Pet behavior experts and veterinarians agree that a pet bed is an important investment for any dog owner. Creating a specific sleep area for your pet can be a significant factor in preventing pet behavior issues such as dominant aggression and separation anxiety. It also ensures that your dog feels calm and at home in his own space.

Unfortunately, changing your dog's bed once he has become accustomed to it can sometimes cause pet behavior disturbances. Buying replacements for damaged, dirty or parasite infested pet beds every few weeks is also an unnecessary expense that most of us would prefer to avoid. In this blog, I'll offer a selection of tried and tested tips that will help to maintain your dog's pet bed in good condition and make him feel more comfortable at the same time.

Discourage Chewing

Many dog owners complain about their pet chewing its bed. In puppies, this pet behavior usually begins during the teething period and should be discouraged to prevent it from becoming a bad habit. The best way to do this is by telling your puppy "No!" in a firm voice, whenever he chews his pet bed. You might also give your puppy a dog chew which is specially designed for teething (much like a teething ring for a child). This provides a practical and fun alternative for your pet! Older dogs that start to chew their pet bed are usually frustrated or bored, giving your dog toys to play with and ensuring he gets enough exercise will help.

Launder The Cover

One of the problems with pet bed is that they tend to get unpleasantly smelly and dirty quite quickly. Choose a pet bed which has a washable cover, and launder as often as necessary, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Always use a gentle detergent and dry thoroughly in the sunshine before replacing on the bed. These steps will help to minimize human allergic reactions to dander, prevent fleas and ticks and keep your pet's bedding smelling nice! Try stocking up on several covers for your pet's bed so that you can switch over to a fresh one while doing the laundry.

Use Your Vacuum Cleaner

Your vacuum cleaner is a superb tool for keeping your pet bed in tip-top condition. Mattresses and cushions that cannot be laundered will benefit from being cleaned this way and then aired on a warm, dry day. This is also a good method for cleaning basket type pet beds.