How to Choose the Right Dog Bed Cover for Your Home

Quick answer

Choose the cover by how your dog sleeps and where the bed lives, not by colour first. Curlers and hot sleepers do best with a cooling cover, joint-care sleepers with a memory foam bed under a washable cover, and outdoor or crate setups with a waterproof or quick-change cover. Buy the size that matches your existing bed or mat, and keep one spare cover so wash day never leaves your dog without a bed.

A cover is the part of the bed your dog actually touches, so it decides how the bed feels, how often you wash it, and whether the bed survives mud, drool and shedding season. Getting it right is usually cheaper than replacing the whole bed.

This guide walks through the decisions in the order that matters: sleep style first, then material, then size and fit, then how you will clean it. Every recommendation below is based on covers and beds we actually stock, with the trade-offs spelled out.

Start with how your dog sleeps

Watch your dog for three nights. A curler who tucks into a tight ball and kicks the bedding away is a heat-regulation candidate: a cooling cover that draws heat away will do more for them than a thicker, plusher one. A sprawler who flops out flat usually wants a firm, supportive base with a soft cover on top. A nester who paws the bedding into a pile before circling wants texture and loft, not a slick surface.

This single observation rules out half the catalogue before you look at colour. It also tells you whether you are buying a cover to change the sleep surface or a cover to protect a bed you already own.

• Hot sleeper or heavy curler: prioritise breathable or cooling materials.
• Senior or stiff-jointed dog: prioritise the foam base, then choose a cover that stays put.
• Constant digger and nester: choose a textured cover with a secure fit rather than a loose drape.

Match the dog bed cover material to your home

Material decides three things: temperature, cleaning effort, and how the bed looks in your room. Bouclé is a textured, modern fabric that reads as furniture rather than pet gear, which matters if the bed sits in a living room. Polar fleece is warmer and softer, a better fit for cold rooms, older dogs and thin-coated breeds. Waffle fabric is lighter and plush, and it works well as a quick-change layer over a crate mat. Puffer-style waterproof covers are the ones you wipe down rather than machine wash, and they belong outdoors, in crates, or on a boat.

There is no single best dog bed cover material. There is only the material that matches your dog's temperature needs and your tolerance for laundry. If you hate washing bedding, a wipe-clean waterproof cover plus one spare soft cover is a better system than three plush covers you never get around to laundering.

• Cold rooms, older dogs, thin coats: polar fleece.
• Living-room beds that need to look intentional: bouclé.
• Crates and quick refreshes: waffle quick covers.
• Decks, patios, boats, wet paws: waterproof puffer covers.

Get the dog bed cover size right

Cover sizing is tied to the bed or mat it was made for, not to a generic small, medium, large chart, so the safest move is to match the cover to the exact bed model you own and the size you bought. If you are buying a cover and a bed together, choose the bed size from your dog's stretched-out length plus a little room, then order the cover in that same size. A cover that is too small will pull at the seams and ride up at the corners; one that is too large will bunch under your dog and collect hair in the folds.

Measure your dog lying flat, nose to tail base, and check the bed's dimensions against the product page before ordering. If you are between sizes, size up for a sprawler and stay with the recommended size for a curler, who will not use the extra space.

• Match the cover to the exact bed model and size, not to a generic size label.
• Measure your dog stretched out, not curled, before choosing a bed size.
• When in doubt between two sizes for a sprawler, take the larger one.

Washable covers, shedding and chewing

A washable dog bed cover is the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade you can make. Look for a removable cover that goes in the machine, and buy a second cover so the bed is never out of action on wash day. For heavy shedders, a tighter-weave fabric releases hair in the wash more readily than a deep-pile one, and a quick daily brush or vacuum of the cover keeps the bed from becoming a hair reservoir between washes.

For dogs who chew, be realistic: no fabric cover is chew-proof. The practical approach is to choose a cover that is replaceable and affordable rather than trying to find an indestructible one, and to redirect chewing to appropriate toys. If your dog destroys beds regularly, a lower-cost quick cover over a crate mat is a smarter cycle than repeatedly replacing an expensive bed.

