You Have The Right To Remain Cuddly!

Does the presence of a dog in the courtroom unfairly influence the jury?

That’s the issue in upstate New York, where the first officially sanctioned ‘court dog’ is accused by defense attorneys of lending false credibility to the testimony of a teenager testifying in a rape case.
In the last several years, several states, including Washington and Arizona, have quietly been allowing specially trained dogs to accompany children and the disabled to the witness box as emotional support.
Public defenders for the accused, and now convicted, rapist agree that dogs like Rosie provide a source of comfort for stressed witnesses. But are the witnesses uncomfortable because they are confronting their attacker, or because they are fabricating a story? They argue that juries perceive the witness as being uncomfortable speaking harsh truths on the stand and that leads them to believe the witness is credible.
"I can’t cross examine the dog," added one of the attorneys.
For more on the use of dogs in the legal system see www.courthousedogs.com.
Your thoughts?

Mary just ordered a replacement cover from Dogcheapsleeps.com:

Can’t wait to get rid of these shower curtains I use to cover her dog bed, (never really worked anyway) What a mess its been for us,Selena is 13 yrs now and is incontinent, and has arthritis. This cover will make her feel comfortable now.

My prayers have been answered….

I’ve been looking so long and I only see water resistant beds

or those uncomfortable beds made out of pvc and mesh.

Not what I wanted, and finally this time when

I searched Waterproof bed/covers your site came up!
God Bless you for what you are doing, your helping so

many people and their beloved pets….

Mary and Selena

Please keep us up to date on how Selena is doing!

Great Dane Pictures: Gunner

Great Dane Pictures: Gunner, winner’s dog, Imperial Valley
Of all of our dogs, Gunner is the tallest, 35-1/2" tall at the shoulder, and he has the biggest personality. He acquired his AKC Championship in just two months. So, it’s easy to understand why, whenever someone pulls out a camera, he starts posing and easily ends up with the best Great Dane Pcitures!
Great Danes are also very affectionate, they run up to, then lean on. Here is a typical conversation when one of us arrives in the morning:
Gunner: I love you. I missed you.
I love you too, Gunner!
Gunner: I really love you.
yes, yes, I love you too.
Gunner: I really, really love you.
Ow, get off my foot!


Great Dane Pictures: Gunner at 81/2 weeks


He is also a very enthusiastic eater. Danes can reach your countertops, and if necessary, the top of the refrigerator. Gunner has consumed a pound of butter (twice), an entire loaf of bread, a platter of chicken wings, and a carton of Marlboros, among other things. He is also the first one to stake out his territory at lunch.
Occasionally, he will swipe his big, soft lips across one of our plates, and we end up saying, "Yuck! You might as well have it; I’m not going to finish it now."
We keep a flyswatter and a rolled up set of electrical drawings close by…..

 Great Dane Pictures: After lunch Gunner curls up on his 44" x 44" dogcheapsleeps.com dog bed for an afternoon nap.

Valley Dogs Rescue, Vets and Their Pets

Dogcheapsleeps.com is happy to welcome two awesome animal welfare organizations as our partners:

Valley Dogs Rescue

Valley Dogs Rescue is an all volunteer, no-kill animal rescue organization that works tirelessly to rescue dogs (and sometimes cats) who have been abandoned, or neglected, to find those pets foster homes and ultimately help them find their forever homes. They regularily hold adoption events, and educate and encourage responsible pet ownership through spaying/neutering, and microchipping. They also allow owners of pets who need re-homing to post pictures of the dogs on their website. Valley Dogs Rescue is a 501(c)3 organization, and every penny of every donation goes toward veterinary care, medicine bills and helping dogs find permanent homes.

Vets and Their Pets is an off-shoot of Valley Dogs Rescue. Often homeless vets depend on their pets to help them cope in today’s world. Transitional housing is often available to veterans, but does not allow them to bring their animal companions. When they are allowed to stay together, they frequently need assistance with medical care, food bills and other needs. Foster families that take in the dogs that cannot stay with their owner can receive funds if necessary. Vets and Their Pets works directly with the VA to reach out to veterans in need. Every donation goes directly to a dedicated fund for Homeless Vets and Their Pets.

