How to make a dogbed

The bed can then be scrunched up, moved several feet, usually deposited at the foot of the stairs or in a convenient doorway and Grace the dog can continue to lie on the carpet.

Oh, dear Grace!! Yes, Sophie has a bed at the top of the stairs. Very dangerous but just have to do atheletic moves to go downstairs! She doesn't often scrunch up her bed but my other lurcher used to!

Have you seen my Sophie on my profile page? She's ever so similar to Grace!

I have! I wonder if they have similar characters too?

Sophie's very gentle except with cats. She's not safe to be near a cat. She came from Wick in Ireland, having been owned by some travellers. She is incredibly fussy with her food so I have to cook chicken for her. Actually, all my dogs have ended up as picky eaters. It must be my fault because when I got them they would eat anything, they were so thin. She loves people and is always happy to see the postman etc!

That is a good idea. One of my dogs has trouble getting in and out of a bed/basket (old age like me!), and I worry about him getting cold. He has vet beds but like Grace wants to scrunch them up. I unearthed my sewing machine only this morning - it was seized up so OH has now oiled it well (too well and had to scrub it down), and I have more single quilts than single beds.... so just need the enthusiasm

I got a double duvet for 99p from a charity shop. I was a bit worn and I don't think anyone would have bought it for their bed. I cut it into six pieces and stitched around the cut edges. Our grand dog has three of them in a cover in her bed. The idea of cutting it into sections is that they will go in the washing machine from time to time. Also we have the same here for when she comes for a sleepover.

Why do dogs have to scrabble their bedding into a heap? It looks so uncomfortable.

I assume they are making a "nest". Anybody know for certain?

Someone told me once that cats circle round before settling to check there,s no snakes!

Yes, scrabble it all in a heap in a corner of the duvet cover, so it looks most uncomfortable and then try to squeeze into the cat's bed.
A bit difficult when you're a bull mastiff. The cat meanwhile is standing by looking indignant.

jalima,

I wish I had taken a photo, they were DD's dog and cat, both have died since we visited last year

Dogs scratch at their beds through instinct . Their wild ancestors made dens this way . Also dogs have sweat glands on their pads so it's also a way of marking their territory ( in case you thought you might move in on their nice comfy bed)

Thinking more about this, if I cut single duvets in half crosswise, into squares and put tapes at the corners, I could layer them up to make a nice squishy bed which would stay more or less together despite the scrunching process. At present I fold them in half but they don't stay that way for long.
Hmm, food for thought.

This is Hattie at the moment; head on a bean bag, body in her basket which is filled with vetbed, two single duvets and some fleecy bed sheet thingy. I just give her lightweight single duvets because they're easy to wash on a regular basis.

What is a vetbed, please?

It's alike a furry sheet that you can buy by the metre in pet shops; very warm and cosy.

They sound nice!

Just seen them on ebay. I can't believe I didn't know what they were. I knew I was isolated but not much!

I don't know nuffink!!

Your dogs are such cuties!

We used to use old quilts too, although we just folded them up for the dogs. Never thought about cutting them - it's a great idea. I think they like that quilts smell of us too, even if you wash them.

I miss having a dog so much. Our last dog died in 2013 and DH doesn't want another one for several very good reasons. I am trying very hard not to emotionally blackmail pressurise him into changing his mind, but it's hard when I am on my own so much. We'd always had at least two dogs and when we were down to just the one, he was my pal who went everywhere with me. I miss him so much. They are such treasures.

Vet Beds - make sure you get a genuine one. Easy to wash and dry VERY quickly. They are very warm. But the backing (which is chew proof) is a bit stiff so makes it difficult to scrunch up.

After this discussion I dug out an old dog quilt from the bottom of the pile and my older dog slept on it last night. It is quite old and flat so I am going to make the effort and make one myself.

WilamKnickersfit - we have this discussion about whether we will have more dogs. We are down to two and one of those is beginning to suffer badly from arthritis. We think we will probably have a year without any dogs and then see how we feel. This will allow us to travel a bit (only had one holiday in the last ten years as we will not use kennels) but we know that we will get lazy without a dog and how would we manage without being woken up several times every night (our younger dog paces). I nearly put when I want whine! On the other hand, having just lost one dog can we cope with this over and over again. It has been just under three weeks now and still very upset.