How to Make a Dog Bed

Make a bed like the one shown above using our new kit. his Kit is based on the instruction from the Columbus Dog Connection. Purchasing this kit will provide you with the parts listed on the Dog Bed Kit Page. You will still need to purchase one 10ft 1-1/4 PVC and Round Washer Head #8-18 x 1/2 " screws, which are available at any hardware store. The Kit is intended to provide all of the difficult to find parts in one easy stop.

Small Bed	`Medium Bed`	Large Bed
`Cloth size` 36 x 29 1 10 ft stick or 112, will have 12" left over -2 pieces at 18.5 inches each -2 pieces at 25.5 inches each -4 pieces at 4 inches each`Final Dimensions 22" x 29"`	`Cloth size 34.5" x 38.5" 1 10ft stick will make one complete bed including legs, -2 at 24" -2 at 28" -4 pieces at 4 inches each (legs) Final Dimension 27.5" x 31.5"`	Cloth size 36 x 45 144 needed You will need 1-10 ft stick of PVC and an additional 20" to make one complete large bed -2 pieces at 25.5 inches each -2 pieces at 34.5 inches each -4 pieces at 4 inches each Final Dimensions `29" x 38" x 8"`

Online instructions for the Elevated Dog Bed Kit. Printable version here.

Click here to purchase

Building Instructions for Elevated Dog Bed

Tips if you are having a large group make the beds
-not everyone is use to using a drill, tell everyone to stop drilling when the screw is flush with the cloth, we ended up having some stripped entries from folks who were continuing to drill once the screw was as embedded as possible

-you will make a better bed if you have 2 people working together, one to fold and hold, one to drill, we had folks attempting to fold and screw by themselves and the
results are not as tight and neat as if you have 2 people. It is critical to get the corners neat and tight or, as we have found, the dogs will chew on anything they
can grip. In the shelters, this pvc and cloth are the most chewable thing, and they will try to chew it.

1   Using a corner piece, put one short and one long pipe into 2 of the 3 holes

2 Once the frame is built, use a hammer to on each corner to firmly hit each side to force the legs into the corner pieces,
don't worry about hitting too hard, the pvc is strong

3 Insert 4 legs into holes, turn bed over and hit the top of each corner 1-2 times to be sure legs are in as far/tight as they can be
--no picture for this

4 Lay the cloth on a flat surface and lay the frame on top, with legs pointing up, center frame on cloth

5 Fold cloth corners under frame, be sure to keep frame centered on cloth when doing this
(note: fold of cloth, 2nd picture, should be centered just inside of corner piece)

6 Take one long side of cloth and make 2 one-half inch-ish folds, the material should hit the center of the pvc on the bottom side
of the frame

7 Place one screw in the mid point of the PVC and screw the cloth to the PVC.
Be sure that the screw goes thru the folds of the cloth

8 Place screws evenly spaced on each leg,
(5 screws, short side of small bed, 6 screws for long side)
(6 screws for short side of large bed, 8 screws for long side of bed)

Screw one screw to the opposite side of the frame then use channel locks to tighten plastic frame, which will tighten cloth
    important: do not use channel locks on top of cloth, it will tear it, tighten so cloth is taught, screw in rest of screws



Important Note (July 3, 2008)
Be sure to place 2 screws on the bottom of 2 opposite corners so they hold the legs and stop them from turning under the weight of the dog on the bed.
We didn't do this on earlier beds and the weight of the dogs makes the legs turn which causes puckering of cloth, which is an invitation to CHEW ! These screws should be the last thing you do.

10 Finish putting in screws for opposite leg, repeat steps for other sides of bed
     If the frame doesn't sit square on the floor, put the frame on its side, legs facing you and twist the legs a bit

11 On the top side of the bed, place 5 screws thru the cloth and into the corner of the pvc corner piece, this serves 2 purposes
    1 keeps the cloth from being chewed
    2 keeps the side frame pieces from turning
    Be sure the end screws are near the end of the corner piece so they also pierce the side frame pieces and keep them from turning,
    if these screws do not pierce the side frame pieces, the weight of the dog will eventually turn the pvc and the cloth will
    pucker, which leads to chewing, or they will laying in a hammock like bed that will touch the ground

      1    2       3

           You can't use too many screws on the corners. The corners are the point most likely chewed so extra reinforcement is best.
           Picture 2 is best as the screws will be a deterrent to start chewing. Picture 3 shows screws inserted too far from the edge.
           Be sure to have volunteers place screws as close to edge of the cloth as they can..

How to make your own Hammock style outdoor dog bed - Dog Cot.

Here are instructions on making a dog bed from parts that you can pickup at just about any hardware store. You will need the following items.

Building a Dog Bed