Orthopedic Pet Beds
If you've got an older pet, or even if you just want to stave off problems in the future, you should take a look at orthopedic dog beds. Dogs have surprisingly common problems in their joints and spines when they get older - the reason is that many dogs just sleep on the floor. This is especially bad if your dog is regularly sleeping on a harder surface such as tile or wood. It's just not natural for a creature to be doing this - in the wild, your dog would be out on the grass somewhere. On a hard, artificial surface, there is no cushioning for your dog's bones or joints - after eight or nine years of sleeping on a floor, in many cases there are painful joint injuries caused by the pressure that is placed every night on the dog in places that weren't designed to handle it.
Orthopedic dog beds largely get rid of these problems. If your dog has already developed joint problems, you can still relieve the pain by getting them a bed that is designed to reduce these pressures. Most use foam or other material that will easily adjust to the size and position of your dog, unlike the floor. This will keep pressure from building on the dog - it won't get rid of the joint problems, but the biggest pains will usually come whenever the dog is sleeping on the floor and getting the same pressure on its bones that caused the problem in the first place. You can even get versions that are designed to easily go up on your bed as well - they aren't very thick (a couple of inches) and they can still give your dog relief. If you've got a younger animal, you can still use orthopedic dog beds - they'll prevent the pressure from ever occurring. The main thing with a younger dog is to keep it from spending long periods sleeping on the floor - even carpeted surfaces don't really provide the kind of cushion that they need.
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