I made two large ones 2 years ago for our two golden retrievers. I used a heavy chenille upholstery fabric that would go in our livingroom( that would be brought down from bedroom to be used and taken back up)
I made an inner liner from muslin and used fiberfil and made them fairly firm to hold their shape- rectangle.
They lasted a week before the corners were eaten off and the game began unstuffing the dead beds!
I tried again and bought two at SC that were also lined.
Inside this time are small pieces of memory foam. And they have survived fine. I think they must be very very comfortable since when they sleep they sleep on the beds. And havent eaten them!
When I need to make or refresh these I intend to use memory foam pieces from our topper when it needs replacing. Long story to get to the idea of memory foam padding!
Oh -for under your space I would google making box cushions and then make them to fit your space I would leave off the piping idea- too tempting to gnaw when lying on it.These are super easy and fast.I wouldnt even put in a zipper unless that is easy for you. I just baste the one edge shut with my machine or by hand. redo when you replace insides. takes but a minute.

I bought a piece of foam at Joann's and made a simple box cushion cover as cooperbailey described. No piping, no zipper, the edges got chewed.

Cooperbailey - Our golden loves our Temperpedic bed. He barely moves at night once is on there.

I made my first one using a 4" thick piece of foam from the upholstery store. I made the slipcover out of a heavy, washable upholstery cotton with a velcro closure so that I could wash the cover as needed. After a month or so the foam itself started stinking from my dog naturally sweating a bit while he slept. The foam didn't wash well and so I switched to stuffing the cover with an old queen size blanket that was easy to wash, folded to fit. I don't know if you'll have the same problem with your pup, but this was a real problem for me.
Lynn

Ah, the dog bed. Brought back fond memories of my dog making his bed every night. He had an old bedspread that he gnawed into the perfect shape for him, and he pulled and tugged it to cover his head and leave his hind legs and lower body exposed.
Your dog may have his own ideas for the perfect bed.

Cooperbailey,
How small are the pieces of memory foam that you use? Do your dogs like a lumpy bed or a flat one?
Thanks!
FW

Wow! Busy with my kitchen reno today and am thrilled with all the responses! They made me laugh.

Cooperbailey: What is SC (where you got your beds)?

graywings: My dog is not a chewer, so I am hoping he won't chew. By the way, we have memory foam bed also, and our dog is in heaven on it.

lynneinnewmexico: I thought of that smell issue too. My dog is little, so his body hits the grass when he goes out. They do get a 'dog' smell to them. I would like something washable. The quilt is a great idea - but I want the semi-formal look of a box cushion. How to incorporate the two?

Suero: Too cute. I have visions of a dog sleeping that way. I hope you still have that pooch! Mine may have his own ideas for a bed, but I'm gonna try to sway him. :)

So, I could try memory foam. Thanks for all the tips! Kris

I made some crate pads for my dogs years ago and they lasted pretty well, and were washable. I used 1" thick foam from the fabric store. I think memory foam would be too expensive to be practical.

I covered them in fake fur, as it's pretty indestructible stuff, non-ravelling and washable. The ones I made were a pretty royal blue. They came out far better than any I ever bought ready made.

After I made the pads, I "quilted" them with several long lines of stitching across them from side to side. That stopped the stuffing/foam from shifting when they went through the laundry. It also meant if they did chew anything they wouldn't get far; they couldn't drag out all the stuffing, for instance. The pads lasted for years and were laundered many times. I made four pads. A corner or two got chewed a little over time, but the chewing didn't amount to much. I think they weren't fun to chew, and again I think the quilting helped with that.

Good luck if you make some. I hope you'll share pictures!

I haven't made a bed, but I did just finish making some sheets for our dogs beds. I can launder them more easily and I think it helps protect the beds from the doggy smell.

Oceanna: I didn't even think about crate pads, but there is probably one close to the size I need. I wanted a height of about three inches instead of one, but I think I'll check into that.

homersmom: That's a great idea, too. Sort of like a duvet!

