# What is the best bedding support for a growing GSD puppy?



## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Just a question on a topic that I don't think has been covered yet. We know that we need to feed our pups the best we can afford. We also need to provide top health care, training and exercise - but what about when they are growing so fast - what about their bedding? The place where they spend much time and do most of their "growing".

I've never seen any information on this. Pups spend their sleep/rest/growth time in anything from a confined crate where they can't move to a "luxury" dog bed. Some sleep on hard linoleum or tile, some on carpet, some in their owner's bed. 

I got an Ortho crib mattress for my current GSD when she was 11 weeks. My past GSD's have always slept on a carpeted floor by the bed. I never liked the circular and small shaped dog beds because they don't allow a pup/dog to "stretch out" during their regular sleep pattern. During my GSD's first year, she never slept in anything but a side body sleep and she took up the whole 42 inch length of the crib mattress from about 6 mos on. 

Sometimes I wonder about their skeletal/spinal development when they sleep in the (often too small) round or oval dog beds that are the norm. Or, in crates or on hard surfaces. I can't see these as being good for structural growth in young dogs....... It seems just as important as proper food and health care IMO, but I've never seen anything about the topic.... curious.


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

I tried to have a bed in the crate with my puppy but she pushes it aside and prefers the hard plastic bottom! There's also the concern of them eating the bed and becoming impacted so I prefer for her not to have one when she is unsupervised. Outside of the crate I use large rectangle beds which is hit or miss, my adult male prefers the cold hard wood floors. :shrug:


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## finndog (Nov 20, 2015)

As you've said, being in anything from a cage to a bed can bring different opinions.

Mine sleeps on the floor on a thick winter blanket thing. I'm totally fine with him sleeping on nothing but bare floor though, he is just a dog after all and does fine with it. Sometimes he actually chooses to sleep on the hard wooden floor rather than on his blanket.


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## Augustine (Nov 22, 2014)

I have one of those orthopedic pet beds in her crate (picked it out before we decided on a puppy, as my first choice was to adopt an adult/senior from a rescue or shelter) which works great.

..But of course, Butters couldn't care less where she lays, which - more often than not - is the stone-cold kitchen floor.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I've tried assorted bedding in crates. From beds to towels to blankets to quilted mats. Every single one has been chewed up and destroyed. IMO, it's more of a hazard than a plus so I don't put anything in a crate now. When out of the crate, they are free to sleep where they fall.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Sometimes what they prefer is different than what's best for them lol. I know that dogs that sleep on hard surfaces can get those ugly pad buildups on their elbows. I think that most barnyard animals have some type of bedding to cushion their joints from a hard surface.

I'm just wondering if providing an ortho type of bed during their growing years and free movement to sleep in different positions has been shown to improve or aid in the prevention of joint problems when they are young and again (arthritis) etc down the road when they are older. I've never read anything that really addresses this except that hard surfaces aren't the best. I know that when mine sleeps at night she's really stretched out and not in a ball like in the day when she's just napping on her couch. 

It's a mystery.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Does My Dog Really Need a Bed? | Canidae Blog

Aha! I did find something on this. I guess the point could be argued but it's something to think about.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Stonevintage said:


> I'm just wondering if providing an ortho type of bed during their growing years and free movement to sleep in different positions has been shown to improve or aid in the prevention of joint problems when they are young and again (arthritis) etc down the road when they are older.


IMO, it's much more important to have free range of motion. I know of more than one rescue whose joints were compromised because they were crated 24/7. Not just crated but in crates to small. Don't get me wrong, I"m all for crates. But the crates have to allow the dog to be able to stretch while in there and the dog has to have time to run and stretch. 

Just like any other tool...use them responsibly.


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## finndog (Nov 20, 2015)

Stonevintage said:


> Does My Dog Really Need a Bed? | Canidae Blog
> 
> Aha! I did find something on this. I guess the point could be argued but it's something to think about.


Although i make it a rule never to listen to those in the business of selling to pet owners, i'm hard pressed to disagree that dogs probably should have something soft to sleep on.

