What would be the Best Dog Bed for my German Shepherd Dog?

Perfect Support is the Most Important Thing.

There is nothing more important for your German Shepherd Dog than perfect support for the spine. German Shepherds are being bred far more responsively now adays, but some still have spine problems. A dog with a problem-back will need support all his life and not just when aches and pains start showing. Therefore, make sure you get a well supporting dog bed that keeps its shape. Far too many dog beds look big and fluffy in the shop, but then they quickly collapse. The danger is that the owner may not notice that the bed is collapsing and the dog will not be telling you. Best thing to do is to get a good quality dog bed from the start. Make sure that the dog bed contains a good mattress. If it has loose stuffing it will almost certainly just go flat in no time. When beds go flat, the dog is practically lying on the hard floor.

Size.

Make sure you buy the right size. Especially if your dog needs to have a draught excluding bed with sides on. A bed with high sides gives your dog the perfect warmth during the night when the house is often colder. Having sides on a dog bed makes all the difference for warmth, but make sure the bed is not too large. If the bed is over sized for the dog he loses the snug-ness. On the other hand, some GSDs are very, very hairy and warm. For those, a mattress bed without sides would work better simply for keeping cool. In the summer your GSD may also prefer a mattress, but you must still make sure that the support is perfect.

Washing.

For such a large breed of dog, washing the bedding becomes an issue. With very small dog beds you can almost just put the whole bed in the washing machine. With large beds the ideal solution is to have a waterproof bed with a cover. You should be able to remove the cover and put this into your washing machine. In time you might like to wash the surface of the big, supportive dog bed itself. This is done easily on a Tuffies bed by going over the surface with hot, soapy water. After this, you simply hose the bed clean. Leave it to airdry and you have a fresh, clean and still fabulous dog bed for your dog.