Yes, dog beds should be washed.
It is recommended to look for a dog bed that can be washed. If you chose a washable dog bed then a machine washable bed will make your life a hell of a lot easier.
Like humans, dogs will come into contact with lots of different types of bacteria and fungus. This does lead to an increased risk of your dog and its dog bed containing unwanted bacteria. Your dog will happily carry on with its business undeterred by most of these potential bacteria and can cause harm to us humans.
Examples of the most common diseases that cause illness in humans:
- Tapeworm: eating infected fleas will cause tapeworm, never particularly serious and most common in children. When severe can cause weight loss
- Campylobacter: dogs may show no signs of infection (which can come from food or infected faeces) other than diarrhoea. In humans stomach pain, diarrhoea and potentially life-threatening in the young/old
- Rabies: although rare, caused by a virus an infected dog bite can be very serious especially if not treated immediately. The sign of symptoms is normally too late. Usually signalled by behavioural change, headache, fever and eventually paralysis
- Roundworm: caught by the ingestion of roundworm eggs, most common in children and can lead to inflammation of the eyes and worse case blindness.
There are of course many other potential diseases that can be spread. Remember good hygiene and routinely cleaning bedding is generally good practice.
How often should you wash your dog bed?
How often to wash your dogs’ bed is dependent on different factors including:
- activities your dog has taken part in for example if it has rolled in poo and then transferred this onto its dog bed then it needs washing!
- allergies your dog may have, the more allergies then the more often you should wash your dog bed
- allergies you or your family has will mean potentially increasing washes of your dog bed
- how much your dog sheds hair, more hair potentially more washes.
In general, your dog bed should be washed at least once a week and twice a week if any of the factors above are present. Use your common sense, if your dog bed smells then wash it! Likewise, if your dog has been on a particularly dirty walk and transferred that dirt to its bed then wash it too.
How to wash your dog bed
Ideally, your dog bed should be a machine washable dog bed. Most beds have a cover which is easily washable and then the inner cushion that potentially (depending on size) may be too large for your washing machine. In a perfect world, the whole bed can be washed. You are more likely to wash the cover more than the cushion.
If you cannot wash the cushion, then inserting a plastic bag or lining between the cover and cushion will provide some protection. When machine washing, do so at the highest temperature possible (follow manufacturers guidelines). Then tumble dry (if recommended for your dog bed) or hang dry.
In between washes, a vacuum of your dog bed is recommended to collect any loose hair/dirt.
If your dog bed isn’t machine washable then use warm water and detergent ensuring all of the detergents is dissolved before adding your dog’s bedding. Give the dog bed a good rub until completely clean and then apply at least two rinses before drying.
Best to use a natural detergent where possible and something gentle if your dog has sensitive skin. You can also use some form of stain remover before washing if there is really ground in stains on your dog bed.
Your dog will be grateful for a nice clean bed and you will help prevent any potential bacteria spreading around in your house!