K9 Ballistics Chew-Proof Armored Elevated Padded Dog Bed
a review
It's been six months since I adopted Japhy, he just turned one, and the most significant behavioral challenge we're still addressing is his obsessive chewing. Not only does he chew things, he swallows pieces of the things he chews instead of allowing them to fall out of the sides of his mouth, making this tendency all the more dangerous. Chew toys are just not an option for him, as he can quickly destroy (and eat) even those touted as indestructible. I've had to take the dog blankets out of his kennel recently, because I just can't seem to dissuade him from chewing on them, even with six bones from Three Dog Bakery laying within eyesight and a broken record of "Find your bone" and "Go to sleep" streaming from my mouth in attempts to redirect him. A few days ago I pulled out of his mouth a saliva-soaked piece of one of his blankets that was probably 2" long by 1" wide when unpacked from its little chewed-up wad. Had I not seen him chewing on something and unceremoniously reached into his big mouth to remove it, I'm certain he would have swallowed it (I've trained him with the "open" command to open his mouth and allow me to look/reach inside, so the whole sticking my fingers inside a big dog's mouth is actually less unwise than it sounds in this particular instance, though it was still rather unceremonious for him). The big fluffy round bed that I'd bought for him after he destroyed the big fluffy rectangle bed that a friend had bought for him lasted the longest of any bed to date, but alas, it has ended up in the dumpster with the others before it. That was the third bed he's had, not including the elevated bed I bought for Mani that I'd kept outside in the yard. It was made of some type of tightly woven nylon fabric that was wrapped around the frame of the bed. Upon bringing that bed inside the house after he destroyed the big fluffy round bed, he proceeded to chew the nylon fabric off the frame. I moved it back outside before he could completely ruin it. As an outside "place" it still works for Japhy. But inside, where he is more prone to bouts of boredom, not so much. Incidentally, he also utterly refused to sleep on that bed at night, getting up repeatedly throughout the wee hours and walking over to the edge of my bed begging me to let him up. The entire night consisted of me telling him, "Go back to your bed," and him continuing to stand at my bedside nudging parts of my body with his nose, occasionally daring to place a paw up on the edge of the bed for me to pick up and push off; and that interaction would repeat throughout the night with me half asleep and growing grumpier and grumpier through it all. I don't have an issue with him being on my bed; however, my "bed" isn't really a bed. It's a chaise lounge. And while there was [barely] enough room for Mani to sleep with me on it, there is most definitely not enough room for thicc boi to sleep with me on it comfortably and without one of us eventually falling off (one guess who that would be). So I've been pretty hard-nosed about making him sleep on his own bed. Until about 4 a.m. Then, I allow him to [in the most ungraceful manner possible] climb up onto the 12" or so between me and the edge of the chaise, stepping on all the various parts of my body that he can in the process, and tuck himself into me as tight as he can to snooze off the remaining hours of darkness close to his mama. The whole paw-stomping event is actually pretty endearing, but only after I've had enough sleep to lessen the discomfort of being smashed awake by a however-many-pounds-now (70, maybe?) Pitbull.
Some time ago I discovered K9 Ballistics, a company making "chew proof and tough" dog beds that come with a 120-day guarantee. I started following them on Instagram, looked around their website and signed up for their newsletter. I'd already looked closely at all of their beds and had been waiting for the financial opportunity to purchase the Chew Proof Armored Elevated Padded Dog Crate Bed. The other beds were rated as "tough" but not "chew-proof" and I knew Japhy would need one of the armored beds in order for it to have a realistic chance of surviving his mighty chewing habit for 120+ days. Having submitted Japhy's birth date when I signed up for their newsletter, they sent a coupon code in early June, and I was anxious to use it.
Here are a few of my primary reasons for choosing the Armored Elevated Padded bed:
1) it's lightweight enough to travel with, and the legs come off for ease of packing/stacking, etc.;
2) the elevated bed would keep him off the ground while camping, preventing ants from biting him (something we had a small problem with at Palo Duro);
3) the padding would ensure it is comfortable enough for him and won't leave him begging to get onto my bed all night;
4) the bed is 'armored' which means the padded section is actually tucked into the aluminum frame all the way around, leaving nothing for him to grab onto and chew or rip open;
5) the "ballistic" rip-stop outer shell is a tough material, so it should hold up to digging tendencies as well;
6) it repels water and is easily spot-cleaned.
Unboxing/Assembly Photos
There's not much assembly required. None, actually, unless you count popping out the rubber foot pads and screwing in four legs. It came with the rubber pads in place of the legs, and if you wanted, you could leave those in and use it as a non-elevated crate pad. I bought Japhy the 41" x 27" size bed, which fits perfectly inside his 42" x 28" iCrate kennel, with legs and without. I had kind of wanted a smaller size for travel, but knowing how much this dog loves to stretch out, lay upside down with all fours every-which-way, and in all other sorts of crazy Pitbull positions, I went ahead and got the size that I knew would be plenty large enough for his Goofy Self to spread out and be comfortable.
You can see in the photos below evidence of the digging Japhy's been doing on this bed, and it's holding up well. He has also thoroughly inspected every square inch of the frame trying to find a loose thread or anything at all that he can grab onto and chew. No luck so far. Hooray! I mean, sorry, Japhy. :(
Below: this is what it looks like when he's on my bed with me. Endearing, no?
He’s a good boy.