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  1. #1
    Puppy
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    Crate: No foam bed ok? Or dangerous?

    I have a 9 week old pup. When he's lounging around the house, he loves sprawling out on the kitchen floor (tile) as I believe it's nice and cool for him.


    We took the bed out of the crate that he sleeps in as the metal bottom is likely nice and cool and similar to the kitchen floor. But at night it sounds like he slides around on it alot. We have a towel down but I'm not sure it's enough.


    I didn't want to put the foam bed in there as my friend who has a lab pup that is a few weeks older than mine, the pup chewed up the foam bed and had to go to the vets.


    Is the foamless, metal floor a possible issue for his hips/legs if he's sliding? What do you recommend?
    Last edited by Cowabunga9; 08-03-2015 at 12:32 PM.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    I usually put something in at night only because the sound kept me up. A pup can eat and get a blockage just as easily with a towel as he can with bedding. So, if he's not eating the towel at night, you should be fine with a mat. My Labs did not get bedding in their crates other than at night until they were at least a year old, sometimes older, as they liked to eat it.

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog dxboon's Avatar
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    There's nothing wrong with crating a puppy on the bare plastic/metal tray in a crate. A lot of puppies are destructive chewers so bedding can be a problem. Having said that, I have used Primo Pads with success. A determined dog can destroy one if they work at it, but they are pretty tough. You have to monitor your puppy and gauge when they may be ready (if ever) to safely be housed with bedding or a crate pad. Here's a link to the crate pads I like: Vinyl dog floor protection pads- Primo Pads

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    Charlotte K. (08-03-2015)

  6. #4
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Mine don't like anything in their crates and they are all grown. They are fine laying on the bare bottom.

  7. #5
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    I can put something in the crate now that they're adults but not when they were puppies, no towels, no beds. You can put a towel between the tray and the bottom of the metal crate to help decrease the noise a little bit, just don't have it sticking out where the puppy can get hold of it. Something like a bath mat, which is slightly thicker than a towel, is what I've used.

  8. #6
    Senior Dog
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    We used to put a towel down and Kimber would shove it out of the way. She loved to sleep on the tile floor, too.
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
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    Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts



  9. #7
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Now that I think about it, I wrapped the tray with a large towel at night to keep down the noise but not allow the pup an easy spot to chew. I did not have any issues at night as long as I kept on schedule.

  10. #8
    Senior Dog Doreen Davis's Avatar
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    Anthony would eat anything on the floor of the crate. He just got a K 9 Ballistic pad and only gets to sleep on it if we're home, otherwise it's plastic for him.

  11. #9
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I put the towel under the tray and on top of the crate bottom so it wouldn't be so noisy for us. Oban seemed to prefer the cool floor too, even in winter with the heat turned down at night.

  12. #10
    Real Retriever PinkDragon14's Avatar
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    I use a small mat that I found at Petsmart. It isn't foam or anything fancy, just a soft mat for Murphy to lay on (and to prevent him "digging" on the plastic tray on the bottom of his crate). I accidentally left a full size pillow on the floor after we brought him home and he decided to knock it over and lay on that. Ever since then, I've put the pillow in his crate for him to sleep on. He's starting to outgrow its size, but he seems to love sleeping on that. The mat is now under the pillow

 



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