Whether you buy a Dogcheapsleeps.com product or not, we urge you to support these worthy organizations.

Dog Trick Anyone?

Charger, for instance, likes to bake.

If you’d like to teach your dog a trick, he or she should probably have the standard skills of learning to sit, stay, come and heel. Once you’ve accomplished that, here’s a dog trick that might come in handy and certainly are diverting for guests.
Opening the fridge: the beginning of a dog trick
This is pretty easy. Teach your dog to pull on a rope by putting a bit of food or food scent on the end of a rope. When your dog is interested in the rope and puts it in his mouth, say pull. Play a bit of tug of war and soon he’ll understand what to do when you say pull. Attach the rope to the refrigerator door.
Closing the fridge: finishing the dog trick
You’ll need double sided tape and some small dog treats. Tape the treat to the door at the height of your dog’s head. Open the door and show the dog the treat. When he or she reaches for the treat, say shut it, and the dog will knock the door closed. Keep practicing and your dog will soon be able to impress you and your friends.
Warning: Keep food in containers, or you might find it vanishing mysteriously as a side effect of this nifty little dog treat!

Hot Dogs: The Other Kind

With the current heat wave covering 50% of the country, let’s take a look at some of the lesser known tips for keeping your pet healthy in the summer and avoiding making him a hot dog! (By now, most of us know not to leave a dog in a car in the summer, and yet…..it still happens.) Here are a few ideas and rules you may not have thought of:

Don’t leave your pet outside all day in the heat, or they will turn into real unhappy hot dogs! If you must, make sure they have a shady place to lie. Doghouses don’t count; they can trap heat and can be much hotter inside than outside.
You might consider two bowls of water, one liquid and one that starts the day as ice. Ice is a good remedy for a hot dog, wouldn’t you agree? Wading pools filled by the hose keep your dog cool and hydrated during the day.

Dogcheapsleeps.com beds are waterproof, durable vinyl that won’t soak up dirt and water.
Hot pavement or sand can burn your dog’s paws. If you doubt this, come to Arizona where Dogcheapsleeps.com makes its home and try walking barefoot during the day.

 Pet supply houses sell dog boots, if you can get your dog to wear them.

Walking the dog on grass is an alternative, as is walking them as early or late as possible.

Pets with short hair, white fur or pink skin can sunburn.

Keep them out of the sun, or coat them with sunblock if you have that kind of patience.

Watch your dog around the pool. Some dogs can’t swim.

If you have to take your dog in the car, load ice packs into his or her crate. Old 2 liter bottles filled with water and frozen are cheap and easy. Put sun shades on the windows. Bring a spray bottle along to spritz the dog; it will help to cool them off.
If you consistently find a puddle on the floor of your kitchen, your fridge is not leaking. Your Great Dane has figured out how to work the ice or water dispenser on the door.

If you have ideas that work for you and your pet, leave us a note in the comments section.

The littlest member of the our family

Reggie is the newest and smallest member of the Dogcheapsleeps.com family. One of the guys found him in a parking lot, foraging for food in a garbage can. He has been mauled, probably by a coyote, maybe more than once. Only one eye works, his tail has been chopped off and he has a wound that is extremely slow to heal on his shoulder. And that’s after months of care. And feeding. When you pet Reggie, you can feel every bone in his body. And he eats: we feed him cooked chicken and sometimes he devours a thigh in the morning and a drumstick in the afternoon. His fur is much less patchy than it was, but we don’t know how long it will take him to put on weight, maybe never. The lizards of Arizona contain a enzyme that keeps the cats that eat them from gaining weight. (Not recommended as a diet solution for people !)


Despite all this, he is a humble and loving little guy. And no, that’s not a Dogcheapsleeps.com bed. When you have ten animals, everything turns into a pet bed.

Pet Euthanasia NO ! Sterilization YES!

The good news is that only four million animals succumb to pet euthanasia every year, down from 20 million yearly in 1970. The change is the rise in animal rescue societies, aggressive adoption drives and best of all, low cost spay and neutering programs.
The bad news is, four million animals still fall victim to pet euthanasia every year.
Veterinarians are on board with sterilization, often donating their skills or space at clinics for low cost initiatives. Some states and cities require it. The problem has been convincing owners to consistently adopt the practice. Some empathize with their pet, reasoning they wouldn’t want something like that done to them, forgetting that pet euthanasia is the likely result for unwanted litters. Others simply don’t have the money.

