Product Review: Canine Hardware Travel Bed

The Canine Hardware Travel Bed is a compressible, packable dog bed that unfolds into a floofy cushion. It has a slick fabric on the bottom that repels dirt, hair, and those stickers that always get stuck in your socks while camping. The other side is soft and flannel-like. The travel bed comes with a matching stuff sack to keep it clean and mooshed down into a space-efficient package.

Photo by Erin Koski

I love this travel bed largely because it looks like a sleeping bag. It is also had a bit more padding than the Ruffwear Bachelor Pad bed, though it doesn't pack as small. It is also a lot bulkier and provides a lot more cushioning than Ruffwear's Highlands bed, which is a similar style to the Canine Hardware Travel Bed.

Photo by Erin Koski

Over the last few months, Brisbane has developed some arthritis in his hips. He now has a prescription pain medication, and it is important that he have soft, warm places to rest. Briz is a house dog on the beach in Central California, so he doesn't have to deal with anything approaching freezing temperatures. Still, I like having this bed for exercises like the Protocol for Relaxation.

The Canine Hardware Travel Bed is not an orthopedic bed, it isn't very supportive and has little padding compared to a regular pillow bed. Still, it's pretty comfy for something that packed down a little smaller than a regular sleeping bag.

Pros: More portable than a regular dog bed, more comfortable than a blanket or a towel on the ground. Makes cafe visits and outdoor classes a little nicer for spoiled, spoiled dogs. Machine washable. Doesn't pick up ground crud like regular bedding.

Cons: Kind of thin. Packs slightly smaller than a regular adult sleeping bag, which makes ultralight backpackers cry.

Bottom Line: Awesome for camping and going places, convenient to keep in the car. This bed will be going with us on camping trips, but probably not backpacking.

Cheapass Dog Fun: Play Mat Stay Mat

Brisbane's Ruffwear portable bed makes an awesome mat for practicing games like the ones I found in Control Unleashed. The idea is to teach the dog to lay down on the mat and stay there. Brisbane gets very excited about racing to his mat and sprawling on it, Ru occasionally decides to participate. Before we started playing these games, I kept the Ruffwear bed in the car for convenience. After we started using it for training games, I briefly considered buying a second one.

To be honest, I bought Brisbane's Ruffwear bed on clearance for 50% off. I was lucky to find it, and I really don't need to spend $70 for something to throw down on my floor for a few minutes of training. An old towel or a throw rug would do the trick, but I found something more fun.

I love thrift stores, and we have some amazing ones nearby. Something I often see an abundance of is baby play mats. They come in a delightful array of shapes and themes, always in bright colors. They are lightly padded and easy washable. I'm pretty sure these things come as part of a baby gym set, with doodads that suspend toys over the kid, or pillows to prop them up on their tummies. They never have these when I see them at the thrift stores though, the mat is the sad remnant of a once elaborate baby toy...or something.

At any rate, these mats are easy to find, cheap or free, and a lot of fun to play with. They apparently make decent ultralight pet beds, when I toss on on the floor it is likely to collect a dog or cat within a minute or two. Play mats are probably not as durable as the Ruffwear bed, and they probably collect a lot more dirt and crud outdoors, but they are also easy to replace. They're pretty cute, too.

Product Review: Ruffwear Mt. Bachelor Pad Bed

Mt. Bachelor Pad, by Ruffwear is a portable bed that rolls into a compact and secure package with attached straps and a handle. The bottom is waterproof polyester and the top is soft and fuzzy.

The Bachelor Pad seems thin at first, but as soon as I threw it down on our hard floor it was a magnet for Brisbane and the cats. Mine is about 6 years old and the product has been updated a bit since then, but the basic design and functionality remain the same.

My favorite thing about the Bachelor Pad is the waterproof polyester bedding. I take it camping and all it takes is a quick shake to rid it of dirt and dry grass. It repels crud incredibly well.

The other awesome thing about this bed is that it rolls up tight and secures with  velcro straps. When unrolled, the straps then secure flat to the bottom and stay clean and out of the way. There is a short handle, and I sometimes snap a shoulder strap on and bring it when we walk to a sidewalk cafe or anywhere else Brisbane might want a comfortable spot to lounge.

Briz and I have been working on Dr. Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol and some of the exercises from Leslie McDevitt's book, Control Unleashed. This bed makes the perfect mat for games where he needs to stay and relax, and now he is always excited to see it unrolled because it means it's time for training fun.

Pros: The Mt. Bachelor Pad bed is durable, light, portable, and perfect for outdoor use. It washes easily in the washing machine and my stupid cats haven't managed to destroy it by peeing on it. The bed is comfortable enough that the dogs will often choose it over thicker, plushier beds around the house. It's been kept in the hot car in the sun for months, washed repeatedly, and used on and off for six years now without showing any signs of fading or wear.

Cons: It's pretty expensive, and not quite light enough for ultralight backpacking.

Bottom Line: This will probably last forever unless your dog is a chewer or incredibly abrasive. Definitely one of my favorite dog items.

Product Review: Boots and Barkley Waterproof Dog Bed Cover

This is a zippered rectangular waterproof cover for a dog bed, part of Target's Boots and Barkley line of modular dog bed components. You can purchase interchangeable bed forms and covers, and the waterproof cover is another accessory intended to go over the pillow form and under the decorative fabric cover. It is made from polyester and the zipper appears to be covered in something rubbery, maybe silicon.

This plain and unassuming object is the single most useful thing to enter the house after the incontinent dog. Originally I had two fleecy fabric covers to go over the washable cover, when one was soiled I would swap it for the other. This often led to me washing bed covers 3-4 times per day. When Josie first arrived, she had some digestive upset. Let me tell you, nothing is as distressing as tummy trouble in a dog that has no idea when she poops. Most of the time it happens while she is sleeping. She is finally digesting nicely now, and I can tell you that I have never been so concerned with dog poop ever before. It's a bit disturbing.

The bed cover is truly waterproof, and wipes clean effortlessly, no matter what horrors it has seen. Even direct hits on the zipper do not soil the pillow inside. I had thought it would be less comfortable than the crib mattress covered with fuzzy blankets that is Josie's other bed, but she mostly prefers to lay on this one.

Once a week I toss it in the washer and run it through a normal cycle on cold water with some bleach, and then hang it out to dry. It always comes back odorless and fresh.

So far the cover on Josie's bed has held up well to her digging and pawing. I originally got two of them, one for Josie and one for Brisbane's bed in the livingroom. Briz likes to drag his puzzle toys, frozen Kongs, and pilfered prizes back to his lair. I am constantly washing his bed and trying to eliminate whatever odor it has picked up this time. Briz also thoroughly enjoys digging in his bed, but he also has toenails like daggers and quickly shredded not only the decorative fleece cover but also the waterproof cover underneath. I was not shocked, it's a waterproof barrier and not Kevlar armor.

<---Josie also enjoys lurking in Brisbane's lair.

Pros: Does exactly what it claims and works very well at keeping the hard-to-wash bed pillow clean. Comes in a variety of sizes and fits a variety of beds including those super-cheap giant Costco beds.

Cons: Only protects the bed from substances that come out of your dog, and not from the actual dog itself. Less durable than a super-cheap Costco bed. Will not hold up to unusually pointy dogs.

Bottom Line: Best thing ever for an incontinent dog, also makes a great outdoor bed and might work well to cover a bed in a dog house. Before I found this thing I used to lament that no such thing existed.