The 5 best orthopedic dog beds of 2025, tested for comfort and support with our pups

We tested a twelve orthopedic canine beds earlier choosing the champion ones from Bedsure, Petfusion, and more. Alex Rennie; Amy Graves/Business Insider

The champion orthopedic canine beds connection other enactment to assistance easiness communal carnal issues that impact older dogs. As dogs age, they thin to slumber much and besides suffer musculus mass, truthful there's little insubstantial to screen their unit points. Many elder dogs besides person arthritis oregon endure injuries that tin origin discomfort. In addition, veterinarians accidental orthopedic beds made of supportive, resilient representation foam tin payment dogs of each ages, not conscionable seniors.

To find the champion options for some tiny and ample pups, we enlisted a unit of mostly older dogs to nap and lounge connected 12 fashionable orthopedic canine beds implicit respective weeks. Their quality companions helped with the evaluation, too. We made our apical selections based connected further proposal from veterinarians and canine behaviorists. The champion wide orthopedic furniture is the Petfusion Ultimate Dog Lounge. It checks each the boxes for orthopedic enactment and comfortableness and has respective nice-to-have features. The attractive, durable furniture offers perfect medium-firm enactment on with cozy bolsters. For a much budget-friendly option, the Brindle Waterproof Memory Foam Pet Bed delivers large enactment and comfort, though it lacks bolsters and lone comes successful 3 sizes.

Read much astir how Insider Reviews tests and evaluates favored products.

Our apical picks for the champion orthopedic canine beds

Best overall: Petfusion Ultimate Dog Lounge - See astatine Chewy

Best budget: Brindle Waterproof Memory Foam Pet Bed - See astatine Amazon

Best fund with bolster: Bedsure Pet Orthopedic Dog Bed - See astatine Chewy

Best for tiny dogs: Big Barker Barker Junior - See astatine Chewy

Best for crates: Big Barker 4" Orthopedic Crate Bed - See astatine Chewy

Best overall

The wide champion orthopedic canine furniture is the Petfusion Ultimate Dog Lounge, a bolster-style furniture with a durable twill screen and supportive representation foam mattress. We tested the ample size with a 45-pound Labradoodle, who benefited from the bed's supportive, dense foam and adjacent unit distribution.

Our experts accidental galore dogs, similar our Labradoodle tester, similar to person thing coagulated to remainder their backs against portion they sleep. This bed's brushed yet sturdy bolsters are perfect for that, wrapping astir the sides and backmost of the furniture and extending partially crossed the front. The representation foam thickness varies by furniture size and corresponds to the value of the canine it's meant to accommodate: The jumbo furniture features 6 inches of foam, portion the ample and mean beds are 4 inches thick, and the tiny furniture is 2 inches.

The Ultimate Dog Lounge has a ample sleeping aboveground and a supportive bolster to accommodate assorted sleeping positions. Amy Graves/Business Insider

You tin easy tally the screen and liner done the washer and dryer, but it is somewhat hard to weave the bolsters backmost into the cover. Aside from a tiny magnitude of pilling aft instrumentality washing, the screen is durable. It's besides casual to spot clean, and the waterproof liner does a bully occupation protecting the mattress from liquids and moisture.

Best budget

The Brindle Waterproof Memory Foam Pet Bed provided adjacent enactment and conformed to the assemblage of our tester dog, a 15-year-old Australian shepherd with aggregate associated and mobility issues. Its 4-inch-thick mattress held up good during testing, maintaining its signifier and ne'er flattening. The furniture is made up of 2 layers: a 2-inch apical furniture of representation foam and a 2-inch basal of dense enactment foam.

Thanks to its textured velour aboveground and nonskid base, we felt comfy giving this furniture to a 50-pound Aussie prone to stumbling and sliding. The deficiency of bolsters makes it large for dogs who similar to sprawl out, but if your canine prefers to nestle against the sides of their bed, our fund bolster prime beneath whitethorn beryllium a amended fit.

Brindle makes 1 of the champion orthopedic canine beds, and it's a existent bargain Alex Rennie/Business Insider

While the waterproof liner can't beryllium removed for cleaning, it performed good successful our waterproofing tests, keeping the foam interior wholly adust (we chopped the liner unfastened to check). Given the bed's little price, it's not astonishing that the screen isn't arsenic durable arsenic those connected much costly beds. We tested 2 antithetic sizes, and the screen connected the tiny furniture acceptable loosely and snagged during our digging test. However, the ample bed's screen held up precise well, and some sizes came retired of the washing instrumentality wholly clean.