Scientists have been working on less invasive means of sterilization and a shot costing abut $6 may be available in late 2011, helping drive down the need for pet euthanasia.
In the meantime, as Dogcheapsleeps.com’s commitment to the compassionate treatment of animals, we will donate $10 of every bed sold to the shelter, neutering or adoption agency of the customer’s choice. The group has to hold 501(c) 3 status and you must specify the group’s name, address and an email at the time of purchase.

If you would like to exchange links for your organization, we would be happy to do so.
Together, we can bring the number down from four million!

State Dogs

Several states have designated official state dogs. (Your tax dollars at work !) Let’s take a look at the various breeds.Maryland was the first state to name an official dog, back in 1964. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a smart, obedient dog suitable for an active, outdoor loving family, but be aware before you get one: they really like to plunge into water!

When you think of Alaska’s Iditarod, you probably think of the Malamut, the official dog of Alaska. One of the oldest breeds on the continent, the Mahlamut tribe of Innuits developed them, not for racing, but for pulling heavy loads across long distances.
Another sleddog, the Chinook is New Hampshire’s state dog. Owned by the lead dog trainer for Admiral Byrd’s 1929 Antarctic Expedition, the first "Chinook" was instrumental in moving supplies for the groundbreaking journey. Chinook also was in the first dog team to ever reach the top of Mt. Washington.
Massachusetts’ state dog is, of course, the Boston Terrier. Originally bred as a fighting dog, the breed is now known as "the American Gentleman" for its gentle disposition and the markings on its coat, which often resemble formal wear.

Moving down the Eastern Seaboard to Virginia’s hunt country, the state dog is the American Foxhound. Descended from English foxhounds, the breed has traditionally been fed a special diet, called "dog bread", designed to offer greater stamina in the field. "Dog bread" is a type of cornbread.
The official dog of Wisconsin is also a field dog, the American Water Spaniel. Not well known outside the US, the breed is an excellent family dog, but also can be counted on to retrieve not just the feathered and furry game, but fish too!
A member of the Coonhound family, North Carolina’s state dog is the Plott Hound. The Plott family brought the breed over from Germany to track wild boar. Keeping the dogs in the family, they controlled its breeding for the next 150 years.

Bred to hunt wild turkey (the bird, not the whiskey) in the swamps of the Southeastern United States, the state dog of South Carolina, the Boykin Spaniel works well in the heat. They are a smaller breed of spaniel, able to fit in early settlers canoes. They are known as "the dog that doesn’t rock the boat".
Lousiana’s official dog, the Catahoula Leopard Hound is thought to be one of the oldest breeds in North America, aside from a few dogs bred by Native Americans. Possibly introduced into this country by Hernando de Soto, Catahoulas have also been owned by such famous figures as Jim Bowie and Teddy Roosevelt.
Possibly the newest state dog, named in 2005, the Blue Lacy is also the only breed native to Texas. Not just a hunting dog, but one with herding instincts also, the hound was brought to Texas by the Lacy brothers to help control the family’s free range hogs.

The official dog of Pennsylvania is also the official dog of Dogcheapsleeps.com; the Great Dane. Known as the Gentle Giant, Great Danes tend to grow very large, very fast, but continue to put on weight well after the first year. They are very gentle and affectionate, but also sometimes needy. While pound for pound, they eat less than smaller breeds, they have been known to steal loaves of bread, pounds of butter and even packs of cigarettes from the counters here at Dogcheapsleeps.com.

All breeds of dogs have their merits and also their special needs. If you plan to adopt a dog, please research that breed’s characteristics before bringing one home. Please also remember the many Humane Societies and Rescue organizations that specialize, not just in particular breeds, but in animals that need forever homes.

Meet our Animal Family – Sydney

Even though we are a busy construction office, we take the time to work on our website and develop new ideas for dog beds. We think we have mastered the waterproof dog bed, but new ideas are constantly coming to the surface. We now have crate pads, pads for x-pens, outdoor dog beds and our ever popular whelping pads.
We have a large family here at Dogcheapsleeps.com: four full sized Great Danes and six cats. Maintaining that size menagerie requires tile floors, gates on doors, patience and lots and lots of waterproof, heavy duty beds. We’d like to start our new DogBlog by introducing the crew:
Meet Sydney-the Alpha Dog.


