Kuranda Dog Bed Review After Two Years Of Daily Use
Abby And Squirt Breaking In Their New Beds And Bedding
My Beds After Two Years Of Abuse
While there is no such thing as a chew proof dog bed, my Kuranda dogs beds come pretty close. My first two dogs did not damage the two beds I own for over two years. It took the addition of a very smart German Shepard to find the weakness in our two Kuranda beds. The damage she caused was not to the frame, it is constructed of aircraft aluminum. The damage was to the aging ballistic nylon fabric bedding material and the rubber pads on the bottom of the legs of the bed. .
My wife and I have different opinions about whether or not a dog needs to have something to lie down on all of the time. During the summer I think the dogs are much more comfortable lying on the cool brick floor of their room than lying on something that will hold heat close to their bodies when it is hot. It does not help that they both chew what ever they are given to lie down on to shreds. Our dogs chewing behavior occurred mostly during the time the dogs were alone either at night or during the day while we were at work. We reduced this behavior by having chew toys and a regular exercise routine.
As far as having a bed, we needed something that was durable and easy to clean. While I was looking online for a bed, I received an e-mail from the adoption agency we adopted two of our three dogs from that was asking for donations to purchase a Kuranda bed for their kennel. out f curiosity I did a Google search for Kuranda beds and found they offered bedding for dogs that were aggressive chewers. Our adoption agency did not warn us that Dalmatians were aggressive chewers. After reading about the types of beds and fabrics used for them which are rated for durability and comfort, I decided to purchase two of these beds. The cost of the aluminum frame and ballistic nylon cloth piece was $124.95 for each bed. With shipping the total cost was 265.38. I received the beds seven business days after I ordered them.
The beds come unassembled, 12 aluminum pieces, four plastic rods, four small screws, 8 large screws, 4 rubber pads, and 8 nuts for each bed. The beds I ordered were extra large, the dimensions of the bedding area is 44"x27" assembled. I used a cordless drill and a 7/16 wrench to assemble the beds. assembly of both beds to about twenty minutes.
At first the dogs would not lie on the beds, one of the cons is that the ballistic nylon cloth can pull on the dogs hair. I purchased two cheap fleece blankets at Wal-Mart to put over the nylon to prevent the nylon fabric from pulling on the dogs hair. After putting the blankets on the beds the dogs began to use them. After three days they had apparently become accustomed to the ballistic nylon, because they laid directly on top of the nylon as they chewed their blankets to shreds.
The fabric is easy to clean, I usually used a bit of soapy water and a brush to scrub the fabric and a hose to rinse the soap off. They were also easily cleaned with a power washer set on wide washing (60 degree) setting. The fabric was strong enough to allow both dogs to lie on the bed without ripping, when we bought our third dog, sometimes one bed held all three dogs at once with no problems. After a year or so, the fabric does tend to sag from use, our newest dog, a German Shepherd figured out that if she pinched the loose fabric between her front paws, she could create a wrinkle that she could chew on. This discovery would eventually lead to the demise and the ultimate destruction of the original ballistic nylon fabric. The original ballistic nylon lasted for two years, three months, and five days. Before they were completely destroyed the remaining nylon held the weight of a 69 pound dog even with over half of the fabric missing from the bed.
Last month I ordered replacement fabric. I ordered the 40 ounce vinyl instead of the ballistic nylon. It is more like a plastic sheet, it is more durable, and it does not pull the dogs hair. The cost to replace the ballistic nylon fabric with the 40 ounce vinyl was $61.40 with shipping. I received the new bedding pieces in 8 business days. The 40 ounce vinyl bedding surface will not sag from prolonged use as the ballistic nylon did. Once the bedding was replaced and the beds were returned to the dogs for use, they did not have any issues sleeping on the replacement materials.
It has been two months since I replaced the ballistic nylon with the 40 ounce vinyl bedding. They are much easier to clean and are dry in only a few minutes after cleaning them. So far the dogs have not damaged them in any way. The surface of the material is too taught for the German Shepard to pinch between her paws and chew. She has tried everything to chew on the new bedding material to include flipping the beds over and trying to find a weak spot on the underside of the bed. She has however, successfully removed the rubber pieces that are inserted in the bottom of the legs to prevent the beds from scratching the floor. They survived five chewing episodes before three of the four were totally destroyed. I thought about replacing them, but they are too easy for the dogs to remove and chew so I skipped buying replacements. Replacement cost is only $2.88 plus shipping, but I am concerned the dogs may ingest the rubber pieces.
Every piece on the beds are replaceable, parts are also interchangeable between some of the products. Kuranda makes PVC beds which can be repaired with new PVC parts or aluminum parts depending on the damage to the bed. I did not think about buying PVC beds, I knew at the time of purchase I would be replacing legs and corner pieces with in days, maybe hours after giving the dogs the beds to use.
After over two years of use, I am happy with my purchase. I openly recommend these beds for dogs that are aggressive chewers. My dogs also move them around the dog room, the aluminum frames can withstand being flipped over, dragged, and tossed around the room. I am confident that when I put my dogs out in their room for the night or when I am leaving the house that when I return their beds will still be intact when I return.
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