Best fund with bolster

For affordability, on with galore size and colour options, it's hard to bushed the Bedsure Orthopedic Dog Bed, which ranges successful terms from $37 to $110 depending connected size. It impressed each of our quality testers truthful overmuch that we named it the apical fund prime successful our guides to the best canine beds and best ample canine beds.

The furniture has a 4-inch egg-crate foam mattress that offers medium-firm support, and the extra-large size didn't descend oregon sag nether the value of a 70-pound English pick retriever. Her guardian moved it to wherever they were spending time, and she slept connected it for hours astatine a time, indoors and out. Though not lightweight, the furniture was reasonably casual to transport due to the fact that its proportions were not excessively wide oregon awkward.

All of our testers approved of this budget-friendly bolster furniture from Bedsure. Amy Graves/Business Insider

The screen proved durable, and the waterproof liner protected the foam successful our soaking test. Spot-cleaning the screen aft we smeared it with ungraded and peanut food yielded mixed results. We tested this furniture successful 2 antithetic colors, and the pick apical of the caramel furniture held onto immoderate dirt. Although this stain came retired successful the washer, putting the furniture successful the instrumentality was different issue. You can't region the bolsters truthful you're near with a bedewed bulk, which whitethorn instrumentality longer to dry.

The liner's zipper besides failed. On 1 cover, it got stuck with repeated use, and connected the other, it fell disconnected aft 2 rounds successful the washing machine. However, fixed the bed's wide durability, we inactive urge it and counsel gentle handling of the zipper and handwashing the liner.

Best for tiny dogs

Among the champion orthopedic canine beds, the Big Barker Junior has the astir unsocial design. With a bolster connected 1 extremity and a brushed microsuede cover, the furniture resembles a chaise lounge, though 1 designed exclusively for dogs nether 50 pounds. We tested the mean size furniture with a 10-pound chihuahua premix and a 12-pound terrier mix, and its steadfast halfway flawlessly supported their weight.

Big Barker is well-regarded for its extra-large canine beds, and its tiny beds don't disappoint either. Alex Rennie/Business Insider

The foam was resilient, too, bouncing backmost instantly aft our tester removed dense weights to trial for flattening. So agelong arsenic your tiny canine does not person a occupation climbing onto a aboveground 4 inches disconnected the floor, it's a large choice. The screen had nary occupation lasting up to the scratching, digging, and seam-strength tests, staying arsenic bully arsenic new. "This happening is durable with a superior D,'' our tester says. Peanut butter, dirt, and achromatic beverage were casual to region with spot-cleaning with crockery soap and water. However, with lone instrumentality washing, peanut food near lipid stains connected the cover.

Although this furniture is costly (the waterproof liner itself starts astatine $50 for the size small), it should past a lifetime. Big Barker adjacent offers a 10-year warrant due to the fact that it is assured that the foam volition clasp 90% of its archetypal signifier and thickness for that long.

Best for crates

The Big Barker 4" Orthopedic Crate Bed is acold much durable and supportive than a emblematic crate pad, making it a large prime for immoderate canine who rests a agelong portion successful their crate. A 50-pound basset-beagle premix was good supported, and their guardian besides laic connected the pad and couldn't consciousness the level underneath.

The furniture has a pugnacious microsuede screen with well-constructed seams and zippers that aced each durability tests. In testing, the two-layer foam halfway ne'er flattened and filled backmost retired successful little than a infinitesimal aft we removed dumbbell weights that had been laid connected it for 4 hours. The screen acquired a "dusty" look aft washing, drying, and regular use, which is communal with microfiber. We discovered the screen shrunk somewhat aft washing and drying, but we were capable to reassemble it with a small other effort.

The important Big Barker crate pad provides a ace supportive resting spot for dogs. Lisa Sabatini/Business Insider

The bed's terms and tallness whitethorn beryllium deal-breakers for some. You'll besides request to acquisition the waterproof liner separately. The 4-inch heavy foam could instrumentality distant excessively overmuch headroom from taller dogs unless their crate is precise tall, portion shorter dogs with constricted mobility whitethorn find it hard to measurement successful and retired of their crate. Like the brand's Barker Junior bed, which we urge for tiny dogs, this crate pad carries an unbeatable 10-year guarantee.

What to look for successful an orthopedic canine bed

Big Barker beds and crate pads dwell of 2 layers of dense polyurethane foam. Lisa Sabatini/Business Insider

The veterinarians we spoke with accidental determination are immoderate cardinal features to look for erstwhile choosing a supportive orthopedic furniture for your dog.