Sydney is a 6 year old fawn Great Dane with two major dog show wins and two litters of puppies to her credit. Two of those puppies have gone on to become AKC Champions. The rest of the Great Danes in the Dogcheapsleeps.com family are a fawn female and black male from her second litter.
As a nine month old puppy Sydney taught us what the zoomies are, and why you want to brace yourself against a wall when you see an rip snorting Dane coming your direction.


Sydney’s first litter of eight puppies finally learning to eat real dog food. They are cute and fun, but oh so much work. At 12 weeks of age they happily went on to their new loving homes.
By the way, the idea for Dogcheapsleeps.com’s waterproof, wipe clean, durable beds was born right after Sydney’s first litter of puppies.

Shortly after the dog beds, we decided to make waterproof whelping pads. No more washloads of bedding, easy to clean, disinfect and completely reusable. If you are a breeder, please look into our whelping pads, which we will make to custom to fit your whelping box.

Traveling with Your Dog: Bed Bug, Fleas.

Traveling with your dog is fun, my dog loves to ride in the car and I take her with me on trips as often as I can. It can be challenging to find decent places to stay with your dog. The bedding you carry along for use in a hotel is often left on the floor or within a crate on the floor. This leaves your pet and the bedding vulnerable to bed bugs.

While pets are generally not bed bugs first choice in “food” due to their fur, pets can be bitten and their bedding become infested. It’s important to educate yourself and look for the signs of infestation before you and your pet bed down. Further information can be found at the University of Kentucky’s website .

The increase in bed bugs within the United States calls for everyone to become more aware and vigilant in stopping their spread. Having washable pet bedding is crucial to ridding your pet’s bedding of bed bugs. Washing the bed for 20 minutes at 120 degrees will kill bed bugs.

Another traveling pest is the flea. Fleas can infest pet bedding rather quickly. Many people practice prevention when it comes to fleas because they are so hard to eliminate once they have infested your environment and pet. There are many products a veterinarian can recommend for prevention and over the counter treatments for your pet’s environment if they are found to have fleas. In the spirit of prevention, having pet bedding that is waterproof, washable and not attractive as a home and breeding ground to fleas makes sense. All of the pet beds at DogCheapSleeps are waterproof and washable, making them ideal for travel as well and at home.

Check out the complete line for any size dog. They are hose tested and leak proof. With our unique Velcro closure and vinyl cover, moisture will not get into the 4" foam padding. Just wipe clean with a wet cloth.

Inexpensive, free shipping, and best of all, Made in America!

Traveling: America’s Dog Friendly Hotels.

I came across this resource a few months ago while planning a trip. I was planning to take my dog, who loves to ride in the car, with me. The DogFriendly.com site lists hotels, motels and resorts that will not only welcome your pet, also provide a bed, toys and room services catered specifically for a dogs needs.

Here are some ways to get the most from your stay:

•Call ahead to ensure dogs are welcome, because in some chains, the pet policy is up to the franchise owner
•Ask what the pet policy is, since all hotels have one. Discuss your situation before you arrive, not when you’re checking in
•Inform hotel staff of your pet’s size and age. Ask about your big dog because decisions are often made on a case-by-case basis, and let’s face it, you can’t sneak around a hotel’s interior corridors with a Great Dane or other large pooch anyway.
•Ask what amenities are available, such as bowls, beds, leashes, pet sitting and dog walking
•Attend to your pet while at the hotel, ask what the hotel’s policy on unattended pets is if you do need to leave your room and pet for a period of time.
•Respect the hotel’s policy about where dogs are allowed on the premises.

Check out the complete line of beds for any size dog. They are hose tested and leak proof. With our unique Velcro closure and vinyl cover, moisture will not get into the 4" foam padding. Just wipe clean with a wet cloth.

Inexpensive, free shipping, and best of all, Made in America, USA!

