Does a young puppy who is crate training need a dog bed?

[Tina McNerthney]

Hi,

We're excited to welcome Baxter to our home on April 14th. I have been reading various posts on good dog beds to purchase, but I am wondering if a puppy who we are crate training and potty training needs a dog bed. 

Seems like we might want to get a little further in potty training before we provide a soft/absorbent bed for Baxter?

Any recommendations on incorporating a dog bed into his arsenal of puppy amenities?

Thanks!

[Terri Sue]

I was told by our breeder to wait on the dog bed because puppies will chew them and rip them apart. She told us to use old towels or blankets until their past that stage. 

[Tina McNerthney]

Thanks, Terri Sue!

This makes a lot of sense to me. Our breeder gave us a list of supplies to buy for the puppy before we get him and a dog bed was not on the list. I guess that was intentional, but I wasn't sure when would be the right time.

Sounds like we can wait until past 6 months or longer. We've got plenty of old blankets and towels that will work great - and gives me a new excuse to get some new towels!

Thanks!

[Terri Sue]

I just cleaned out our linen closet and used the same excuse for new towels. :)

[Kristin and Sophie]

We bought a bed that fit perfectly into her crate, however, we ended up not being able to use it because she chewed it.  We found that it was better to just leave her crate as is.  She is a year old and we still can't trust her with a dog bed.  I have purchased a few without taking the tags off to see how she reacts to them, and she decides to drag them across the floor.  Perhaps, she'll get a dog bed when she is 2 years old.  :)

[Tina McNerthney]

Thanks, Kristin. Sounds like a lot of puppies are chewing, dragging, playing machines that might not do well with a bed. I will have to wait and see how Bax turns out.

[Abby Christos]

No, not really. I put a bed in bobs crate and he'd whine until I took it out. Even now, I just keep two old blankets in his pen. Much easier to throw in the wash. Bob has had two beds in his x pen and has tore both apart.

[Tina McNerthney]

Thanks, Abby. I am definitely going to try blankets and old towels at first.

[Laura & Sophie Doodle]

You must be so excited! Congrats :) I would definitely wait on it. Possibly if Baxter doesn't up being a "chewer" and has infrequent accidents in his crate he may be a good candidate for a dog bed but it's a good idea to wait and get to know him first. From personal experience, our 5month old never had more than 2 potty accidents in her crate but she still destroys anything with fluff inside so a bed is definitely not a great idea for her quite yet! :) Good luck! 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

You'll know pretty quick if your pup is a " chewer" or not. Enzo, thankfully, is not. She has 3 different beds...one in her crate and the other two spread about the house. She has never chewed anything she is was not suppise to...but I didn't buy them until I was sure she would not chew. She just turned 10 months.
We also found, as a small pup....she hated the bed or anything in her crate. She'd push it off to the side in order to lie on the cool crate bottom.

[Tina McNerthney]

Ro, thanks! It sounds like I should wait to see how much of a chewer is. You are so lucky that Enzo is not a chewer. It will be getting warmer here before too long, so I imagine the crate floor will be preferred.

[Melissa Bissell]

We use old towels in Hugo's crate.  I bought an inexpensive soft pad that we use for his favorite spot in the kitchen which is where he hangs out when we are in there with him.  He does like to drag it around and chew it sometimes, but actually it has held up surprisingly well.  I only paid $8 for it, so I really don't care what happens to it and he will outgrow it before too long.  I did invest in a nice large LL Bean dog bed that we keep in the den.  He is only allowed there when fully supervised.  He LOVES that bed.  He loves to rest in it, play in it, and chew it - soooo, we only let him on there when he is calm and not in a chewy mood, and just wants to nap.  I'm glad we have it for those times when he is drowsy and we are reading in the den - this doesn't happen much right now, but when it does it is nice!

[Tina McNerthney]

Melissa, thanks! It sounds like I could get a bed now or wait a little. Like you suggested, it might have something nice for Bax to sleep in when we're watching him and he gets tuckered out. I think old towels generally sound like the way to go.