Materials and support: Brands tin marketplace their beds nevertheless they want, and not each foam mattresses are equal. However, Dr. Joseph J. Wakshlag, a veterinarian and prof of objective nutrition and sports medicine and rehabilitation astatine the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, says that what works for humans astatine remainder has been shown anecdotally to enactment for dogs, too. "The representation foam approach, which is utilized successful a batch of quality beds, has made it to the canine arena, whereby they amusement that the unit is much evenly distributed implicit a larger area, truthful there's little hazard of sores and it's much comfy for the canine successful general," helium says.

The champion orthopedic canine beds successful this usher incorporate either polyurethane representation foam oregon what a marque whitethorn picture arsenic orthopedic foam. If a furniture contains lower-quality foam, it volition interruption down faster and whitethorn consciousness flimsy oregon springy. In addition, you'll privation to look for beds that incorporate astatine slightest 2 inches of foam. We've recovered thing little is not capable to connection orthopedic enactment for a canine of immoderate size.

Comfort: Both bolstered oregon level beds are suitable options, but it's important to take the plan that complements your dog's sleeping style. Meredith O'Connor, a canine behaviorist and trainer, says dogs benignant retired to beryllium broadside sleepers oregon flat-out stretchers connected a dog-by-dog basis. If your canine is simply a broadside sleeper who likes to thin against thing portion they slumber oregon prop their caput up portion lying down, a bolster furniture is your champion bet. Flat beds are fantabulous options for dogs who slumber sprawled retired with their caput adjacent with the remainder of their body.

Ease of entry: Conditions specified arsenic arthritis and mobility challenges tin marque it hard for dogs to get successful and retired of bed, but definite features tin assistance easiness your canine down to remainder safely. Look for nonskid bottoms, reasonably heavy pads that aren't excessively precocious to measurement onto, and wide spaces betwixt bolsters truthful your canine won't brushwood immoderate obstacles climbing successful and retired of bed.

Durability: The champion orthopedic canine beds tin acceptable you backmost immoderate change, truthful a furniture that flattens, gets worn looking from rounds successful the washing machine, oregon is easy ripped oregon scratched unfastened volition not walk muster. Consider beds with a dense representation foam halfway protected by either a waterproof screen oregon liner. Covers made of polyester and fabric some held up good successful our testing.

Water absorption and easiness of cleaning: Since immoderate elder dogs and those recovering from country are much apt to person accidents and different hygiene issues, we urge purchasing a waterproof furniture with a screen that is casual to spot cleanable and comes wholly cleanable aft a stint successful the washer and dryer.

Sizing: To guarantee your canine has country to agelong out, take a sleeping aboveground somewhat larger than their magnitude measured from the chemoreceptor to the basal of the tail. Dogs with longer legs volition besides request a heavy capable furniture to accommodate them.

Return policies and warranties: We urge beds with astatine slightest a 30-day instrumentality policy, but support successful caput that immoderate refunds lone use to unused beds. The pricier the bed, the much apt you'll spot a shaper warranty for defects. Before you buy, marque definite to work the company's return, exchange, and warranty policies closely.

Certifications: Materials information certifications guarantee that immoderate oregon each of the materials successful a merchandise are escaped of materials known to beryllium harmful to people. Products with the CertiPUR-US certification incorporate polyurethane foam that is made without formaldehyde, ozone depleters, prohibited phthalates, mercury, lead, and different dense metals. In addition, the foam has debased volatile integrated compounds (VOCs) emissions and is not treated with occurrence retardants, which incorporate carcinogens and different toxins. A polyurethane foam shaper needs to conscionable the criteria acceptable by the Alliance for Flexible Polyurethane Foam to person certification. The certification process includes submitting trial results and samples on with a interest of respective 1000 dollars. The OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certification is fixed aft a shaper submits to an exertion process that includes a fee. OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 signifies that each portion of a merchandise is escaped of assorted substances that whitethorn harm quality health. To person a Greenguard Gold certification, a shaper submits samples for laboratory investigating to verify that they conscionable debased chemic emissions standards acceptable by UL Solutions, an planetary materials information organization.

How we tested the champion orthopedic canine beds

To prime the champion orthopedic canine beds, we tested 12 antithetic designs with dogs of assorted breeds and weights, from ages 6 to 15 and 12 to 180 pounds. Our tests evaluated comfort, support, durability, and easiness of care.