Training: Inside and Out

My friend brought this to my attention and it’s worth a mention. She has two playful puppies, one is a boxer named Aura and the other is a Labrador named Faith. These two get along famously and have the most awesome wrestling matches I’ve ever seen two pups have. During a training session indoors, my friend took note that the pups easily learned what was a “toy” and chewable and what was not theirs and not chewable. My friend conscientiously attended and corrected their behavior INDOORS…

After a few weeks, she became aware that one of her trees and a rosemary bush in the backyard were completely shredded as if chewed by a chipper shredder. She didn’t immediately understand why the dogs were so compliant and well behaved when it comes to chewing inside the house yet outdoors they chewed up the plants. The pups have a door and can go freely inside and out – my friend doesn’t always accompany them and has never done any “chew” training with them outside. This was the key to understanding why they behaved one way indoors and another, more destructive way, outdoors.

Remember to carry over your training to the yard or free range territory that your puppy has access to. You, your pet and your plants will be happier for it!

DogCheapSleeps.com – Dogcheapsleeps manufactures and sells waterproof dog beds. They truly are waterproof, they are hose tested as we design new prototypes. To date, no water has made it through to the 4" solid foam inside. Already have your favorite dog or doggie bed? We sell the waterproof covers separately, custom sizing and colors are available.

“Yappy Hour” Social Time for Your Dog.

Ideas for how to find social time with your pet, other pets and pet owners are surfacing in some unique ways. Pet social groups provide relaxation, shared fun and a place to share information and support.
People meet at dog parks or dog boutiques for play with their pets. Other groups arrange short trips, hikes or afternoons at the beach. In Los Angeles, the Pussy and Pooch takes social time to a new level with their event Mingle Mingles. Janene Zakrajsek, owner says
“Minglers enjoy the freedom of letting their little ones run around the store leash-free for some much-needed pup playtime,” explains Zakrajsek. “Naturally, our guests also enjoy the refreshment, raffles, Pawbar tastings (at the store’s pet cafe), and other fun we create for them.”
May be a community dog wash is more your speed? In Surprise Arizona, Kimbur Pet Wash provides all you need to give your pet a luxurious grooming in a self serve shared setting.
However you chose to take your dog into the world and socialize, keep in mind safety, consistency, and enjoyment for you and your dog!
For all your pet bedding needs: www.dogcheapsleeps.com

Dog Daily Calorie Calculator

Pets have weight issues too. Now you don’t have to wonder what your dog’s caloric intake should be – based on weight and activity – this calculator will help you determine the exact amount of calories your dog needs on a daily basis.

For all your pet bedding needs: www.dogcheapsleeps.com
always Made In America!

Dog Separation Anxiety

This kind of seperation anxiety can go both ways. Recently on vacation without my dog, I found myself anxious about how he was doing without me and missing him terribly when seeing other people with their dogs walking along the beach!

But this blog post is not going to cover human-dog separation anxiety, rather will explore the very real destruction caused by dog separation anxiety. Dogs can tear up a piece of furniture due to separation anxiety or destroy a whole room or rooms of your house. This is something to address early in your dog’s training.

The first thing to keep in mind is that dog crate training is not a cure for separation anxiety. You can only cure pet dog separation anxiety with counter-conditioning and desensitization procedures. Some of which are: not tolerating the behavior by looking the dog straight in the eyes and saying a short, firm NO. Never make departures too emotional; make it brief by patting your dog in the back a few times and then turning your back without making sorry faces or reassuring voice about its whining. If you need to use the crate, then do so; but be sure to return after 3 to 4 hours.

Dogs are very sensitive to your emotional feedback to their behavior; keep yourself in check when separating from your dog. Often times, I have given my dog an order upon leaving “keep the house safe” – “watch over kitty”… this seems to give his mind something to think about (?) or at the very least is a way of parting which isn’t laden in goodbyes.

Crate Training Your Dog

My friend’s dog was crate trained, this made traveling by car or by plane with her pet incredibly easy as the dog feels safe and secure anywhere her crate happens to be. While reading up on crate training, I came across a great step by step at Humane Society.org .
Below are two of the Humane Society’s most important tips for success:

1. The crate should always be associated with something pleasant.
2. Training should take place in a series of small steps. Don’t go too fast.