• Buy two covers so one is always clean and on the bed.
• Shake or vacuum the cover before washing to protect your machine.
• For chewers, budget for replaceable covers rather than expecting a chew-proof fabric.

Decision rules: pick your cover in four checks

• Rule 1: Sleep style beats colour: Curlers and hot sleepers get a cooling cover; sprawlers get a supportive foam bed with a soft cover; nesters get a textured, secure-fitting cover. If you only do one thing, watch your dog sleep for three nights before ordering.
• Rule 2: Match the cover to the exact bed: Covers are made for specific beds and mats, so order the cover in the same model and size as the bed you own or are buying. Check the bed dimensions against the product page before checkout.
• Rule 3: Decide how you will clean it: Machine washable covers suit indoor beds; wipe-clean waterproof covers suit crates, patios and boats. Buy a spare cover either way. If you will not launder it, choose the wipe-clean option.
• Rule 4: Treat chewing as a replacement cycle: No fabric cover is chew-proof. For persistent chewers, use a lower-cost quick cover over a durable mat and replace the cover, not the whole bed. Budget for covers as a consumable, not a one-time purchase.

What we stock and who each one suits

• Cooling Round Cover - Midnight: The Round Cooling Cover fits your Round bed, made for dogs who curl up to sleep. NASA-developed Outlast Thermo-technology draws heat away and regulates their temperature all night, and the cooling never washes out. Removable and machine washable. The obvious pick for a curler who runs hot, and because the cooling is built into the fabric rather than a coating, it keeps working after repeated washing.
• Memory Foam Dog Bed - Bouclé Cocoa: The Bouclé Signature Bed combines our award-winning orthopaedic memory foam base and a raised headrest with a modern, textured bouclé cover. Removable, machine washable and all-season, it supports your dog's joints while blending into your home décor. A joint-support bed with a cover that looks like furniture, so it works in a living room without looking like pet equipment. The removable cover keeps the foam base protected.
• Memory Foam Dog Bed - Polar Fleece Golden Brown: The ultimate in luxury orthopaedic dog beds, now enhanced with Ultra-Fresh anti-microbial treatment. With a machine-washable cover and waterproof liners, it's the most hygienic and comfortable dog bed in Australia. The warmest option here, and the waterproof liners plus anti-microbial treatment make it a strong fit for older dogs, cold rooms and households that want hygiene handled at the liner level.
• Alfresco Cover - Blue: Built for the elements. A fully waterproof, furniture-grade cover made to fit our mat range: the Crate Mat, the Orthopaedic Mattress and the Alfresco Bed. It takes the deck, the patio, the boat or the campsite, shrugging off rain, mud and wet paws. Wipe it clean and it's ready whenever they are. The right cover when the bed lives outdoors or in a crate: no machine wash needed, just a wipe, and it protects the mat underneath from mud and wet paws.

Who each cover is for

Best for

• Curling, heat-sensitive dogs who kick off bedding: Cooling Round Cover - Midnight.
• Senior or stiff-jointed dogs in a visible living space: Memory Foam Dog Bed - Bouclé Cocoa.
• Cold rooms, thin-coated breeds and households focused on hygiene: Memory Foam Dog Bed - Polar Fleece Golden Brown.
• Outdoor beds, crates, patios and boats: Alfresco Cover - Blue.
• Refreshing a crate mat you already own on a budget: Crate Mat Quick Cover - Waffle Moss.

Not for

• Dogs who chew fabric aggressively: no cover here is chew-proof, so plan for replacements.
• Anyone expecting one cover to fit every bed: covers are made for specific bed models and sizes.
• Outdoor use with a plush cover: choose the waterproof Alfresco Cover instead.

Pick the cover for your dog's sleep style first, then match it to the exact bed size, then decide how you will clean it. Add a spare cover and wash day stops being a problem. If you are unsure, start with the bed your dog already has and upgrade the cover before replacing the whole thing.