Bedding for crate?

[Dawn]

In just two weeks we are getting an 8 week old Goldendoodle puppy. (We are so excited!) I am wondering what I should put in her crate. I know she may chew on whatever we put in there but I feel bad just leaving her lay on the hard plastic. Any ideas on something safe but soft for her to lay on while in the crate?? Thank you in advance!

[Leslie and Halas]

We just used a basic kennel bed like the one in the link below, and Halas never chewed it. But half the time, Halas would move it out of the way and lay right on the plastic bottom.

[Leslie and Halas]

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752847

[Joannie]

We stuck to old blankets until Barney was house trained. Easier to throw in the washer/dryer. He is now 5 months old and has a typical crate bed mattress with a wooly cover.

[Tamara & Giada]

Yes, we used old blankets and towels too. She was too hot blooded before..........she would always push it to the side, so we just took it out. Now she hads a bed in there.

[Libby, Rufus & Jacoby]

We used old beach towels - easy to clean when/if they get soiled.

[Dawn]

Thank you for the great ideas! I was just worried about the puppy eating the bedding. Maybe if I got that bed from the link above and put some an old blanket down on that?

[Leslie and Halas]

FYI. I tried to make sure that I let Halas outside every couple of hours at first, and that worked really well. I think the general rule is they can hold it for as many hours as they are months old. So your 8 week old puppy will probably only be able to wait 2 or 3 hours between potty breaks. Sticking with this really helped Halas. He never had an accident in his kennel. My understanding is they don't like to soil where they sleep, so most probably won't go in their kennel unless it's an absolute emergency, like something upset their tummy and they just have to go. I washed the kennel pad once a week anyway, just to keep it fresh, and it washed up just fine.

[Dawn]

Thanks so much for the feedback. I am a stay-at-home Mom of 3 kids...so the puppy would not have to stay in the crate more than 2 hours...except for at night of course. I did get a 42" crate, but it has a divider so I can make her space smaller for her. I can't wait! I just ordered a new book.."raising puppies and kids together." So I'm trying to get prepared!! LOL

[Leslie and Halas]

Ours had the divider, too, and it worked great. Halas is a mini, so our full-size crate is only 36" I think, but I was able to start him in a really small area and just move the divider a couple of inches at at time.

You're probably really busy with 3 kids, but it's probably a good idea to try to get through that book before the puppy comes. I just have one dog, and he keeps me really busy. I have no idea how people manage to raise human children. I bought a couple of books before Halas came, and I got a lot of good tips out of them. And I hardly had any time to read once he got here.

[2hl9mp3c2fuam]

We also use old blankets....or I have used towels from time to time!! My doodles always chewed them up so I never invested in an actual cushion or pad.

[Stephanie]

We tried a couple things, a small thin fleece blanket I had rubbed on the other puppies, which he scrunched up in the back and didn't seem to like. Then we tried some thin towels...which he did the same thing with and when we went to bed the next night he went in his crate grabbed the towel and pulled it out...then went in and layed down! LOL He doesn't like to lay on anything...so we put an old shirt in there that we didn't mind if he chewed (which he didn't) just to have our scent with him.

[Adina P]

Rosco was a HOT bodied pup and young adult and preferred cold, flat surfaces--we used NOTHING in his crate and he really did fine. They have so much fur, they don't need much =) Even now he prefers to sleep on the carpet next to my bed rather than one of several dog beds available.