The Care and Maintenance of Your Dog's Bed
The Care and Maintenance of Your Dog's Bed
Now that you have made an investment in your dog's quality of life, you'll want to make the bed last as long as possible. You can maximize the useful life of your dog's bed by taking proper care of it. Here are my top must-do tips for keeping your best four-legged friend's bed in a healthy and useful condition.
Dog beds come with a removable cover, accessible most commonly by a zipper or Velcro strip. Always keep the cover washed regularly using a detergent that has an antibacterial component. This will help to eliminate odors as well as be healthier for your dog. When washing the cover, use the warm water setting (unless using a detergent designed for cold water). If your detergent does not have an antibacterial agent, try adding a small amount of bleach, but not enough to fade the colors in the bed cover. For a "small load" setting, usually one cap full of bleach is sufficient. As for drying, use a low heat or air fluff setting to minimize shrinkage or if you prefer, just air dry on a line or railing. The last thing you want to do is to find out that the cover is now too small for the bedding material. With new beds, there is always some shrinkage after washing but it can be minimized by following these guidelines. Also, look for the manufacturer's suggested care tag somewhere on the bed, usually attached to a seam on the bottom of the bed.
Also, you should exercise some maintenance on the bedding material or cushion. Since odors can migrate through the outer covering, here is a suggestion that I have used to help prevent the cushion from becoming "smelly". Take a large plastic bag, like a trash bag, and place the bedding material/cushion in it before putting the cover back on. If your bed comes with a waterproof liner, this is not necessary as it would serve the same purpose. However, for those beds without the waterproof liner, this is a very cost efficient alternative and it also protects the bedding material in the event of any accident. You should replace the bag each time you wash the bed cover. I also recommend that you seal the end of the bag after inserting the bedding material so that it doesn't slip off or expose the contents during normal use or repositioning.
Occasionally put the bedding material outside where it can be exposed to the fresh air and sunshine where it can "breath" for a few hours. Just make sure that it is not in an area where it might get wet (that sudden unexpected rain shower?) otherwise, you will have to allow it to dry completely. A damp bed can cause mold to grow, which you definitely do not want to happen for your dog's sake as well as your own.
I hope this has given you some ideas that are both health and cost conscious. Dogs are great, be a great dog owner.
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