I don't mind if mine sleeps on the floor, he's a dog and dogs will be warm no matter what. But if you look in nature i can't think of any wild animal that sleeps on hard, firm surfaces. So to me that says something at least resembling grass/mud/soil in firmness would be ideal.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

finndog said:


> Although i make it a rule never to listen to those in the business of selling to pet owners, i'm hard pressed to disagree that dogs probably should have something soft to sleep on.
> 
> I don't mind if mine sleeps on the floor, he's a dog and dogs will be warm no matter what. But if you look in nature i can't think of any wild animal that sleeps on hard, firm surfaces. So to me that says something at least resembling grass/mud/soil in firmness would be ideal.


I thought about that first, in nature - what do they have. But, I discounted that as not being very comparative because animals in the wild seldom live long enough to have joint pain/arthritis in their later years. Our dogs live much longer lives and may be predisposed to joint issues thru breeding that wildlife usually is not- (if it is to survive it's natural but relatively short life span).

I guess you could say that nature provides optimum but then there's the horse- and the need to shoe it...... sometimes, we do better than what nature provides because it's needed.


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## Debanneball (Aug 28, 2014)

Fritz has a memory foam bed in the car. He sleeps in bed with me at night. In the den he has another memory foam bed, but he sleeps on the couch with me when I watch TV. When the fireplace makes the room too hot, he does lie in front of the door..coolness!


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

I don't like the crusty elbow pads either but I can't force my dog to lay on a bed if he doesn't want to... I've actually found him laying on the hard wood with the bed on TOP of him. I mean I guess I could put him in place but I can't watch him all night lol.


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## Apoolutz (Jan 19, 2013)

Gunner has had a orthopedic dog bed in every room since we got him at 8 weeks, He's never chewed one (thankfully)


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## RZZNSTR (Jan 24, 2015)

We were moving and my K9 was watching the movers do their thing. One of the movers left a mover's furniture pad on the floor and my boy went over and laid on it. The mover said if he wants it he can have it. lol! My boy incorporated it for his bed from then on.


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

For years my dogs favorite spot was in the tiled shower stall or on the bathroom tiled floor wrapped around the toilet.



In the last year tho he has taken to sleeping on the carpeted closet floor.

I tried all kinds of foam mats, fluffy comforters, gel cooling pads, and crate beds. He never damaged them but he never liked them either.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

My pup wasn't allowed up on the couches or bed until she was 1.5 yrs. Now, she hangs wherever is closest to me but she's an absolute creature of comfort. She uses her pillow for a pillow and doesn't chew stuff up. She stays on "her" blanket though.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

My older dog has an egg crate foam pad at night and sleeps on the floor during the day. The puppy shreds things so he gets a crate without a cushion for now at night. If he's not peeing all over the carpet, he gets to nap on the floor with the older dog during the day. If he's having one of those days when he forgets to let me know and I can't seem to take computer breaks at exactly the right time, then we end up with flooding pee whoever he is, and he ends up with more crate time. Once he is housebroken and stops chewing, I have a plush Costco bed for him.


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## Tank040415 (Jun 6, 2015)

*Alternative to hard crate floors or hazardous bedding*

This might be a little late to add since the thread hasn't been active for a few months.. But I had trouble with my GSD puppy and beds. We crate him as there's no way we could trust him at night/while we're at work for the time being, and it started breaking our hearts to see him laying on that plastic bottom. I know some people say 'they're just dogs' but he's my baby and I want to see him comfortable and happy. And as others have said, it can lead to those hard pads on their elbows. He is DEFINITELY a chewer, so we went straight for something that we thought would hold up against him - a Kong bed. However, there wasn't much padding to begin with in the center and he ended up destroying the thing after 3 days. Thankfully he didn't eat any of it but we swore off any bedding when he was unsupervised. So we searched for "indestructible" dog beds. First thing that came up was this "Cujo Cot" made by K9 ballistics. We decided to buy one when they had their black Friday/cyber Monday sale and it was worth every penny and more. It's giving enough where it provides comfort and support but designed durably enough that there is nothing for him to get at (seams, zippers, no filling). It fits in his extra large crate nice with about an inch of spaces around it. If he wants to take a nap when we're home on the weekends, he actually goes INTO his crate on cot is and relaxes. He never used to do that before so I'm assuming he actually likes it. Just wanted to suggest an alternative for anyone who wants their dog to be comfy but isn't sure about beds/bedding or hard surfaces.


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