I have just a simple question. What are you all using as bedding inside your puppy's crate -- blanket, mat, nothing? Birdie is 10 months old now and still insists on chewing on the blanket I put inside her crate. I rotate appropriate chew toys for her, and she does chew on them a lot, but she doesn't regard the blanket as off limits. It's hard to put her in there with no bedding at all since the metal floor can't be very comfortable, but at this point I have no choice. This behavior is becoming too ingrained in her little Labbie mind. Ugh, puppies!
I use thick, waterproof mats in all crates that fit very close and tight to the side of the crate, so there are no edges flapping around to be played with. I tried memory foam, but he chewed them. So now I just stick with these canvas mats, which I find better than soft bedding with lots of interesting, fluffy, edges to investigate! http://www.muddypaws.co.uk/dog-beds/waterproof-beds/heavy-duty-waterproof-crate-pad
Thank you, JulieT, that looks nice and sturdy! I do, though, need to find something like this sold in the US. So far all of the ones I see have soft fabric covers that I know will be a "chewing magnet".
I used just vet bed when Juno was little then purchased the crate mattress for her crate when she moved up size wise. I have been lucky though as she's never been a chewer
I think at this point I am going to use no bedding at all. I have seen the evidence on numerous occasions that Birdie does indeed swallow pieces, and I'm counting my blessings that nothing serious resulted from it thus far. I have a very strong and determined chewer, and safety has to be higher than comfort on the list of priorities. Hopefully she'll grow out of this by the time she's officially out of the juvenile stage, haha maybe at 3 years of age? I appreciate all of your helpful responses!
The usual recommendation for dogs like this is to have a piece of wood that fits the crate exactly, so they can't get an 'edge to start on, rather than leave them with nothing. Wood is quite warm, and not all that uncomfortable for a dog. You mention mental at the moment, which sounds unattractive. The other alternative is to switch to a puppy pen and put lino on something soft (I used thick carpet), with the edges of the lino outside the pen (this bit is critical) and is what I did with my pup when he was younger.
It's a coated metal tray that actually has a bit more surface flexibility than a piece of wood would have. I'm not concerned with warmth since the room is heated. The biggest problem is in the morning when she's wide awake and waiting for me to get up and let her out. Maybe I should set my alarm for an hour before I get up and toss in a frozen Kong haha. Sigh, for as much trouble as Lab pups can be, you still gotta love 'em.
My last pup Nevis chewed for Britain, he went through numerous beds and destroyed vet bed. As Julie said we cut a piece of wood to fit the size of crate, we also covered the wood with vet bed and stapled it underneath so when in position there was no way he could get a corner or loose bit to chew on. This worked for us he had a fur floor and he never managed to destroy it
Cow matting can be cut to fit the crate bottom so no corners are available to pull up and chew. I know people who have used it. It might give some cushioning to an animal the weight of a cow but I fail to see there is much advantage for a dog. Other than insulation I guess. An idea to consider though. We didn't use anything. Oban seems to really feel the heat and even in winter was constantly moving to find a cool spot on the floor. The crate door was open. Actually, at 5.5 months we let him roam free at night and he chose to sleep on the floor in our bedroom. There he had a drop 'n flop (only in winter) but still he moved around to bare floor.
Rory just ended up with nothing as he ate everything. his crate has a plastic tray which couldn't eat but he did try eat the handles on the top which i had to take off. Now he's more mature(right) he has got a very old not very fluffy piece of fleece which is not very attractive for chewing. He doesn't lie on it much he seems to prefer the plastic. he's the same whe he's got the option of a bed. he rather lie on the quarry tiled floor. I think he's like me a runs hot, he's always warmer than the other dogs and doesn't like soft beds.
I used Vet bed. It seemed pretty impervious to Molly's munchings. The only time she damaged it was when I left it upside down in a heap and she chewed the back where it was mounded up like an irresistible heap. I bought a large piece, cut it to fit her crate exactly which seemed to deter her. The remaining piece ( I did say large piece) was cut into a couple of mats which we leave round the house and she can be told to go to her mat. When it was time for Molly to be decrated and move onto a bed I bought one of the squishy ones, put it in her crate for a couple of weeks to give her the idea that it was bed and she transitioned without a problem.
Laced Luffy's crate with a vet bed and placed a small doggy bed on top of it when Luffy 'used to' sleep in the crate. The bed never lasted, though, but the vet bed has remained impervious to all manner of scratching and munching!
Molly's crate has a blanket on the floor, a small soft sided box for her to sleep in and a pair of my sweatpants for her to snuggle with
Thanks JulieT I've just ordered one of those mats. we've tried vetbed but Eric eats it. At the moment we have blankets down but he doesn't settle as well as he used to. I'm going to try with the mat to see if a bit of cushioning helps
I ordered a mat from k9 ballistics and really like it. My chocolate lab is almost 10 months and we havent been able to use anything up until now. And I only have his mat in there at night rather than all the time and he seems to do so much better!!!
Hi everyone! I thought I would post an update on Birdie and her crate-blanket-chewing antics. I resorted to using no bedding at all. Meanwhile, several weeks ago I began allowing her to spend nights outside of her crate, on a dog bed between her crate and my own bed. (The bedroom door remains closed to keep her from wandering throughout the house while I'm sleeping.) Ever since that first night she was a perfect little angel, and has continued to do well ever since. Imagine that -- Birdie an angel!!! I hear her when she wakes up before it's time for me to get up. She checks on me, then goes back to her bed to wait, sometimes chewing on a Nylabone, but never chewing on her bed! She's 10 months old now and the only time I use the crate is if she needs a time out from the excitement of visitors and the odd 2-3 hours here and there when I need to leave the house. I still don't use any bedding, but I'm not concerned because the length of time she is ever in there is short. Maybe when she gets a little older I'll try crate bedding again (and hopefully no crate at all), but so far this is working well. My little Birdie is growing up
