OK a simple way to make an extra large dog bed for basically FREE!

I have been looking at Giant breed dog beds and frankly in my opinion $150 to $200 is an absolute joke so I scouted around and found the materials for the Big Dog Bed mark 1.

 Please note: This is intended to be a prototype and "test bed" :) the final version will use some different material. so I will show you how to make it here and add comments about my intention for the real deal as we go on.

First thing I did was scout around for the following items:

Hardboard for the base.  some 1 by 5 planks.A suitable padding. An old rug for a cover. Some lats to hold the rug in place.

 How I put the extra large dog bed together:

Work out how big your bed needs to be. I measured an old outdoor rug that jaks likes to lay on and added a bit to allow for the fact he is only seven months. This ended up meaning his big dog bed will be 6 feet by 4 !

Next  I simply cut the hardboard to the required size:

That done I cut the planks to size. Remember to allow for the width of the planks at the ends so the sides are actually that bit shorter, as the frame needs to sit internally to the hardboard.

Now they are cut to size screw the frame together and line it up on the base. Then screw the hardboard base to the frame.

Next it's time to put in the stuffing. I will use a solid foam fill for the final article. for this prototype version I simply used a load of material I had around in the garage.

At this stage Jaks was already suspecting that this would be a comfy spot!

So the filling is in place. The final stage is to lay the rug over it and fix it to the sides with the lats IMPORTANT: ensure the screws you use to fix the lats are not long enough to go right through and leave sharp points inside the big dog bed!!!

I estimate that when I use new materials and foam this will cost me about $20-30. I intend to use a wipe clean material as well instead of a rug. so to sum up the mark 2 big dog bed will have a foam internal and a easy clean cover. I will also fix foam over the top edges of the wooden fram just to make it less likely to rub against Jaks legs as he loves to droop over the edge of this.

 Voila a free extra large dog bed!

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