# is there an indestructible crate pad that is really "indestructible"?



## davi224

Like all puppies, ours loves to chew up everything. But recently it even included his bedding in his crate. We removed everything and now he does not have anything to sleep on but the cold plastic of the crate floor. He doesn't sleep at night and tends to get up very early ever since we removed his blankets, towels, etc from his crate. We would love to put something in there, but every time we do, he chews it to shreds. I have done some research online and have found what they call " indestructible" beds and pads but not sure if that would work with our little one. Any suggestions would be wonderful!


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## raps702

Maybe try giving him some chew toys to keep him occupied ( ie kong filled with treats, bully sticks, antlers, his favourite toy, etc)


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## DarDog

We are having the exact same problem. Darwin is 9 months. The only time he is destructive is when he is in his crate, during the day. No problem during the night. And, no problem if he is out of his crate.

When we go away during the day, we leave music on, give him nylabones, antlers, and a kong with frozen food in it (we have also used buster cubes). Some days he even gets his long off-leash walk in before being crated.

Without fail, there will always be some shredding. We have started using towels as padding, and we re-stock from value village.

Suggestions would be wonderful for us too


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## Macaroni

Admittidley Mac is only 12 weeks, so may have these problems yet, but have been making sure he gets his exercise in before crating and leaving tonnes of "safe" shew toys. Kong's filled w/ kibble and peanut butter distract for a bit, Nylabone's, and Deer a/o Elk Antler's are the greatest thing ever. 

Unlike other bones (rawhide, bully sticks, etc) he doesn't go through these quickly (they can last up to 6 months - seriously), we've had ours for 4 weeks and barely a dent). They don't shard or chip off. And they don't get soft and nasty like rawhide and the others. The only part they wear down is the marrow in the middle and we'll fill that w/ peanut butter again to keep him interested. They are expensive (depends on size but ours was $16 for the one bone) but the best purchase yet. Don't have to worry about they're safety w/ them. Sometime's when we get home we'll find he's burried it in his bedding, but at least he has chewed on his toys and not the bedding (knock on wood).

Best of luck to you.


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## Linescreamer

Lol ;D. Nylabone lasting 6 months! Copper has gone through 2 of the nylabones for serious chewers, in the last 3 months! 

He does shred things, including his bed. It doesn't seem to matter if he has a nylabone or other distraction in his crate at the time. He just loves to take the stuffing out! I think it's a sense of accomplishment in the completion of an activity. We have also put blankets on his beds and they all seem to get chewed starting with a small whole in the middle (just big enough for his nose) and then it gets bigger as time goes on. I haven't found a way to stop this. Well, actually I have. Put a stuffed animal in there with him and he won't chew the bedding! ;D


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## Macaroni

Re: Linescreamer

I was refering to the Deer/Elk Antler lasting 6 months...I don't know if it actually will..I'm sure an olde rV w/ more powerful jaws can get through it better. But was told it "could" last up to 6 months. So far Mac's had his one month and it's still looking good.

Just saying it's worth the investment, even if it only lasts a couple months...better than the stuffed toys he goes through in 3 days, and being safe we like it!


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## DarDog

Yeah, Darwin gets deer AND elk antlers in his crate. He still prefers to shred his bedding 

But yes, they do last a long time


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## davi224

we have a nylabone, bully sticks, etc. During the day is not a problem, its bedtime. We have tried towels, etc. but he shreds everything. We are afraid he will swallow something that might choke him. So he gets absolutely nothing to sleep on at night in the crate. Which makes a cranky puppy, which in turn makes a cranky owner ( lack of sleep). Any suggestions for a pad would be wonderful, I was thinking of using a foam pad and stretching a towel or sheet tight across the crate floor, maybe he won't try to bite it, but then we have our other issue...lately he has been doing his business in his crate after he has just gone out..


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## Kobi

I can't imagine the troubles you guys have. I consider Kobi a pretty gentle chewer but he has still shredded his bed and almost completely unstuffed it. He still has a bit of stuffing left to go. I just keep using it though. Sure it looks like crap, but what's the point of buying it if you don't use it? I imagine some of you have more destructive pups and have to worry about them swallowing stuff though.


