He destroyed his first round padded bed when he was a puppy, chewed on it, dug at it, and it went through several washings due to puppy accidents. His second bed was larger, a padded rectangle, but after several years it flattened down in the middle and he was now digging at the sides trying to give the flattened middle a little extra height. Now that he is older and does not destroy his things, I wanted him to have a good, strong and durable bed, and one that would offer extra support for his back and limbs since he is getting older. One of the things that a good supportive bed can prevent is arthritis. Of course, this goes hand in hand with watching a dog’s weight and providing a sufficient amount of daily exercise both indoors and out. However, if a dog sleeps in an awkward position this will cause more problems for their spine and joints and if they are prone to this condition, it will only get worse.
I spent a considerable amount of time researching types, shapes, and brands of different dog beds on the internet, visited several pet stores, and even went to Costco to see what they had in stock. I have spent more time researching dog beds for larger dogs than I did for myself when I bought a new bed and mattress for myself a few years ago.
I read all the reviews of all of the various large dog beds. The good reviews made me feel confident about making a choice, but then the bad reviews destroyed my self-assurance and it took me a long time to decide.
I finally decided on the 52” Bagel Dog Bed for a few different reasons. I liked the oval shape; a round bed encourages a dog to curl up, whereas the oval gives him more room to sprawl out comfortably. The middle is heavily padded, it is spongy and very thick, and I cannot feel the hardness of the floor underneath. I like that the bolster goes completely 360 degrees around, it is an added protective feature against drafts in our winter cold weather.
The surface is microsuede, which has a soft ‘velour–like feeling’ and a food and dirt spots come clean easily, when dabbed gently with a slightly damp sponge, and that removes most of the stain. There are two separate zippers, one is inside and around the bolster, it unzips more than ¾ around the bed, and it stops at the short side near the tip of the oval. The other zipper is for the bottom inside padding, this unzips along the longer side of oval, which is almost halfway across the bed. To remove the middle polyester fiberfill padding, (encased in a gauze type of casing) the entire part needs pulling out. Although I have not put this in my washing machine, I would probably throw in some clean tennis shoes to keep the pad filling from clumping. The lowest layer is a waterproof material, both on the inside and out, however underneath the bolster is the same ‘velour-type’ material, which is not waterproof at all.
This Bagel Bed has no odor at all, and when we presented his new bed, our Old English sheepdog took a few approving sniffs, carefully climbed onto it, made a few circles and immediately laid down. He loves it! We still kept other bed, so he can have a choice, but there is no doubt that he prefers his new Bagel Bed to his other. There is ample room for him to sprawl out comfortably in different positions whether it is on his back, side or front, and the middle padding is spongy, yet firm and thick with a soft pillowing effect.
Our dog has now had this bed for just about a month and I noticed that he is very comfortable in all positions. Sometimes he sleeps completely within the oval interior, and occasionally he sleeps with his head resting on the bolster, (similar to a pillow), for a little extra head support. Additionally, I initially tried out his bed and I did not feel the hard floor, so I know he appreciates sleeping on his soft cushioned bed, evident since he spends less time sleeping on my bed.
If you are looking for a dog bed, this is an excellent option, as for our 85 – 90 lb. Old English sheepdog; this is the perfect comfortable and supportive bed and the 52” Bagel Bed adequately accommodates his larger size.