This August we were so generously gifted an orthopedic dog bed from BigBarker USA to review and help educate dog owners on why #realbedschangelives.
This bed is nicer than my mattress...
Upon opening the packaging and getting to experience the very satisfying unrolling and expansion of the foam, I was truly shocked by how nice this bed is. The cover is washable, which makes cleaning easy and means the bed can be used in garages, porches, and a multitude of other areas. The cover is also super soft and the fabric texture is amazing because it doesn't trap Hattie's annoying lab hair on it and is easy to vacuum for more frequent cleaning.
Other than rather superficial reasons to like this bed, is this bed truly worth the money? Do real beds really change lives? Why does a real dog bed even matter?
consider the following points when deciding where to invest your money.
Why is this bed worth truly worth the money?
This is a situation where size matters. Seven inches of orthopedic foam make this a truly supportive bed. The brand originally was aiming to provide a real bed for really big dogs, I'm talking large and giant breeds. (they do offer BigBarker Juniors for regular sized dogs now!) It's not often you see a nice bed that is big enough to hold a stretched out Dane, Corso, or even some of the larger Shepherds. But even when you do find a bed in your local Petsmart that is an appropriate size for your Clifford of a dog, chances are its not durable enough to withstand a big dog and isn't sturdy enough to support their body either. BigBarkers are made with big dogs in mind. This means they are an appropriate width, height, and length to support your dog. The layered foam ensures that your dog's body and joints are fully supported. It also means you won't be replacing your dogs bed every few months because of it flattening out from the dog's weight. To me, it's a no brainer to just make the investment and make one good purchase than to continuously replace a mediocre dog bed.
Durable & Washable cover. Hattie sheds. Like, a lot. Her white fur means I vacuum almost every day. I vacuum her BigBarker every few days and remove the cover and wash it every month. The fabric of the cover is similar to faux suede, so not only does the fur come off of the cover with ease, but it is also very water repellent. So if you have a big time drooler or a dog that likes to bring half of the water bowl in their jowls when they're done drinking- you're pretty well off. BigBarker even offers a waterproof mattress cover to keep those in mind with dogs that have incontinence issues or the like! Occasionally Hattie is a nester too. So she likes to dig around her blanket or her toys on top of her bed and it doesn't affect it at all! There is even this super cool video of a massive Dane nesting on their BigBarker and the cover held up perfectly!
Clinically proven!!! In 2020 BigBarker became the first dog bed to be clinically proven to improve the quality of life of dogs that use it. The University of Pennsylvania did a clinical trial study which involved 40 dogs weighing 70lbs or more, being 3 years of age or older, for a total of 28 days. The study showed that dogs using BigBarker beds had improved joint function, improvement in gait and quality of life, as well as a reduction of joint stiffness and pain. The study also found that participants had an improved quality of sleep, which means less getting up and circling and repositioning during the night. All of these things considered, these beds are all around great for improving your dogs quality of life and sleep! I'll say it just one more time- it's the only dog bed clinically proven to help your dog.
Made in the USA and made with care! These beds are carefully crafted to ensure quality and they are made with foam will not put out any toxic or bad smelling fumes in your home.
Aesthetically pleasing. For a dog bed, yes. I am not one for crazy prints or colors for really anything. I like neutral and clean. The BigBarker beds come in a variety of neutral colors, along with a burgundy and seasonal pink. They also come in the sleek edition (what we have) and a headrest edition, which has a built in head rest for your pup. I chose the sleek edition because I live in a small apartment and if I ever needed to, the sleek edition is the perfect size to slide under my bed.
Taking these points into consideration I would like to say that owning a dog is an investment. You're already investing money in buying a $30 or $40 bed from TJ Maxx or your local pet store. That bed will bite the dust in a few months due to the stuffing flattening out, bad dog smell, or getting torn apart by digging/chewing. Why would you not just invest that money that you'd spend every few months replacing a "regular" dog bed and purchase a dog bed that will last years? Not only are you helping your wallet from replacing dog beds, chances are you're gonna save some money on vet bills as well. With this bed being so supportive of your dog's body, its less likely that you're going to be seeing stiff joints, sprains, and arthritis pain.
I see (and appreciate) people trying their best to proactively care for their dog by keeping them a healthy weight, feeding nutrient dense kibble or even taking the resources to do raw feeding, or buying nice supplements to combat joint problems. A lot of that can go right out the window if your dog is sleeping on a bed not designed to support their body. If you are truly interested in proactively preventing or managing dysplasias, arthritis, and other body ailments- I'd ask that you'd seriously consider investing in a BigBarker bed for your dog so that you are providing well rounded care and supporting your dog to the best of your ability!
This bed is not just for "fancy" dogs or just large dogs at that. This bed could be helpful to all dog owners. If you have a dog with compromised joints, arthritis, or similar issues due to genetics or injury, this bed could drastically decrease their stiffness and pain levels. If you have a canine athlete who is hard on their body and can be prone to having sore muscles, this bed is ensuring that they get appropriate rest and support for their body. This bed could even be considered helpful at keeping your dogs body more inshore and promoting better OFA or other body evaluation scores because it is truly supportive. Or if you have a dog that you're interested in proactively caring for and preventing musculoskeletal problems, this is the bed for you. These are just a few reasons of how real beds can change lives.
Other points to take note of:
BigBarker also offers payments through Affirm so that you can space out your payments if you prefer!
BigBarker has the large orthopedic beds (Sleek Edition and Headrest Edition) along with the BigBarker Junior (designed for smaller dogs), orthopedic crate pads, and the Backseat Barker.
Interested in learning more? Visit the BigBarker website here!
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