Crate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog’s age, temperament and past experiences. Check out the complete line of crate pads for any size dog. Our dog crate pads offer all of the comforts of a couch or the owner’s bed right there in the crate! And since they are waterproof, our dog crate pads might be the last pads you ever buy.They are hose tested and leak proof. With our unique Velcro closure and vinyl cover, moisture will not get into the 4" foam padding. Just wipe clean with a wet cloth.
Inexpensive, free shipping, and best of all, Made in America!

Dog Boarding: Five Tips.

“Throughout the United States and Canada, there are approximately 9,000 boarding kennels offering their services to more than 30,000,000 pet owners annually. Boarding kennels are businesses designed and operated specifically to care for pets, as distinguished from breeding kennels, which are devoted to producing puppies; training kennels, which take in dogs for hunting, protection, and other types of specialized training; and veterinary hospitals, which are designed to care for sick and injured animals. Most boarding kennels provide a variety of pet services such as boarding, grooming, training classes, pet supply sales, and pet shipping. Although the vast majority of boarded pets are dogs and cats, many kennels also offer boarding for horses, birds, reptiles and exotic pets.”

It can be a daunting task to find the right kennel to board your precious pet. Below are five tips to help you successfully begin the search:

1. Call and visit a few local kennels. Bring your pet with you, solicit his/her input.
2. Ask questions about what’s available to your pet during their stay at the kennel – are they walked, social time, snacks, veterinary services, training, grooming, bathing, etc.
3. Ask about the boarding contract and paperwork (shot records, vet records) necessary to board at the kennel of your choice; make sure you have what’s necessary beforehand.
4. Keep in mind the kennels hours of operation in making your drop off and pick up planning.
5. Keep your check in to the kennel as brief as possible to reduce separation anxiety brought on by long emotional farewells. Always return and pick your pet up on time.
   

A very thorough article on boarding your pet from Pet MD is available from this link:http://www.the-animal-inn.com/boarding.htm

Lily and Madison

I read a touching article about two great danes looking for a home. They were at Dog Trust, a dog welfare charity in England. The unique twist to this story was that one of the danes was blind and the other was her guide dog. It took a few months but at last Lily and Madison found a happy home. Read about their happy ending at Daily Mail .

Since we breed and show Great Danes, we are constantly searching for large dog beds – especially if they are chew proof and water resistant!
Dogcheapsleeps dog beds come in all sizes, but we seem to sell far more dog beds for large dogs than we sell the small ones. Of course, we did once sell some large dog beds to a lady that owns rabbits. It worked. It seems rabbits can be messy eaters and sleepers too.
Waterproof and virtually chew-proof, our beds cannot be beat when it comes to quality or pricing. If you are in the market for dog beds for large dogs, you’ve come to the right place!

Five Facts about Bo, The Presidential Pooch.

1. Bo is a boy, although with his curly black hair and white front paws, well-groomed tail, he looks a little girl-ish!)

2. Bo is a Portuguese Water Dog

3. Bo was a gift from the Kennedy family.

4. Bo’s breed doesn’t know how to swim.

5. Bo’s breed is hypoallergenic – a good choice for daughter Malia’s allergies.

This important question was asked to the President during Bo’s introductory press conference…

Press: Will he sleep in a bed?

President Obama: “Not in my bed’’

Could Bo be sleeping in a DogCheapSleeps.com dog bed!? DogCheapSleeps.com dog beds are washable, waterproof, chew-resistant and best of all MADE IN AMERICA, right here in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

Order one of our large, small or any size in between beds, covers, and crate pads for your dog at:http://www.dogcheapsleeps.com/

Foundation for the Blind: Puppy Raisers

Have you ever wondered how a dog becomes a service dog? This is a process organizations like Foundation for the Blind address with their programs. One such program is called Raise a Puppy. A Puppy Raiser Volunteer, once screened by the Foundation for the Blind, takes home a puppy (7 -14 weeks old) and through the course of 12-14 months gives the puppy socialization skills, good house manners and all the love and attention it needs. After this period of puppyhood, the young dog returns to the Foundation for the Blind and begins his or her life long career as an assistant for a disabled person.

