Taking care of your dog’s bed – How to do it?

Just like us our dogs spend a lot of time in their beds. Taking care of your dog’s bed is important towards keeping a healthy dog and home. Especially in the troublesome areas of fleas, ticks and dust mites.

Dog’s can bring all sorts of nasty little creatures into our homes. Especially if you live in the countryside and your dog is prominent to walks in long grass and rural environments. A good approach is to make sure all dogs have their own individual bed’s. This helps to keep your house clean and also if your dog is a moulting breed it helps to keep all the fur contained in one area.

In the winter months or when moulting it can be a good idea to use a cover over the dog’s bed. A dog a towel could be sufficient however you can purchase dog bed cover’s.  Although a laundry approach is required and bedding should be washed regularly, bloodstains found on the dog’s bed are a good indicator of unwanted guests in the home such as fleas or a tick, indicating a laundering is needed.

How to keep your dogs bed clean at home?

The cleaning and the taking care of your dogs bed does depend on the type of bed. If it is a thick blanket or duvet then a high hot wash with detergent is suggested to kill any insects. A hot wash in a washing machine would most certainly kill most pests on the bedding however it will not fix the problem of dust mites. Dust mites a microscopic creatures that live in warm, dark places and thrive in bedding materials, this is because it is an ideal place to finds there food (flakes of skin). Buying a washable dog bed that can be easily machine washed can really help keeping everything clean and your mind at ease in regards dust mites and bad odour smells around the house.

How to avoid dust mites and keeping your home allergen free?

Dust mites are one the biggest causes of asthma in humans and other allergens worldwide. Our dogs can suffer from these allergies just like we can. However getting rid of this potential allergen is a bit more of a challenge than the common flea or tick. Unfortunately washing the bedding will kill the dust mites but it will not eradicate the irritating allergy.it is faeces and body parts of the dust mites which are the allergens therefore killing the mites will not help in making your home a dust mite, allergen free home.

Therefore just like humans are advised to replace pillows commonly every 6- 8 months. We suggest if dust mites are a concern for your family and home and your pet has been diagnosed with this allergy, to replace the bedding just as regular as this or as you can afford. We recommend if any family members do suffer with asthma to consider purchasing a wool based dog bedding. Due to wool being a natural repellent of dust mites.

Paws plus One is always on hand to help with choosing dog beds or helping with choosing the right product for your dog. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.