We are moving next week into a house that is mostly carpet and I have a very large stinky dog. Our house now is all hardwood so it's easy to get rid of the dog smell, however, I'm concerned that once we move our house is going to smell like dog because of the carpet. I will try to limit her access in the house but I want to try to find a bed for her that is not fabric and is elevated off the floor.

Ikea has a nice wicker basket type but it's not big enough, I think Indy weighs about 120 lbs. I found a wicker dog bed on line but it's $215 US, plus shipping so I would have to factor in the exchange rate, taxes, shipping and duty which would bring the cost well over $300 which is just too expensive.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions for dog beds? I guess I could have DH make her one out of MDF and just buy a pillow for it. Anyone have any other ideas? I would probably need 2 beds, one for the main floor and one for the upstairs.

TIA

By Pamt on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - 10:47 pm:

We use a crate (dog crate/kennel)

By Tink on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - 10:50 pm:

We use a metal bar style crate. I don't think it holds in that doggy odor since the air circulates so freely. We have two small blankets at the bottom for padding and I wash these once a week. I have a picture of it, if you aren't sure what I'm talking about.

By Heaventree on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - 11:06 pm:

Thanks for the ideas, I have two crates, a pvc travel crate and a large metal bar crate, the only problem is because my dog is so big the crates are huge and take up a lot of space. The other problem is Indy HATES her crate, she has terrible seperation anxiety and she associates the crate with being left alone. I also want something that looks nice.

DH made Matthew's bed, I asked him if he wouldn't mind making Indy a bed and he said sure, no problem. I just have to come up with a way to paint it so it looks like a nice piece of furniture.

By Heaventree on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - 11:13 pm:

I don't know if you can tell from the photo but she's a big dog, she a cross between a Golden and a Great Pyrennes. She would be about the size of a male Rotweiller.

By Jackie on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 06:47 am:

Awwww, you dog is beautiful. He looks just like my favorite customer dog.

By Mom2three1968 on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 08:04 am:

Oh he's sooo pretty!!

By Tarable on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 09:36 am:

My sister has a brittney spaniel and she sleeps on a bed like this...


The dog loves it and it keeps her carpet from getting all that doggy smell.

By Tarable on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 09:37 am:

They are called Dog cots if you are looking for them. Sorry I forgot to put this in my last message.

By Heaventree on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 09:49 pm:

Thanks Tara, I saw those and I'll look into it further, I'm not sure it would work for Indy though she weighs well over 100 lbs, I'm not sure she would feel comfortable on a surface that wasn't stable. I'm afraid that if she stepped on it, it might tip over before she was able to get on top.

I does look like a great option for small to medium sized doggys though!

By Yjja123 on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 11:39 pm:

I have two large dogs who live inside. Not sure I understand the stinky part but our 120+ pound lab sleeps on a dog pillow/bed I purchased at Sam's. It has a zip off cover that I wash 2x a month. it is huge and only cost $30. Our older dog sleeps in bed with us.

By Heaventree on Thursday, October 19, 2006 - 08:32 am:

Yvonne, maybe she's stinkier because she has longer hair or maybe it's the breed? I don't find Labs as smelly as Goldens. She also spends a lot of time outside rolling around in the grass and laying in the dirt. It's much worse in the winter time. Don't your dogs smell when they have been out in the rain? I have the pillows as well, I find they don't keep their shape, I bought them at costco for about $30 as well and also find mine have fallen apart from washing them.

By Jackie on Thursday, October 19, 2006 - 08:33 am:

My Golden retriever is stinky as well, expecially in the summer. She does not spend all that much time outside either. My dogs are totally inside dogs. They go outside to do their business and usually inside within minutes. My yellow lab mix does not stink. I do think the longer hair dogs smell more.

By Claire on Thursday, October 19, 2006 - 09:53 am:

Our dog had several through the years. The latest one was a nice big one from Target.

By Tayjar on Thursday, October 19, 2006 - 11:35 am:

If you go to Kuranda.com you will see some very durable beds. These are the beds most vets and shelters use.

By Heaventree on Thursday, October 19, 2006 - 11:46 am:

Dora, thanks for the link, what a great site. When I saw the photo above that Tara posted I didn't think my big doggy would be comfortable or that the bed would be stable, but on the site they show Dains lying on these beds. This is something I really will consider. The wooden ones are really nice, I was hoping to find something that would fit into our decor as well, although the wood ones only come in medium, I'll have to figure out what demension we would need.