Reasons to consider a raised bed
1.) A raised bed provides firm, even, orthopedic support across your pet’s entire body. This can alleviate pressure on his joints and help protect them for the years to come. You can even find raised dog beds that are comparable to human mattresses – complete with coil springs and pillow top mattresses! These may be a good choice for your giant breed pup since it will give him maximum orthopedic support from the start.
2.) If your senior dog has arthritis, it can be difficult for him to change positions from standing to sitting to lying down. A raised bed can make it easier for him to change positions since it basically gives him a head start. He simply doesn’t have as far to raise or lower his body when he’s getting up or lying down.
3.) Raised beds are cushiony because of tautness rather than stuffing. Many dogs just love to ‘unstuff’ their toys or beds. As messy as that can be, it can also pose serious health problems if they eat any of that stuffing. Gastrointestinal obstruction can be deadly without prompt treatment!
4.) The fabric is stretched tighter on raised beds which makes it harder for persistent chewers to get a grip. If you have a really determined chewer, you might want to invest in a raised bed like the Kuranda chew-proof dog bed.
Although pricey, it has an aluminum frame that completely encloses the fabric edges. There literally isn’t anywhere that your dog can sink a tooth in and start ripping! If you normally go through a few beds a year because of your dog’s chewing habit, the Kuranda may be worth the additional cost.
5.) An elevated bed lets hair and dried mud fall off the sides or through the mesh. This keeps the dog’s bed from sitting in a pool of hair so the bed itself stays cleaner. That might help keep your home smelling fresher, too! It can also reduce allergens in your home.
That’s especially helpful if your pooch is the one with the allergies. Even if you wash the dog bed cover frequently, it’s almost impossible to get allergens out of all that stuffing. A bed that’s easy to wipe down and doesn’t collect (and store) pollen, dust mites, and other allergens can help an allergic pet live a more comfortable and less itchy life.
6.) If you use a robot vacuum to keep your home tidy, a raised bed lets it get to all of those hair bunnies under the dog bed.
7.) It’s easier to move a raised bed than a solid fabric bed. If you have to move your dog’s bed to vacuum or when company is coming, you’ll appreciate the lighter weight! Some are even designed to be easily portable so your dog can take his favorite bed with him wherever he goes.
This can offer real comfort to a dog who is in an unfamiliar situation, whether he’s enjoying dog lodging or going on vacation with you. There’s nothing like a familiar bed in unfamiliar circumstances!
8.) A raised bed can keep your pet cooler in the summer. This is especially true if the floor beneath is a soft surface like carpet that traps heat. If you live in an especially hot climate, placing a raised bed over a naturally cool hard surface like tile or concrete can help keep your dog extra cool.
9.) Many raised beds can be hosed off when they get dirty. This makes them ideal for outdoor use.
10.) Does your dog have flea allergy dermatitis? A raised bed that sits at least 12″ above the ground can give your pet a refuge from those pesky fleas while he’s resting outdoors.
Just make sure that you also use an effective flea-preventative. The height of the bed won’t protect him if he’s lifting them onto the bed himself! Also, ensure that there’s no vegetation near enough to provide the little pests with a launch pad to your pet or his bed.
11.) You can keep your furniture free of dog hair and drool without the guilt if you provide your pet with his very own comfy dog ‘couch’.
Kuranda Standard Indoor/Outdoor Elevated Dog Bed
The Kuranda is one of the best, because it’s chew-proof and extremely strong. Made of high strength, furniture grade poly-resin frames with corrosive-resistant stainless-steel fasteners, this bed is built to last. It provides firm orthopedic support, comes in a variety of fabrics, and it’s even UV resistant, so it will stand up to the sun as well as repeated cleaning.
Available in four colors and fabrics: smooth nylon (won’t catch hair), textured nylon (provides traction for older dogs), outdoor mesh (waterproof weave allows water and air to flow through) and heavy-duty vinyl (good for diggers and heavier dogs). It comes in six sizes for very small to very large dogs.
Price: $64.95 to $124.95
When you first hear about the benefits of elevated dog beds, you might think these beds are only for elderly, sick, or injured dogs. In fact, the elevated design is ideal for all kinds of dogs! Here are five of the best reasons to choose an elevated bed for your canine friend.
Your dog doesn’t have to have special needs to benefit from an elevated dog bed. In fact, if you go anywhere there are large numbers of dogs, you won’t find any other type of bed. Kuranda’s elevated dog beds are the only choice of top dog boarding and grooming facilities, daycares, and shelters.
EVERY DOG NEEDS THIS BED You won’t believe what this does
Although many people believe that floors or giant pillows are satisfactory sleeping areas for dogs, the truth of the matter is, dogs need to have a bed just like humans do. According to research, your canine-friend sleeps or lounges up to 20 hours per day. It’s important to have a comfortable place for your dog to rest that prevents or alleviates joint and other health problems that can arise from poor alignment. Despite what one may think, dog pillow beds are not a suitable bedding option because these types of beds do not offer the firm, even support that your dog needs. Furthermore, stuffing-filled beds lack durability and are difficult to thoroughly clean. Generally, only the slipcovers are machine-washable. Should the interior also become wet, it can take a lengthy amount of time to dry if it is not dryer-safe. This potentially opens the door for mold or mildew taking root. If the pillow bed manages to survive being easily chewed through (and that’s a big if), the stuffing will eventually become lumpy and flat.
