🏠Bedding and habitat for your dog: getting the size right
This is the structural purchase — and where mistakes cost the most: too small, badly placed, badly sized. Our guides give serious minimum dimensions for a dog, the materials that last, and the traps of entry-level products.
The key point : Always size a bed up: the dog must be able to stretch out fully. Memory foam is worth the investment for seniors and large breeds.
Our dedicated guides
- Outdoor dog house: how to choose one for your climate
Dog house for an outdoor dog: size, insulation against cold, protection from summer heat. The complete guide to choosing one that fits your climate.
- Bedding for a Dachshund: Protecting a Long Back From Disc Disease
How should you set up a Dachshund's bedding and home? Avoiding jumps, choosing a bed and ramps suited to a long body prone to intervertebral disc extrusion.
- Puppy playpen: choosing a secure indoor pen
Height, materials, floor space, house-training: how to choose a puppy playpen and use it without turning it into a prison.
- Orthopedic bed for an older dog: a real boost for its joints
Memory foam, thickness, washable cover: how to choose an orthopedic bed for an ageing or arthritic dog, and what it costs.
- Dog cooling mat: genuinely useful or a heatwave gimmick?
Self-cooling gel, size, scratch resistance: how to choose a dog cooling mat and protect your companion during a heatwave.
- Crate training a puppy: teaching the crate without forcing
Done well, the crate becomes a reassuring den, not a prison. Choosing the size, linking the crate to positives and avoiding the mistakes that turn it into punishment.
- Bedding for a greyhound: why the padding needs to be thick
Very little body fat, prominent joints: greyhounds develop pressure sores fast on hard floors. How thick a bed should be and which material to pick.
- Plastic dog bed or cushion: which should you go for?
Hygiene, comfort, destructive chewers, budget: plastic bed or cushion for your dog, the comparison to choose bedding suited to their profile and your home.
- What budget for your dog’s bed? Prices and lifespan
Basket, cushion, orthopaedic mattress: a dog’s bedding budget by size and age, realistic prices by range and the traps that make you pay twice.
- Dogs in flats: the essential equipment for a good life
Quiet sleeping spot, occupation, house-training, neighbours: apartment dog equipment room by room, with realistic budgets and the mistakes that spoil cohabitation.
- American Staffordshire Terrier: cerebellar degeneration and setting up a safer home
The Amstaff is the reference breed for research into cerebellar cortical degeneration. What the landmark study shows and how to set up the home for an ataxic dog.
- Dog home alone in summer: fan, air conditioning, the right moves
Dog home alone in a heatwave: fan, air conditioning, cooling mat and warning signs, everything to prepare a safe home while you're out.
- Large-breed puppies: stable bedding, flooring and hip dysplasia prevention
Stairs, slippery floors, early exercise: what research shows about a growing puppy's hip development, and how to choose bedding and flooring suited to that growth.
- Senior dogs: sleep, cognitive decline and how to set up their bedding
Night-time waking, disorientation, pacing: canine cognitive dysfunction often disrupts an older dog's sleep. How to adapt bedding and the home environment.
- Puppies and separation anxiety: secure bedding and calming pheromones
Dog-appeasing pheromones, a stable bed corner and familiar objects: what research shows for easing a puppy's anxiety during its first separations and socialisation.
- Labradors and golden retrievers: preventing early osteoarthritis, weight and orthopedic bedding
The landmark lifetime study of 14 labrador pairs shows how directly weight affects osteoarthritis and lifespan. Weight management and orthopaedic bedding: the long-term strategy.
- Heated dog bed: a good idea for winter or an unnecessary risk?
Heated dog bed: which dogs genuinely benefit from one in winter, safety criteria to check, and the budget to plan for.
- Waterproof dog bed cover: useful or a gimmick?
Waterproof dog bed cover: when it genuinely protects, which materials to pick and how to keep it clean day to day.
- Choosing a dog bed by size: the complete bedding guide
Dimensions, shapes, materials, cleaning: how to choose a basket or cushion truly suited to your dog’s build and sleeping habits.
- Outdoor dog houses: choosing the right one and siting it well
Wood or plastic, dimensions, insulation, placement: the complete guide to choosing a comfortable, durable outdoor house for your dog.
Bedding & habitat by breed or species
- Labrador Retriever
- Golden Retriever
- German Shepherd
- Australian Shepherd
- Border Collie
- Belgian Malinois
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
- American Staffordshire Terrier
- French Bulldog
- English Bulldog
- Pug
- Chihuahua
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Jack Russell Terrier
- Shih Tzu
- Maltese
- Bichon Frise
- Poodle
- Lhasa Apso
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
- English Cocker Spaniel
- Brittany Spaniel
- English Springer Spaniel
- Beagle
- Basset Hound
- Dachshund
- Dalmatian
- Boxer
- Rottweiler
- Doberman
- Great Dane
- Dogue de Bordeaux
- Cane Corso
- Bernese Mountain Dog
- Newfoundland
- Saint Bernard
- Leonberger
- Great Pyrenees
- Siberian Husky
- Alaskan Malamute
- Samoyed
- Akita
- Shiba Inu
- Chow Chow
- Pomeranian
- Eurasier
- German Shorthaired Pointer
- English Pointer
- English Setter
- Vizsla
- Weimaraner
- Rhodesian Ridgeback
- Whippet
- Greyhound
- West Highland White Terrier
- Scottish Terrier
- Fox Terrier
- Miniature Schnauzer
- Bull Terrier
- Shar-Pei