If you've ever noticed that your pet seems to be especially sore or stiff on cold mornings, a heated dog bed probably makes sense. Heated dog beds provide older dogs with bone or joint difficulties with added comfort and mobility. By keeping your pet's body warm throughout the night and as he sleeps, you help to reduce muscle and joint inflammation and discomfort in general. However, there are several different types of heated dog beds, and they vary in ways like style, design, heat source and price. Therefore, it's important to determine which type of heated dog bed will be best for your pet before you make a purchase.
Flat Heated Dog Beds
The simplest and often the cheapest heated dog beds are flat. They are usually set up as a small square on which your pet can rest. Some of the most popular of these types of beds include:
- Canine Cooler Thermoregulating Dog Bed
- Thermo Napper Heated Dog Bed
- Heated Orthopedic Dog Bed
These beds offer a number of benefits for your pet. Some of them, like the Canine Cooler, have multiple internal thermometers and gauges that allow you to better control the temperature of the bed. Because it's crucial that you maintain a proper level of temperature for your pet's bed, it's a good idea to be sure that you have a way of monitoring this. Generally speaking, however, these beds don't provide quite the same level of comfort for a dog that a more elaborate bed will.
Sometimes the cushioning is lacking. For arthritic or older dogs, this can be a major factor in their overall comfort. Having a deeply cushioned or otherwise more supportive cushion is often just as helpful to your pet's joint and bone comfort as the heat that the bed emits.
Fitted Heated Dog Beds
The more expensive type of heated dog bed is the one that is designed with memory foam. Unlike standard padding or blanketing material as is usually found in the flat heated dog beds, memory foam comes in different levels of rigidity and thickness. This foam will contort to your pet's shape and will provide a stable, supportive area for him to lay on. Many dogs find this to be the most comfortable type of bedding.
Some of the most popular fitted heated dog beds include the following brands:
- Wellness Pet Safe Heated Sleeper
- Orvis Heated Memory Foam Dog Bed
- Dolce Vita Heated Pet Bed
These typically have more consistent heating mechanisms than flat heating beds do. They will often contain heating coils that are better distributed throughout the bed, therefore allowing for a more even and regular temperature throughout all of the various parts of the bed.
For more information about how to choose the perfect heated dog bed for your pet, check with your vet. Many of these beds are available in pet supply and food stores. Others are also available online.