensions of the bed, not the external. This matters enormously on bolster and donut beds, where the raised sides can eat 15cm of usable space on each edge. A bed advertised as 90cm can have a sleeping area of 55cm.

If in doubt, go up a size. Dogs almost never complain about too much room.

The filling is what you are paying for

The cover is what you look at. The filling is what your dog lies on, and it is where the price difference actually goes.

Polyester fibre

The cheapest option, and the one in most budget beds. It feels lovely in the shop and flattens permanently within a few months of daily use. Once it is flat, the dog is effectively sleeping on the floor with a cover on it. Fine for a puppy who is going to destroy it anyway. Not a real bed.

Foam chips or shredded foam

The middle option. Holds up considerably better than fibre and moulds around the dog. Can go lumpy over time and is heavy to wash.

Memory foam

Genuinely good. Distributes weight, does not flatten, and holds shape for years. The important distinction is between solid memory foam and shredded memory foam. Solid is far better and far more expensive. Shredded is a compromise and often marketed as though it is the same thing.

Orthopaedic foam

High-density solid foam designed to support joints. Worth the money for older dogs, large breeds, and any dog with hip or joint problems. Large breeds are prone to joint issues, and a supportive bed from the start is preventative rather than remedial.

Be sceptical of the word "orthopaedic" on a cheap bed. It has no protected meaning. Look for the actual foam density if the seller will state it, and be aware that most will not.

Washability, which is the thing people forget

Your dog's bed will be washed more often than you expect. It will absorb mud, rain, shed hair and, at some point, something considerably worse.

Check three things before you buy:

• Does the cover come off? A removable cover with a full-length zip is essential. Beds where you have to wash the entire thing including the foam are miserable. Foam takes days to dry, and a damp foam core grows mould.
• Is the cover machine washable at 40 degrees or above? Anything advertised as "spot clean only" is not a serious dog bed.
• Does it fit in your washing machine? A large bed cover can be too bulky for a standard 7kg drum. This catches people out constantly.

Waterproof inner liners are worth seeking out. They sit between the cover and the foam and stop anything reaching the core. For puppies and older dogs they are close to essential.

Beds for chewers

If your dog destroys beds, three options, in order of sense:

1. Work out why. Destructive chewing in a bed is often boredom or separation anxiety rather than a preference for polyester. A dog with enough physical and mental exercise usually stops. Solve the cause before you spend the money.
2. Buy a raised or elevated bed. A taut fabric surface stretched over a frame gives far less to grip and tear than a stuffed cushion. They are also excellent in summer because air flows underneath.
3. Buy chew resistant. Ripstop nylon, reinforced seams, and no exposed piping. Nothing is chew proof. Any product claiming to be is overstating.

Where to put it

Away from draughts, off cold hard flooring, and in the room where the family spends time. Dogs want to rest near you, not in a separate room. A bed in the utility room will be ignored in favour of the sofa, and then you have a different argument entirely.

Two beds is not extravagant. One where you sit in the evening, one where you sleep. Most dogs use both, and it stops the dog having to choose between resting and being near you.

Common questions

How often should I replace a dog bed?

A cheap fibre bed will be flat inside a year. A good memory foam bed should last three to five years. The test is simple: press down hard in the middle. If your hand reaches the floor, the bed is no longer doing anything.

Are calming and anti-anxiety beds real?

The bed itself is not a treatment for anxiety, and any product marketed as such is overreaching. What is true is that many dogs settle better in a bed with raised sides, in a covered or enclosed space, because it feels more like a den. That is a real effect and worth having. It is not a substitute for addressing the anxiety.

Do dogs need a bed if they sleep on the sofa?

They need somewhere that is theirs. A dog with no bed of its own has nowhere to retreat to, and that matters more than most owners realise, particularly in a busy household with children.

Should an older dog have a different bed?

Yes. Older dogs feel the cold, struggle to get up from soft surfaces, and are far more likely to have joint pain. A firm orthopaedic bed with a low entry point is one of the most worthwhile purchases you can make for a senior dog. Avoid anything they have to climb into.

What we would do

Watch how your dog sleeps for a week. Buy the shape that matches. Measure and add 20cm, then check the internal dimensions rather than the external. Insist on a removable, machine-washable cover and a waterproof liner. Spend on solid foam if the dog is large, old, or both. Spend nothing at all if the dog is under eighteen months and still chewing.