Dog Bed Mats & Pads

Flat bedding with no sides, for a crate, a car boot, the space under a desk, or on top of the sofa they have already claimed. A mat fits places a shaped bed cannot, and it is the easiest kind to get in and out of the wash. What it gives up is an edge to rest a head on.

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8 products

Elsewhere in the catalog

Dog Beds39 beds Large Dog Beds14 beds Washable & Waterproof Dog Beds19 beds Washable Dog Beds11 beds Crate & Travel Dog Beds7 beds Cooling Dog Beds3 beds

From the journal

Best Waterproof Dog Beds Journal Dog Beds With Sides: Bolster, Sofa, or Flat Journal Best Dog Crate Beds Journal

What you gain and what you give up going flat

Flat wins where space is the constraint

A mat uses its whole footprint. Nothing is lost to a wall, so a 39 × 28 in mat gives a dog more room to stretch into than a 39 × 28 in walled bed does, by a margin of roughly a quarter on the deeper designs.

That is also why mats end up in crates, car trunks and the second sleeping spot most dogs keep somewhere else in the house. Nine mats sit on this page, from 18 × 12 in (45 × 30 cm) up to 45 × 31 in (115 × 80 cm).

Two rectangles of identical outer size, one shaded edge to edge as a flat mat and one losing a band to a raised wall.

Thickness only means something against the floor beneath it

On carpet, thin is plenty. On tile or a bare crate pan, a thin mat is not far from lying on the floor itself. The thickest here is 2.75 in (7 cm), on the corduroy pad; several others are a single quilted layer meant for a surface that is already soft. The depth is on every listing and it is the number to judge against your own floor.

A mat that slides gets abandoned

On laminate or tile, check the underside before anything else. A mat that shoots out from under a dog as they land on it puts them off using it at all, and that is hard to undo once it has happened twice. Several of these carry a dotted silicone or nubbed backing for exactly that reason.

Weight ratings, where a listing gives them

The folding foam mat is the one that states them outright: four sizes rated to 15, 33, 55 and 99 lb (7, 15, 25 and 45 kg). That is more useful than a size letter, because a size letter tells you the footprint and says nothing about whether the fill will hold a heavy dog without bottoming out.

Four identically shaped mats labelled by the weight each is rated to, beside a size-letter tag struck through.

Three of the nine also work in a car

The 20 × 51 in corduroy mat is cut for a trunk or the length of a back seat, a second ribbed mat is sized for a single car seat or a crate floor, and the roll-up mat buckles shut with a carry handle sewn into the roll. If the car is the main use, the crate and travel page is the better starting point. Those are built around a fixture rather than a floor.

Nine mats as a grid with three of them filled and set against the outline of a car interior.

Thickness is a question about the floor, not the mat

On carpet, about 1 in (2 to 3 cm) is comfortable and anything more is padding you paid for and the dog does not feel. On tile, laminate or a bare crate tray, a mat under about 1.5 in (4 cm) leaves the dog largely feeling the floor through it, and on a hard floor that is a joint question rather than a comfort one.

The thickest mat here is 2.75 in (7 cm). Judge that number against what is underneath it, not against another mat.

The same 1 in mat is two different mats depending on what is under it. The mat is drawn once and only the floor changes.

Why a mat gets abandoned, and it is almost never comfort

It slid. On laminate or tile a mat that shoots out from under a dog as it lands puts the dog off the mat entirely, and two incidents are usually enough to make that permanent.

Check the underside before the top surface. A dotted silicone or nubbed backing solves it; plain fabric on a hard floor does not. A mat that is slightly too small also slides more, because the dog lands on an edge rather than in the middle.

The property that decides whether a mat is used lives on the face nobody photographs.

The second bed most dogs already have

Most dogs keep two or three sleeping spots and rotate between them through the day: one where the people are, one where it is quiet, one where the sun lands in the afternoon. A mat is the cheapest way to make the second and third of those a proper surface rather than a patch of floor.

That is also why mats travel well. The same object works under a desk, in a crate, in a trunk, and on the sofa the dog has already claimed.

A dog does not have one sleeping place, it has a route. The mat is the cheapest way to make the other stops real.

Questions people ask about dog bed mats & pads

Can I use a crate mat as a dog bed?

Yes, and most people end up doing it the other way round too. The only real difference is the footprint: a crate mat is cut to a pan, so it tends to be narrow for its length. On carpet or a soft floor a crate mat works perfectly well as a second bed.

What is the best dog mat for sleeping?

For a dog that sprawls, the thickest one that fits the space, which is 2.75 in (7 cm) here, on the corduroy pad. For a dog that curls, thickness matters less than area, because they are not spreading their weight across it. On a hard floor, thickness stops being a comfort question and becomes a joint one.

Are foam mats good for dogs?

Foam holds its shape under weight where loose fibre gives way, which is the property that matters for a heavy or older dog. The trade-off is drying: foam soaks up water and takes days to dry through, so a foam mat with a removable cover is a different proposition from one without.

What stops a dog slipping on a hard floor?

A backing with grip, and enough of it. Look for a dotted silicone or nubbed reverse rather than plain fabric. A mat that is too small also slides more, because the dog lands on an edge rather than in the middle of it.

How thick should a dog mat be?

It depends entirely on what is under it. On carpet, about 1 in (2 to 3 cm) is comfortable. On tile, a crate tray or a car trunk, aim for the thickest that still fits. Under about 1.5 in (4 cm) on a hard floor the dog is largely feeling the floor.

Are these machine washable?

Most are, and two have a cover that comes off separately. The listing says which case applies. A one-piece padded mat can usually go in whole, but it needs a full day to dry through, which is the argument for owning two if the crate is in daily use.