A year of dog beds in our Perth rental: what we kept
Short answer: of the six dog beds we bought in our first year of renting with two dogs, three earned a permanent spot and three went to the tip. The ones that survived shared three traits: a washable cover, a base that did not collapse, and a size matched to the dog rather than the room. The failures were cheap foam that went flat in weeks, a non removable cover that smelled, and a cute shape no dog would actually lie on. A year in taught us that the boring, practical bed wins over the pretty one every time.
What we bought and why
We started naive. A $25 supermarket rectangle, a boucle oval because it looked nice, a memory foam bed on sale, a raised cot, a donut for the anxious one, and a thin travel mat. Twelve months later the mat, the cot and the memory foam bed are still in use. The other three are gone, and the money we wasted on them would have bought a second good cover for the bed we kept.
The three that earned their place
The memory foam bed in the lounge is the workhorse. The raised cot travels and handles the summer heat. The thin travel mat lives on the tiles and gets washed weekly. Each does one job well instead of trying to be everything, and that focus is exactly why they outlasted the fancy all rounders we tripped over first.
- Memory foam lounge bed: supportive, zip cover, still lofted after a year.
- Raised cot: off the floor, easy hose down, no foam to flatten.
- Travel mat: cheap, washable, the summer favourite on cool tiles.
The three we quietly binned
The boucle oval was rejected by both dogs within a day. The $25 rectangle had fibre fill that clumped after two washes and smelled damp no matter what we did. The donut was loved but the cover could not be removed, and once it held an accident it never came right. None were worth the cupboard space, and the bin was kinder than the laundry.
What stung was not the cash but the clutter. Three rejected beds took up a hallway for months before we admitted defeat. If I could redo the year, I would buy one bed, watch the dogs use it for a fortnight, then buy the next with that knowledge, instead of filling the apartment with guesses on day one.
What a year taught us about washability
In a rental with dogs, washing is not optional, it is weekly. A bed you cannot fully wash will either smell or get thrown out, so a removable, machine friendly cover beat fancy fabric every time. We now check the zip before we buy and assume the inner will need a second cover of its own, because the day the zip fails is the day the bed starts its slow trip to the tip.
Would we buy differently now
We would skip the pretty oval, spend the oval's money on a second good cover, and buy the cot sooner. As renters who may relocate, we also value beds that fold or stack. Comfort matters most, but a bed that cannot be cleaned will not last the lease, and a bed that will not pack will not survive the move, so both beat beauty in a rental.
For shapes and sizing that suit your dog, our Beds and Mats hub covers the basics, and I wish I had read it before that first shopping trip.
| Bed | Price paid | Still used | Reason kept or binned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory foam lounge | $89 | Yes | Held loft, washable cover |
| Raised cot | $59 | Yes | Cool, hose clean, no sag |
| Travel mat | $22 | Yes | Weekly wash, summer favourite |
| Boucle oval | $45 | No | Dogs refused it |
| $25 rectangle | $25 | No | Foam clumped, smelled |
| Donut | $69 | No | Cover not removable |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many beds does one dog actually need?
In our experience two is plenty for most dogs: one supportive bed for night sleep and one cool or travel option for the day. We ended up with three because of the caravan, but a single good washable bed plus a tile mat would cover most Perth rentals through summer and winter without clutter, so do not let the range in the shop talk you into a pile.
Is an expensive bed worth it over a cheap one?
The cheap rectangle we bought cost more in the end because we replaced it. A mid priced foam bed with a real cover outlasted three of the bargain versions. Spend on the cover and the fill you can wash, not on the look, and the bed will still be here next year while the pretty cheap one is already in the bin.
What is the first thing to fail on a dog bed?
The foam goes flat or the cover stops washing clean. Flat foam means lost support, and a stained smelly cover means the bed gets banished outdoors. Check both before you buy: a cover you can unzip and a fill that springs back when you press it are the signs of a bed that lasts, and the lack of either is the sign it will not.
Should renters avoid bulky beds?
Bulky is fine if it folds or the cover washes, but think about move day. We liked the cot and the flat mat because they disappear behind a door. A giant bolstered mattress is lovely until you are carrying it down three flights at lease end, so match the size to your space and to the stairs you will one day carry it down.
How often did we really wash them?
The tile mat went through the machine every week in summer, the lounge cover every two to three weeks, and the cot got a hose and a wipe. Real life with two dogs is messier than the labels suggest, so build washing into your routine and pick beds that survive it rather than fighting the chore, because the bed you dread washing is the bed you will soon bin.
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