Ideas for a homemade dog bed for the garage?
I have three dogs: Mastiff/sheppard, chow/sheppard and a lab/springer. All three dogs HATE being inside so I’m in the process of finishing off my garage. I live in North Carolina so the winters here are really not that bad, we hit around the 30’s. My dogs will be sleeping in my garage with a doggie door installed on the side entrance door. All dogs are well trained on an invisible dog fence so they do their business outside and come back in to play.
Now, I’m looking for some creative ideas on how to make a couple of dog beds for my boys. Two of them love to chew, they have PLENTY of chew toys and they are trained NOT to chew but sometimes they can’t resist the urge. Just to be on the safe side, I would love to get some ideas on chew-proof beds.
Thanks so much, everyone on this board has been such a big help to me in the past! 
I don’t know, but make sure the beds are ELEVATED off the ground by an inch or two – this will keep them warm. If they’re right on the garage floor they’ll be too cold. No matter what the temp is outside. Dog joints can get stiff, especially when they get older, and they don’t always complain when they’re in pain.
Not sure on what to use for a chew resistent material, but for stuffing memory foam works great!
Just find a place the cuts it and theyll sell the scraps cheap.
Hay on concrete also works, but Im not sure if it would be ok with it getting that cold (rarely gets that cold down here for more than a week a year)
Both my dogs are chewers too, I made a box big enough for them to lay in and filled it with wood chips I get from the local feed store. These wood chips are for horses stalls and such, but it keeps them warm and they seem to like it too. about 4 to 6 inches deep. Its easy to change out and cheap too.
Maybe something like this:
http://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=110192%20024
or this:
http://www.sitstay.com/store/equip/kbed1.shtml
Good luck.
I can’t think of any chew proof beds but you could use some old blanket, or a couch. For those size dogs I would even say a mattress. Dogs don’t usually chew unless there cutting baby teeth or their Bord.
I have indoor/outdoor dog runs so I have dealt with this for years. Since the beds are inside shielding from the elements is not a consideration. What you are trying to accomplish is satisfying their denning desire. What I have found that works best is to find some 55 gallon plastic soap drums. Cut the center third of the drum out so that the ends are like tubs. Drill a few drain holes in the bottom and toss in an old blanket. You will find that the dog will love being curled up inside them. (like to eat them too) You will find that they last a couple of years before the sides are gone.
Google “Kurunda beds” — they are made with PVC piping, I’m sure there’s a way to make similar beds.
Another idea is to take an older crate apart — put a blanket in each half and you’ve got two beds.
I made a huge bed for our husky since he either wanted to be outside or in the garage. I took 3 yards of duck cloth, it’s similar to canvas and a very sturdy material, and sewed it into a square bed and filled it with cedar wood chips. It ended up being around 3-4 feet square and he’d play with it and move it but he never managed to put a hole it in.