Dogs are not known for their hygiene habits… and you only have to witness the standard nose-to-backside greeting of one dog to another to realize this! This means that no matter how pretty your dog bed looks in the catalogue, you’ll need to put a fair bit of effort into keeping it up to human hygiene needs and odor-standards! Whether your dog bed is a box-spring mattress, a simple blanket or duvet inside a dog cage or an elaborately padded filled construction, today we have 10 tips to make cleaning it much easier.
1. Make sure your dog only has one bed… and that’s his own, not yours! Cleaning will be far easier if you only have to do it once.
2. Brush or comb regularly. It’s so much easier to just pull all the fur out of a dog brush or comb than to wash it out of the bed once it’s become nicely lodged!
3. Regular exercise is not only part of keeping your dog happy, but also keeping him and the dog bed clean. A bored dog will be more likely to dart from bed to muddy yard to bed again, and also to scratch, chew and generally try to destroy his bedding.
4. Don’t leave wet or canned dog food out for him during the day… unless you want his bed to smell like the food too.
5. Set up a towel rotation if you live in an area that is often wet or muddy. Grab a couple of fluffy towels from the thrift store (fluffy ones will absorb water and mud much more easily), and put them directly at the back door where your dogs enter. In winter keep your dogs blankets, duvets and dog bed inside – or consider alternating with a waterproof dog cushion.
6. Consider getting a machine washable bed – if you can quickly throw it in the machine, you’re much more likely to keep up with the cleaning schedule!
7. Always cover your pet’s bed. If you have a padded or even a cedar chip filled bed, make sure you cover it with an extra layer of material. Canvas is ideal because it is hardwearing and allows little mud and water through. Even if the dog bed underneath is not machine washable, at least your cover will be.
8. Ignore the quilted pet baskets as an option for your dog bed. You can put a cover, blanket or duvet over these also… but when the dirt eventually seeps through to the basket lining, there’s just no easy way to clean it!
9. Sprinkle the bed with baking soda every so often if you don’t have time to do a full clean. Keep the box next to the bed, blankets or duvet (and even next to waterproof dog beds) to help absorb odors.
10. If your vacuum just seems to ignore pet hair, use a wet rubber glove to clean your dog bed quickly and easily. The static and dampness help the hair cling to the glove, which you can then wash off under the tap.