Comfort and support: Looking for the champion options successful each design, we looked for signs that our tester dogs were resting comfortably implicit the people of respective weeks. We observed however overmuch clip they spent connected the beds and whether they appeared afloat relaxed portion resting oregon sleeping. We got connected the beds ourselves to measure however overmuch enactment and stableness the foam gave us, particularly for our little backs. Lastly, we utilized barbells and loaded duffle bags to spot if immoderate beds failed to enactment oregon outpouring backmost into their archetypal signifier aft taking connected the load.

Regardless of the foam type, we evaluated each furniture to guarantee it conformed to our tester dogs' bodies to administer unit evenly.

Ease of entry: We assessed however easy dogs could participate and settee into the beds. While extra-high beds tin enactment for taller dogs and whitethorn supply amended support, the champion orthopedic canine beds tended to beryllium somewhat lower-profile beds that were inactive steadfast and supportive. If a furniture had a bolster, we made definite the introduction points were wide capable for dogs to get successful and retired with ease. We besides gave higher ratings to beds with nonskid bottoms and screen materials that weren't slippery to assistance pets debar immoderate sliding oregon scooting.

Durability and easiness of cleaning: By yanking connected zippers, digging connected covers with metallic meal forks, puncturing seams with scissors, and scraping bottoms with sandpaper, we looked for hard-nosed durability successful these beds. We smeared the covers with ungraded and peanut food and poured achromatic beverage connected them, to spot which beds were casual to spot clean. Then, aft machine-washing and drying the covers and liners, we reassembled everything and looked for immoderate lingering spots, stains, oregon cloth changes. We gave the highest marks to beds that stayed some steadfast and plush implicit the people of galore weeks.

Waterproofing: The beds we selected claimed to person waterproof oregon water-resistant liners, and we made definite to trial this ourselves. After pouring a cupful of lukewarm h2o onto the slumber aboveground of each bed, we waited 30 minutes earlier checking to spot if immoderate moisture made it done the liners to the foam mattress.

Orthopedic canine beds FAQs

Do orthopedic beds truly help?

Dogs of immoderate property tin payment from an orthopedic furniture made of representation foam, which distributes unit implicit a ample area. "It is simply a alternatively elemental conception regarding unit points,'' Wakshlag says. "Depending connected however the canine is lying, it creates unit implicit areas similar hips and elbows."

In addition, a restful stint connected a furniture with steadfast enactment is not conscionable astir the dog's comfortableness but besides mobility, which is apt to widen longevity and tin besides assistance with behaviour issues, says Dr. Katherine Houpt, a veterinary behaviorist and prof astatine the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine who specializes successful home carnal payment and has studied the sleeping patterns of structure dogs. "Resilience is precise important,'' she says. "Dogs bash not request oregon privation to slumber connected the linoleum. They request a cushioned but supportive surface."

What is the champion benignant of furniture for a canine to slumber on?

We urge a furniture made of evenly supportive representation oregon orthopedic foam. Wakshlag says stuffed beds bash not make azygous pressure, which tin pb to soreness astatine unit points. Meanwhile, Houpt recommends beds with bolsters. "If you look carefully, you volition spot they similar to slumber with their backs against their owner, oregon against the backmost of the sofa, oregon adjacent against the wall,'' she says. "Thermoregulation is different large factor, and the canine does privation to beryllium successful a lukewarm place. That whitethorn beryllium different crushed they slumber with the backmost against something, to support against drafts."

What's the champion benignant of furniture for a canine with arthritis?

Orthopedic veterinarians astatine Colorado State University accidental alleviating osteoarthritis successful pets involves therapeutic forms of workout successful summation to symptom medications and value management. Wakshlag says betterment from therapeutic workout tin beryllium enhanced with the usage of a supportive orthopedic canine furniture that uses representation foam.

What is the champion furniture for a canine recovering from ACL surgery?

The close furniture tin assistance arsenic a canine recovers from ACL surgery, says Dr. Brian Collins, a elder lecturer successful assemblage signifier work astatine the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. He recommends representation foam oregon thing akin for stability, comfort, and support. This benignant of foam ensures a canine is comfy portion lying down but besides stabilized erstwhile they measurement onto the furniture oregon crook around. Bolsters tin besides supply carnal support, a consciousness of security, and a spot to remainder their head.

For added stability, a nonskid bottommost oregon astatine slightest placing the furniture connected a nonslip aboveground is important. "It should beryllium casual to get successful and retired of with a debased borderline oregon an unfastened broadside that the canine won't conflict to measurement over," Collins says. "The furniture should beryllium large capable for the canine to comfortably crook around, alteration position, and agelong retired on." In addition, helium says a water-resistant furniture that you tin easy cleanable is indispensable for providing a cleanable situation portion the incision heals.