For more information about where puppy raisers are needed or to begin a puppy raising group in your area, please see the website: Foundation for the Blind

Whelping, when your dog gives birth

Most often, a dog’s natural instincts will take over when labor begins. Whelping (a dog-specific term for birthing) is sometimes difficult for domestic dogs. Being with your pet as she during labor and birth of her litter can be a good thing for you and the dog. Talking to your vet about any potential problems before your dog whelps is always a good idea!
You’ve spent a lot of money breeding your dog. And dog whelping is a messy business. Cleanliness and being able to easily disinfect your dog whelping pads is important to the health of the puppies and mother. Their well-being depends heavily on the whelping supplies for dogs you decide (or decide not to) use. Dogcheapsleeps.com dog whelping pads can be cleaned and disinfected with water, bleach and a sponge, saving you countless trips to the washer and dryer. Easy to remove dog whelping pads can be custom made to fit existing whelping boxes, or standard-sized for purchased whelping boxes. Comfortable for your dog, our dog whelping pads are a necessary component of your whelping supplies for dogs.
Dogcheapsleeps.com whelping pads are reusable too. Why pay for whelping box material over and over again?

How Do Dogs Perceive Time?

Your dog can’t talk to you about what he perceives, however, you know that by the wag of his tail and dancing around the food dish that he knows when dinner time is. Also well known indicators of a dog’s perception of time are that he knows when you come home from work every day, his bed time and when to wake up, and when it’s time to go for a walk or ride to the park.

Researches have concluded (although some disagree) that a dog’s perceptions are based on associative memory abilities. A dog is able to associate a series of events and put it together into a conclusion of what the next thing to happen may be, thus the expectation of dinner or your return from work. A dog knows the precursor human events leading to these major dog /human interaction events.

This also leads most researches to believe that dogs do not perceive time in the same way as humans; rather dogs live in the moment they are in without the human abilities of reflecting back on events and planning future events. Dogs use their associative memory to determine routines. This also clues us how best to train a dog by using associative memory skills that come naturally and developing routines.

Try Dogcheapsleeps.com waterproof dog beds. They are hose tested and leak proof. With our unique Velcro closure and vinyl cover, moisture will not get into the 4" foam padding. Just wipe clean with a wet cloth.



Inexpensive, free shipping, and best of all, handmade in America!

Finding Forever

“Coastal German Shepherd Rescue is a non-profit 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to finding loving homes for abandoned German Shepherds in Southern California”.


There are animal rescues like this all over the country trying to connect abandoned, often abused, animals with people who can provide loving, stable, life-long homes. I came across Dobie Houson, author of “Finding Forever,” while researching for this blog post. I was compelled to feature her mission here: “Through Finding Forever, Houson hopes to educate others about the plight of homeless animals and to raise awareness regarding the many rescue groups, including Coastal German Shepherd Rescue, that fight for animal rights and safety. Eventually she hopes to create an online network to help people locate and support local rescue efforts that are near and dear to their hearts.”

Houson is an animal communicator and believes that animals are here to teach us through their example of courage, faith and hope in overcoming incredible odds. “Finding Forever” is a collection of short stories that chronicle the hope, faith, and courage of twenty-six German Shepherds in search of their forever homes. You can find Dobie Houston online @dobiehouson. Here at DogCheapSleeps.com we feel strongly about forever – we make our dog beds to last the lifetime of your pet.

Try Dogcheapsleeps.com waterproof dog beds. They are hose tested and leak proof. With our unique Velcro closure and vinyl cover, moisture will not get into the 4" foam padding. Just wipe clean with a wet cloth. Inexpensive, free shipping, and best of all, handmade in America!

How Do Dogs See?

Dogs are often thought to have vision of a poorer quality than humans. A dog’s vision is different from human vision in part due to their point of perception beginning about 12 inches from the ground. This limits what a dog is able to see compared to an adult human whose eyes are on average 48+ inches off the ground.

We know that dogs see better in dark or dim situations and also can detect motion long before a human can. These differences enable dogs to do work for humans and make them excellent guardians. Technically speaking, dog’s eyes have more rod cells (good for sight in dim or darkenss and detecting motion) and less cone cells, which enable seeing the visible color spectrum.

A dog’s vision suits their needs very well, while it is considerably different that human vision, it is not necessarily of a poorer quality by comparison based on what dogs can and can’t do with the vision they have.