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Best Dog Beds

We enlisted three of our furry best friends to try out three popular dog beds—and one became their new favorite

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Dog on a casper dog bed
Canine dog bed judge Zuzu was not feeling the Casper model at all, though the freebie toy it came with (not shown) was a hit!
Photo: Consumer Reports

Your pup has it pretty good—but every day can be even better for them when they find a dog bed that serves as their sanctuary and a place to rest their weary paws and treasured bones and toys. A dog bed may not be a necessary pet product like dog food, safety gates, or even a vacuum that tackles pet hair, but once your dog falls for one, you’ll quickly find there are major benefits to giving your pooch a space of their own (including, just maybe, less damage to your couch and bed). 

Whether you’re brand new to the world of dog beds or searching for your tenth dog bed replacement because your pooch is not above destroying the ones they have no time for, you may be surprised to learn just how many options there are out there.

More On Pets

You’ll find everything from donut-shaped beds and orthopedic dog beds to memory foam platform beds, elevated beds, and crate pads that look a little like meditation cushions. There are even electric heated dog beds to keep your pooch warm and toasty in the winter. If you have a difficult enough time choosing a mattress for your human needs and aren’t sure where to begin when it comes to your pup, we’re here to help.

CR assessed three of the top-selling dog beds—including one orthopedic and one elevated bed—to find out which are the most durable, easiest to set up, and most aesthetically pleasing, since let’s face it, your dog bed is going to be front and center in your living room or other shared spaces in your home. But since no dog bed evaluation would be complete without input from our best furry critics, we recruited Trixie, Zuzu, and Blake—three dogs of different sizes and breeds—who helped us test each bed for “comfort” and durability, and didn’t hold back from un-leashing their opinions.

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Find the essential gear and advice for your dog or cat.

Meet Our Judges

We put our pups to work assessing each of our three popular dog beds. And we made sure to recruit the most savvy and sophisticated shoppers:

Three dogs
Trixie, Zuzu, and Blake stepped up to do their dog duty as judges.

Photo: Consumer Reports Photo: Consumer Reports

Trixie, 8-Year-Old Pit Bull, 56 Pounds
Trixie enjoys rearranging any available household blankets and pillows to meet her high comfort standards. When not building nests she strives to kiss every person she meets to fight the bad reputation that some pit bull owners have brought to the breed.

Zuzu, 1-Year-Old Shih Tzu, 11 Pounds
Zuzu enjoys shredding tissues, stealing socks, making friends with literally every dog and human she meets, and watching scary movies with her mom and dad. 

Blake, 4-Year-Old Labradoodle, 36 Pounds
Blake spends his days cuddling his human family and giving death stares to birds outside his window, while his nights are spent clandestinely chewing up everything in his path. He has never met a dog bed he likes.


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Lisa Fogarty

Lisa Fogarty is a multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports. She studied journalism at Columbia University and has written numerous health, parenting, fitness, and wellness articles for The New York Times, Psychology Today, Vogue, and NPR. Lisa is passionate about mental health and is a co-creator of The Hunger Trap Podcast, which focuses on eating disorders. In her spare time she surfs, plays the guitar, and kickboxes. Follow her on X: @lisacfogarty