I think it's time for a trip to the fabric store. Thanks for all the help! Kris

I love the microfibre for dog beds because all the hair just falls off when you shake it for laundering. A good way to keep the interior of the bed free of odor is with pine shavings. That's the ingredient used in a lot of dog beds that are stuffed with the shredded foam. It absorbs all the bad body odors that may permiate to the core of the bed.

Sorry I havent been back here since yesterday. SC is SamsClub. And the pieces of memory foam are small bits or shreds I will go look at it tomorrow to check how big the shreds are.

If I was to make one myself I would recyle my memory foam topper when it gets too old.
It is way too expensive to buy new for dog beds!
Graywings- If we let our guys up on the bed- we would have to sleep on the floor- they probabaly need a king bed to spread out and be comfy!

Zayda's store-bought bed got stinky really fast.
It was like a large beanbag but had a soft cover and foam shredded filling (She's not a chewer).

No matter how much I washed the zippered cover, I couldn't get that smell out and decided it was from the bed's filling.

Also, stains from her body oil or chewing her dog bonys while she was laying on her bed, were no longer coming out of the cover.
Threw the whole works out (I'm not one of those that would sell a stinky dog bed on Craigs. *smile* ) and started from scratch.

Bought my Sunbrella 'seconds' fabric off Ebay for $4.96 a yard/$5 shipping.
Bought twin-size egg crate, barely used, off Craigs.
Went to see it first...no smell at all and it was advertised as "used twice, almost new".

But just in case (one never knows when it comes to Craigs) I put the egg crate on our patio table, poured a half a cup of sanitizing soap on the crate, sprayed lightly with the hose.
Used a push broom to scrub and make a good amount of suds.

Rinsed, did a good ring-out of excess water, let dry hanging over the fence.

Cut the crate in half and stacked them on top of each other. Measured. Sewed up three sides of Sunbrella and added Velcro to the fourth side.
Slid both pieces of egg crate into the 'pillowcase' of Sunbrella. I put the crate sides together so that Zayda didn't lay on lumps. :)

Under $20 and I got a great bed that Zayda loves. It's the color I wanted for the room where we keep her bed (Terracotta!) and the Sunbrella doesn't seem to soak up any of Zayda's wet doggy scent when she insists on going outside and playing in the rain.

The most I've done in the past year and a half is open the Velcro, pull out the crates, washed them the same way and washed the Sunbrella along side of the crates...dried them all on the fence. I did this more for myself, not because the doggy bed smelled...I just wanted everything in the room freshened when Spring came last year.

I'm thinking of making a second one soon to keep in daughter's room but this time I'll make the pillow case a little more formal with boxed sides.

For my money, this is the best doggy bed we've ever used, with all the dogs we've had over the years.... I swear by the Sunbrella fabric for Doggy beds.

Cooperbailey-Thanks for the clarification. We have a super Walmart here. I'm not sure if they call it Sam's Club. It's a half hour away, so I rarely go. But, thanks for the tips. I'll check it out.

Amity: That sounds so easy. I looked at Sunbrella fabrics online last night. I want a more formal fabric, sort of a French look. But, they have some great stripes and solids that could work.

I saw a dog bed with black fabric with little Eiffel Towers on it. So cute. SOOOO expensive! I'm looking for something not so obviously 'French'. I should probably choose bench fabric at the same time to coordinate.

What's funny (or not) is that I made sure our cabinet maker had this cut out for our dog - it even has a little arch to match our cabinets. AND my dog won't go in there to sleep on his little pad I have now. I tried bribing him with a bone on the bed and he pulled the bed out to get the bone. I'm going to have to figure out other bribery systems. Maybe once the kitchen reno is all done he'll decide he likes it in there. I'm sure the kitty will, at least.

My hope is a nice comfy bed will lure him in...

Thanks for all the great advice.

Amity: One more question - I have never used Sunbrella fabric. My sewing machine is 12 years old (but hardly used lol). Is it difficult to use?