Spoiler: duck cloth

My previous dogs never caused problems with the bedding we provided. We just gave them old cheap blankets and they happily rolled up in them and everything was good.
Enter the Husky and things changed. We have an outdoor kennel area that connects to an indoor kennel area. We'd leave blankets in the indoor kennel and in the doghouse. Rorschach (the Husky) would drag all the blankets outside (which is a bit of a challenge as it requires pulling a large blanket up a ramp and through a dogdoor). Once outside he would lay on them, but they'd get torn up pretty easily.
We tried an actual dog bed which lasted about two days. He had dug into it and torn in apart in no time flat.
Next up was saddle pads for horses. Large square thick pads with fairly heavy material and some padding. They survived the longest at about 2 weeks. But Rorschach eventually tore into them and they were then spreading fluff all around the kennel.

To be fair, I don't think Rorschach has ever been purposefully destructive. He paws at his bedding a little bit and the claws take their toll. He chews them a little bit because he's still young, cutting teeth, dragging stuff around, and is just looking for something to do. I don't blame him, but we needed something that would last, wouldn't make a mess, and wasn't super expensive.

My wife suggested we try some heavyweight denim. I did some research and offered up an alternative, army duck cloth. Its the stuff the military uses to make their tents, tarps, and other items. Heavy duty, tear resistant, very durable. It's just a very tightly woven cotton cloth.

We went with the 30oz variety (so it's 30oz per square yard). My wife's cheap sewing machine could handle it, but she did need to get a special needle to work with the material. She basically crafted large 3'x3.5' pillow cases and stuck the saddle pad inside. It's been 2 months so far and it's holding up great. No wear and tear from his pawing at it. He's chewed a bit on one corner, but it's not actually damaged in any way. It's too big and heavy for him to drag all over the place or take out through the dog door.

Don't know if it will hold up long term, but it's done better than anything else. The dogs seem to love sleeping and cuddling on them. Next step is making a smaller one for the dog house. We made giant ones because we have the space. You could certainly make smaller ones for crates, kennels, or whatever.

The stuff we got was $12/yard, so it's actually cheaper than the saddle pads and most of the dog beds I've ever seen.

So if your having trouble with your dog making mince meat out of his dog beds, you may want to give duck cloth a try.

Very interesting, thanks for the info!

Thanks! I'll have to check this out. I was stupid and bought a $50 KONG bed that I "thought" would hold up to Lucy....yeah, no. She has destroyed it.

VTHokieHusky wrote:

Thanks!  I'll have to check this out.  I was stupid and bought a $50 KONG bed that I "thought" would hold up to Lucy....yeah, no.  She has destroyed it.

Yup. I still swear by a $7.00 moving blanket from Harbour Freight, folded in quarters. Works even with holes. Once its too far gone, another 7 bucks is not a budget killer.

The only bed that's held up for my pups is the ballistic k9 bolstered memory foam bed. It's tough, waterproof, and very importantly doesn't smell. I tried their crate pad, but that lasted 1 day. Luckily I got the majority of my money back on that.

Update on the duck cloth bed.
Rorschach is a chewer...big time. He's got ample toys and chew things. We rotate his toys and chews daily. He gets a lot of exercise. He has a friend to hang out with all day.
There is a support board that sticks up right through the center of their interior kennel. He has literally chewed up about a 4th of that board...he's working it like a lathe.

Anyways, the duck cloth bed survived 4 months unscathed. For him, that's impressive! Best part, is the damage he did was pretty minor. He chewed through a corner, and opened up a golf ball sized flap in the middle of it. Both were easy patches.

My wife bought another roll of material and plans to make another cover over the old one. Tighter seams and then he'd need to get through 2 layers before being able to do any damage to the stuffing. All in all, we're pretty happy.

Beds are a waste of time here ours just sleeps on the floor but our winter is not cold and our summer hot so the floorboards provide a bit of a cooler spot for her. I've tried bedding and she just walks on it and then curls up on the floor somewhere