Heat Pads For Older Dogs

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

HI

We have a 16 year old staffy cattle dog cross who is starting to feel his age , we would like to update his dog bed to take some pressure off sore joints and to add a heat pad to help keep him warm this winter , he sleeps inside and loves sheepskin rugs with hide base or my couch but he is getting a bit unsteady on the up and down now and slips when he gets up so we want to give him his own bed on the floor

any bed type we try would need to be able to have a heat pad in or on it safely as we are in the blue Mountians and winter is cold even inside at night

any suggestions on the heat pad where and what type people have found to be good

thanks

[Staff'n'Toller]

I'm always a bit scared of heat pads in that if they are totally covered with blankets they heat up and may cause burns. Particularly in an older dog that may sleep very soundly.

I've always liked the look of these heated dog beds. From the brochure I've seen they look as though they might be a bit safer.

ETA: That site is not the manufacturer, just the first link I found, you may be able to get them cheaper from the actual makers.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Staff'n'Toller

[Crisovar]

I found the Snuggle Safe disks that you heat up in the microwave to be very good. No cords or thermostats to worry about.

We use them at work also with good results.

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

thank you Staff & Toller and Crisovar

I had not seen either of these before they both look like great ideas have you used the dog bed yourself at all ? do you know anyone who has and if they were happy with it ? , I had only seen the 240 V plug in heat pads to be placed under blankets which did worry me a bit , Crisovar how long does the heat last from the Snuggle Safe ? would it last 10 hours ? looking forward to the little old man being a little more spoilt this winter

[Stolzseinrotts]

You could possibly use a whelping heat pad. The deluxe one has a variation on heat settings and are designed to be on for very long periods of time and have weight on them as they are also recommended for old dogs and or those recovering from surgery. A lot of good doggy stores carry them and I have also seen them in some of the larger pet stores. Not sure of the brand but the one I refer to is usually red in colour and has a chew proof cord on it.

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

You could possibly use a whelping heat pad. The deluxe one has a variation on heat settings and are designed to be on for very long periods of time and have weight on them as they are also recommended for old dogs and or those recovering from surgery. A lot of good doggy stores carry them and I have also seen them in some of the larger pet stores. Not sure of the brand but the one I refer to is usually red in colour and has a chew proof cord on it.

Thanks have hunted under whelping heat pads on google this is more the idea there are a few that match what I need but the one I found with a variable temp didnt have a chew proof cord ( not that it is too important he is a bit past chewing his bed ) , didnt think to search that one before , have not seen them in doggy shops around here but they are a fairly poor effort all the cheep stuff , polyester beds that last five mins leads with plastic clips OMG toys that disintigrate in 5 mins ( that might be the dogs fault staffy cross , a rottie and a Husky cattle cross can be a bit hard on toys ) that sort of thing so no good quality stuff

[Staffyluv]

HI

We have a 16 year old staffy cattle dog cross who is starting to feel his age , we would like to update his dog bed to take some pressure off sore joints and to add a heat pad to help keep him warm this winter , he sleeps inside and loves sheepskin rugs with hide base or my couch but he is getting a bit unsteady on the up and down now and slips when he gets up so we want to give him his own bed on the floor

any bed type we try would need to be able to have a heat pad in or on it safely as we are in the blue Mountians and winter is cold even inside at night

any suggestions on the heat pad where and what type people have found to be good

thanks

As he sleeps inside, why not just use a single electric blanket???

I had a few single EBs here and gave them to other dog lovers and they said it worked out fine...

[dancinbcs]

I used to have an oldie with very arthritic legs. I used a trampoline type bed with vet bed covering and placed a whelping box heating panel under the bed lifted up on bricks. When the dog lied on the bed her weight meant that the bed just touched the heat panel underneath. I kept it to one side as she prefered to keep her body off the heat but her legs over the warm spot. With the heating panel under the bed the cord is out of the way and it is much safer. This worked well for my old girl's last three winters.