Cooling Dog Bed with Egg Crate Foam

You hear him get up at midnight. The click of nails across the hall, then the sigh as he flops onto the bathroom tiles. The bed you bought him was soft enough. It was also holding all his heat.

This cooling orthopedic dog bed pairs a cool-touch cover with egg crate orthopedic foam, so an older or heavier dog gets support under the joints without the heat build-up that sends him off the bed.

Cool on top, support underneath:

• Cool-touch cover: a woven cool-touch fabric with a Q-Max rating, the measure of how much heat a fabric pulls off skin on first contact
• Egg crate foam: peaks take his weight off the hips and elbows, valleys leave channels for air to move
• Moderate firmness: firm enough that a heavy dog doesn't bottom out, soft enough that it isn't a board
• Completely flat: no bolsters to climb over, so stiff hips get on and off it easily
• Cover unzips: the whole cover goes in the machine and the foam stays out of the wash

The cover feels cold when he lies down. Higher on the Q-Max scale means colder to the touch, and this cover rates well above the ordinary pet fabric it's compared with in the gallery. No gel, no water, nothing to refill or freeze.

Egg crate foam, not a flat slab. A solid block of memory foam holds warmth against a dog as long as he lies on it. The molded peaks and valleys spread his weight the same way, but leave air channels through the bed.

No raised sides means it drops into a crate, slides under a coffee table, sits in the trunk of the car or goes on the sofa. Dogs that refuse a walled bed will still use a flat pad.

The cover comes off. Unzip it and the whole thing goes in the machine, which matters more with an older dog than with any other kind.

Getting the size right

Five sizes. Measure him lying stretched out on his side rather than curled, and check that against the size guide in the gallery.

A dog that only fits curled up will hang a leg over the edge and end up back on the floor, so if his weight falls between two sizes, take the larger one.

Specifications

• Type: Flat orthopedic mat in blue or gray
• Cover: Cool-touch fabric rated Q-Max 0.5, removable and washable
• Fill: Egg crate orthopedic foam, moderate firmness
• Sizes: S 23 x 17 in to XXL 47 x 29 in
• Thickness: 2.8 in on S to L, 3.3 in XL, 3.5 in XXL
• Weight guide: Up to 90 lb

Note: a supportive bed is comfort, not treatment. Speak to your vet about any mobility or joint problem.

Measure him stretched out, pick the size that fits that, and the support and airflow give him no reason to get up at two in the morning looking for the tiles.