Collection: Cooling Dog Beds

In summer they leave the bed and lies on the kitchen tile. A cooling mat works the way that tile does — it carries heat away on contact instead of holding it against them. Gel layers, ice-silk and mesh, and water-filled mats each do it differently. A pale plush bed does not do it at all.

Cooling without power

Nothing here is refrigerated. A gel or water layer conducts heat out of the dog and into the mat; a mesh or ice-silk surface lets air move through instead of trapping it against the coat. What you get is a surface that stays cooler than they are, rather than a cold one. Gel mats are built to work at room temperature, and the freezer is not part of how they are meant to be used.

Where it works best

Beside the usual bed rather than instead of it. Dogs move on and off a cooling surface through the night as they regulate their own temperature, and that is the mat working, not failing. For a determined chewer, a mesh or ice-silk surface with no fill is the safer choice over gel.