Monday, February 28, 2011

Finding High Quality Orthopedic Dog Beds

By John Goodyear


There are two main types of lining for an orthopedic dog bed: memory foam and egg crate foam. In the case of orthopedic beds for humans, the first lining - memory foam, is used. The second - egg crate foam, is not. Memory foam offers maximum comfort for your spine and joints, reducing any pressure to pressure points. In this way it helps to preserve their health. You will not see an egg crate foam mattress for humans. You will only see egg crate foam mattress pads. This happens because this lining is not strong enough to support a human's weight. So it follows then that if you have a heavy dog, an egg crate foam orthopedic dog bed is probably not the best choice of dog bed filler. A memory foam dog bed does not have these limitations, so perhaps you want to concentrate on just looking at memory foam dog beds.

We will now continue with the detailed description of the 2 types of lining and their functioning. And you will see why egg crate foam is less suitable for larger dogs, and able to make a more informed decision on which type of bed to buy.

A Few Things About Memory Foam

One of the most significant characteristics of memory foam is that it is formed from a network of linked open cells. How this works is that whilst you lay on the bed, the body weight and pressure forces air to be redistributed across the network of neighboring cells. This allows for the foam to mold around your body and offer supreme comfort. The pressure points on your joints and spine are significantly reduced. So you can expect the same principle to apply to canines as well. A memory foam dog bed will offer your dog superior support to help relieve pressure on his joints, while providing supreme comfort.

The Properties of Egg Crate Foam Material

The name of this lining indicates pretty well its major visual characteristic while you look at it - it looks like a cardboard egg crate. So, similar to an egg crate, this foam has a number of dips and bumps. This makes it very easy to wear out if a human were to lay on it. As such it is not used as the core material in a human orthopedic mattress. But since dogs can be much lighter than humans, a model of an orthopedic dog bed made from this material may suffice for small dogs. But it may be insufficient to support breeds of large and weighty dogs. So this material is perhaps best passed over for large or heavy dogs.

Another thing that you want to think about is how your dog likes to sleep. Beds are made to accommodate these different sleeping styles. If he likes to curl up as he sleeps, then a rounded model is better, while if he stretches out a lot, then an orthopedic dog bed that is long and rectangular is recommended.




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