Sleeping on the floor can result in pain and inflammation in pressure points, such as hips and elbows, that can eventually cause calluses and even sores (especially on elbows) after repeated getting up and down from a hard surface. As you can imagine, this can prove to be damaging to senior dogs that are more at-risk of health and mobility issues. Kuranda developed a solution – a cot-like bed suitable for indoors or outdoors that is built to withstand the most mischievous of dogs while also offering orthopedic benefits.
Kuranda beds utilize a patented chew-proof design, making them the professional choice of many dog boarding and grooming facilities, kennels, and shelters. The key is in how the beds are structured. The fabric is stretched across and is attached to rods that are enclosed within the body of the frame rails with protective caps placed on top of the corners. This safely secures the edges, making it inaccessible to the dog. This prevents the fabric from being chewed through, but it can still be damaged from repetitive digging.
Elevated dog beds are the equivalent of a cot for humans. As such, one major benefit to raised dog beds is temperature control in either too hot or too cold weather, ensuring that your dog will stay comfortable. With cushioned pillow beds, there is nowhere for the heat to go. This runs the risk of your dog overheating on hot days or if the bed is directly near a heat source. The structure of an elevated dog bed allows for cooling air circulation through the material and underneath the frame whereas traditional fabric bedding holds heat. The raised platform design also prevents your dog from laying on a potentially cold surface like cement or tile flooring and even the hard, plastic bottom of a dog crate. This can especially benefit dogs with joint and mobility issues, as keeping warm helps to relieve stiff joints.
As mentioned earlier, foam or stuffing-filled dog beds are next to impossible to truly clean. Slipcovers are often machine-washable, but that is only a surface cleaning that ultimately does little to remove potential allergens such as dust, pet dander, and pollen that the filling retains. Elevated beds are arguably the easiest and quickest dog bed available on the market to clean – and clean well. The durable canvas (nylon or vinyl) fabric of the Kuranda elevated beds can be washed by hand or simply cleaned with a garden nose and then its good as new.
Because Kuranda beds are not only resistant to outdoor weather and are a breeze to clean, they are also very portable, being the ideal dog bed to take while travelling. This is especially true for outdoor destinations in which you may not want your dog rolling around on the dirty ground. Whether you are intending to place the bed in the backyard or go on an excursion, the Kuranda dog beds keep your dog from laying directly on dirt, mud, or wet grass. Traditional fluffy beds are bulky, making them difficult to move from room to room, let alone pack away in a car, but the Kuranda elevated beds are extremely lightweight and easy to assemble. If you’re strapped for space, simply break the bed down and reassemble upon arrival.
Now that we’ve discussed some pros of raised dog beds, let’s get into the heart of why these beds are so beneficial for your dogs’ overall health and wellness. Elevated dog beds, by design, eliminate pressure points on your dog’s hips, shoulders, and elbows with a fabric that is pulled taut across the frame. This provides support for your dog’s entire body, unlike pillow beds that do not offer a reduction in pressure. Also, by removing pressure points from the body, improved blood flow consequentially results in faster recovery time for sporting dogs in pressure point areas. More nutrient-rich blood flow can heal and restore working dogs’ muscles more effectively and at a faster rate, as opposed to traditional bedding or floors. Another benefit to an elevated bed is that getting into and off of a raised bed is easier on the knees of senior dogs that struggle to lay down and get up from lower surfaces. The Kuranda beds are especially great for dogs with hip dysplasia, arthritis, and general mobility issues, but they are still ideal for many dogs that are perfectly healthy.
If you’re still not convinced to consider an elevated bed, Kuranda offers customization in the sense that there are various replacement fabrics available for purchase (separately) that have added benefits like extra durability or waterproofing. The Heavy Duty (40 oz vinyl) replacement fabric consists of a heavy duty, non-absorbent vinyl that is most suitable for heavier or destructive dogs. Its smooth surface is the easiest of the options to clean. The Outdoor Mesh replacement fabric is a waterproof vinyl weave, good for outdoor use when exposed to the elements and dogs with incontinence issues. The open weave style allows air and water to flow through with ease, making sure that dogs stay dry when lounging on it. It is protected against UV rays, though this specific fabric is not covered under Kuranda’s chew-proof warranty. Lastly, the Cordura replacement fabric is crafted with a durable, softer weave made with abrasion resistant high-denier nylon. The textured surface is an ideal fit for dogs that struggle with getting traction to get on or off a bed. It’s notably the best fabric choice between the options for dogs suffering from sensitive skin or allergies.
Staff Tip: For added comfort of a very soft surface, you can add a cushion on top of the elevated bed.
Kuranda offers two types of dog beds – the Aluminum Dog Bed and the Poly-Resin (PVC) Bed – each with their own unique characteristics to best fit your dogs’ weight and level of destructiveness. Both beds are manufactured in the USA and are available in three sizes (Medium, Large, and X-Large). Read on for more key features to see which bed is best for your dog.
Now you may still be thinking, “Elevated beds sound like they’re only good for older dogs,” but we at Lion Country Supply believe that dogs of any life stage should be able to sleep comfortably and painlessly. Skip the joint pain from sleeping on floors and hassle of replacing pillow beds and consider purchasing an elevated dog bed. Your dog doesn’t need to be sick, injured, or elderly to benefit from the Kuranda raised dog beds. Still not sure if an elevated dog bed is the right choice for your dog? Check out the LCS bedding overview that discusses orthopedic beds as well as Red Cedar bedding.