# Best Beds for Seniors



## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

I'm considering buying a better bed for my discerning sorta-senior. She's spent her whole life following me around and plunking down next to me, from hotel beds to gravel roads. 

When we're at home, she has access to the couch and prefers to sleep there. Over the winter she takes up permanent residence on the sheepskin rug in front of the woodstove. 

The problem is, she spends a lot of time at my office, where she has a foam dog bed but usually sprawls on the ceramic tile next to my desk. 

I've been considering buying a raised bed - Kuranda or equivalent - for my office. It seems great in theory... good air circulation, easy to keep clean, no pressure on the dog's joints.

I've also heard rave reviews from people who swear that washable crib mattresses are the ONLY sane choice on the market for older dog beds.

She's in good health, some arthritis and wear-and-tear but nothing bad.

Anyone have input? I need something that is super easy to keep clean. I work architecture/construction and track mud into the office constantly. Big squishy LL-Bean style things are completely out, as is anything that requires dry cleaning. Between the cats and the dirt and the dust, anything that can't be easily and throughly cleaned won't last long.

Thanks in advance for personal experiences/thoughts.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Carly will be 8 soon, and she loves the cot style bed, especially since I put a blanket on it. I used a crib mattress for Sage when she was so ill. It was easy for her to get on and off, and it was cushy. I think if I had the cot bed back then, she would have used that too. They both are easy to clean.

Here's Sage on the crib mattress. It was up against the wall, with a body pillow as the back, and a blanket thrown over the whole thing. 










And the girls and the cot:


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## MidwestFarmersDaughter (Aug 13, 2017)

For dirty dogs with sensitive joints, it's hard to beat a crib mattress  We've tried literally DOZENS of beds, and these are our favorites for keeping indoors. They also keep their shape really well, unlike the puffy beds that flatten out after a couple of months' use. And they're pretty cost-effective, too!

Our formula is: crib mattress (memory foam, no springs) + waterproof mattress protector + crib sheet topped with a layer or two of blankets or throws. We keep a few in rotation, and it's easy to throw a clean blanket on top when company comes over. Once a week -- or whenever the beds start to look dirty or stink -- we just throw everything in the laundry. Wash, dry, and throw it back on the mattress. Easy. 

For the downstairs bed (in public view), my dad made us a log frame based on one we saw online. (Yay for dads!) The base is similar to a Kuranda bed, with the log frame built around it and the mattress plunked on top. 

Outdoors we use the Kurandas, and yes -- the dogs love them!

Lucky dog getting to join you at work! And lucky you... I'm envious!


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## MidwestFarmersDaughter (Aug 13, 2017)

Dogfaeries, wow -- a body pillow as the back of a crib mattress bed is a fantastic idea! I'll definitely be stealing that one  Looks so cozy!


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

MidwestFarmersDaughter said:


> Dogfaeries, wow -- a body pillow as the back of a crib mattress bed is a fantastic idea! I'll definitely be stealing that one  Looks so cozy!


The body pillow turned it into a tiny couch.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Mine like the Coolaroo cot. But half the time they are still on the floor where it is cooler. Memory foam would get to warm for them.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

After I spent hundreds of dollars on memory foam and orthopedic foam and every other dog bed. crib bed under the sun-- my boy came along and was always hot. 

I got him a Kuranda with the mesh which is breathable. They both went nuts for that bed. It's like a competition to see who can get on it first and then the other one lays down by it to wait in line so when the other dog gets off they can jump on.

They are indestructible, my boy is a bed digger and he hasn't damaged it. I bought them both one for their kennels and another one for the living room. My dogs LOVE them and for the money, it's a darn inexpensive dog bed to hold up like it does. 

Easy to clean. I got the old girl their fitted pad to go on hers for her kennel.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

Don't know why I have no pics of her in a kuranda...but it is both of their favorite bed, hands down


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I bought a coolaroo (cheaper) instead of the Kuranda, in case they didn’t like it. Every time I look at the bed, there’s a different dog on it, so I guess it’s a hit.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Can he get any more comfortable CBG?I think I need one for myself!


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I found an ortho pedic dog bed that was a special deal at Walmart. They only had them for a very short time. I've used the crib mattresses for a while too, but they seem to like this bed better. I also have the kuranda. Only 3 of the dogs use that one. The two girls are constantly rotating between the ortho pedic bed and the kuranda. You can blink and it's a different dog. 

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=462282&stc=1&d=1512012995


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

dogma13 said:


> Can he get any more comfortable CBG?I think I need one for myself!


The mattress beds "look" more comfortable to me, but yeah, the dogs disagree.

My favorite part: puke on it, pee on it, SO easy to clean and cannot be ruined by uncontrollable accidents. If it is too cold to do it outside I put it in the tub, scrub it and spray it down with the detachable shower head, let it drip dry and it's good to go in ten minute. This sure was handy when she was having incontinence on prednisone. She wore diapers but they leaked. 

Beats the heck out of taking off covers, possibly having horrible stuff soaked into the inner mattress, or on crib beds, fitted sheets, then waterproof mattress covers...all having to be laundered, dried, put back on, have to protect bare mattress from dogs in the mean time.

Practically speaking, it's MY favorite bed, too


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

My crib mattress is waterproof, so it’s easy to wipe down. The coolaroo can be taken outside and hosed off. Sure beats trying to figure out how to get a big cushy dog bed clean


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

They have a tough life, for sure. I know they love the kuranda because it gets so much use even though they both are allowed on all the other furniture, too.


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

This is great - thank you guys for all your input.

Great pictures too.... there are some seriously neglected dogs in your homes.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

I have elevated dog beds outdoors and my dogs love them. One is a coolaroo, but I found the frame doesn’t stay together all that well. The second one is an even cheaper bed I found on chewy and it stays together much better. 

For indoors, I found a crib mattress as well as a memory foam dog bed to be what my senior preferred when she was still with us. My younger dogs love them too. The crib mattress is waterproof, and the cleanup was way easier with that than with the actual dog bed. Just remove the crib sheet for laundering, and wipe down the waterproof mattress cover. This came in handy when my senior had incontinence, or the occasional puking spree.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

GypsyGhost said:


> I have elevated dog beds outdoors and my dogs love them. One is a coolaroo, but I found the frame doesn’t stay together all that well.


Loc-Tite


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

GypsyGhost said:


> The second one is an even cheaper bed I found on chewy and it stays together much better.


Which one? the Frisco that is like the coolaroo? Or the K&H bed?


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

I thought about loctite. But then I wouldn’t be able to really get the cover off. Maybe it wouldn’t matter, though. I haven’t needed to remove the cover in a year, I may never need to.

I got the Frisco one.
https://www.chewy.com/frisco-steel-framed-elevated-pet-bed/dp/126782


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

You can break loc-tite. I used it all the time in a factory and we would just crack it open when we had to rebuild the pump and tear down the system.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

Jax08 said:


> You can break loc-tite. I used it all the time in a factory and we would just crack it open when we had to rebuild the pump and tear down the system.


This is good to know... I have never used it on anything I didn’t plan on needing to loosen ever again. It will sure beat tightening the darn screws on that bed every few days!


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