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## DarDog

davi224 said:


> we have a nylabone, bully sticks, etc. During the day is not a problem, its bedtime. We have tried towels, etc. but he shreds everything. We are afraid he will swallow something that might choke him. So he gets absolutely nothing to sleep on at night in the crate. Which makes a cranky puppy, which in turn makes a cranky owner ( lack of sleep). Any suggestions for a pad would be wonderful, I was thinking of using a foam pad and stretching a towel or sheet tight across the crate floor, maybe he won't try to bite it, but then we have our other issue...lately he has been doing his business in his crate after he has just gone out..


If your dog is still pretty young, he will probably grow out of shredding at night. He probably doesn't appreciate "bed time" yet. Now, Darwin asks to go to bed, sometimes as early as 7:30


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## davi224

he is 7 months old and was "behaving" for a while and all of a sudden, he seemed to have gone into a backwards mode.
we think it might be an anxiety issue. he has chewed up all his toys ( he only has a kong at the moment) and his blankets, towels and bedding. He now has a problem with peeing and pooping in the house and in the crate. Just today after about an hour or so of exercise and doing his business outside, we were playing and he just started peeing on the floor right by my foot. Not sure whats up.


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## DarDog

Aw, I hope you figure things out soon .

Maybe a trip to the vet is in order? The peeing while playing inside is odd :-\


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## Cavedog

It's nice to know I'm not the only one with this problem. After spending more than $100 and going through 3 different beds, I finally made my own from the remains of torn up beds and about $5 in materials from Lowes. If you are at all "handy" and have the right tools, you can build this in less than an hour.

I have an ordinary plastic crate. The interior dimensions at the bottom are 21"x34".

I bought some 1x4 lumber and built a frame slightly smaller than the bottom of the crate. I had some scrap 3/8" plywood around, so I cut a bottom to fit the frame and attached it. This gave me an open wooden box about 4" high.

I then took the stuffing from one of the ripped up beds and filled the box about an inch higher than the edge.

Using the fabric from one of the mattresses that was made of 1000 denier Cordura Nylon, I draped it loosely over the stuffing filled frame and stapled it to the wood. This is really tough fabric, but within 3 days of purchasing this bed, my dog had chewed a hole in the top of it near the corner. Fortunately the bottom of the bed was still in good shape and I used this for my material. It can be bought online for about $10 a yard.

Now the tricky part. I took some 1" thin wall PVC pipe that I got at Lowes, 10' for about $2.50, and cut a line down its entire length. (I held the pipe in a vice and made the cut with a Dremel Multi-Max, but if you have a table saw, it would be a lot easier.) I then took the pipe and rotated it 1/4 turn and made another cut down the length. If you looked at the pipe on end it would now look like a "C". I then cut the pipe into 4 lengths that would cover the sides of the frame. I mitered the corners, but this may not be necessary.

I slipped the pipe over the edges of the frame and secured it to the exterior sides with screws, thus protecting the mattress edges from chewing.

This bed has been exposed to my 9 month old V for about 3 weeks with no signs of damage.

Bruce


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## DarDog

Bruce, that is amazing! A great idea. I think it would work for us too - Darwin doesn't go for the middle of a bed, he tears at the edges!

Thanks


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## davi224

Thanks Bruce. I will show your post to my boyfriend, maybe we can do something like that. Our puppy likes to tear up the edges as well as the middle if he can get his teeth onto the material. Thanks again!!


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## Linescreamer

davi224 said:


> he is 7 months old and was "behaving" for a while and all of a sudden, he seemed to have gone into a backwards mode.
> we think it might be an anxiety issue. he has chewed up all his toys ( he only has a kong at the moment) and his blankets, towels and bedding. He now has a problem with peeing and pooping in the house and in the crate. Just today after about an hour or so of exercise and doing his business outside, we were playing and he just started peeing on the floor right by my foot. Not sure whats up.


A few things come to mind here. 1. If you are confident that you have followed *all* the required crate training protocol; he should see the vet ASAP. Most of the time it's the owners who need to understand crate training, and once that is accomplished the dog will get it. Understand that any dog with a filled bladder + hard playtime, will need to pee. I really think he doesn't know where he is allowed to pee. He may be smelling it in the house and think it's OK to pee here.  2. I wouldn't worry about him swallowing the bedding if he doesn't show signs of swallowing other toys. 3. I wouldn't hesitate to leave him in a crate with no bedding at all, until he is crate trained. He will survive.  4. You could put a towel or two in the crate at night and fill it with treats. Make sure the towel is twisted and tied with heavy rope (in 3 or 4 sections) so it takes a couple hours to get to the treats. I'll bet he will start to look forward to going in the crate and sleep. ;D


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