Most dog beds are sold by weight. Small: 10–25kg. Medium: 25–45kg. Large: 45kg and up.
It's a terrible way to size a bed, and it's the single most common reason people end up with a dog hanging off the end of something they've just paid a few hundred dollars for.
Weight tells you how heavy a dog is. It tells you almost nothing about how long they are. A 30kg Staffy and a 30kg Border Collie are completely different shapes. One is a brick, the other is a long dog on tall legs. Sell them the same bed and one of them is uncomfortable.
Measure length, not weight
Grab a tape measure. This takes two minutes.
Measure from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail — where the tail joins the body, not the end of the tail. Do it while they're standing or lying stretched out on their side, whichever is easier to hold them still for.
Write the number down. That's your minimum sleeping surface length. Add roughly 10% if you want them to be able to stretch out properly rather than just fit.
Coco, our Rottweiler, is 80cm nose to tail base. So she needs a sleeping surface of at least 80cm, and she's genuinely comfortable at around 90cm.
The bolster trap
Here's the part that catches nearly everyone, and it's worth understanding before you buy anything with raised sides.
Bolster beds — the ones with padded walls for head-resting — are advertised by their external dimensions. That's the whole footprint, walls included.
But your dog doesn't sleep on the walls. They sleep in the middle.
A bolster can easily consume 20–25cm of the total length. So a bed advertised as 95cm long might have a sleeping surface of only 70cm. If your dog is 80cm, they're hanging over the end of a bed that on paper is longer than they are.
Always ask for the internal sleeping surface. If a listing doesn't state it, that's telling you something. Measure the photos against the stated external size if you have to.
How do they actually sleep?
Watch them for a few nights and you'll notice a preference. It changes what size you need.
- Curled up in a ball. Common in winter, and in dogs who like feeling contained. They can go a size down and be perfectly happy.
- Stretched out on their side. Needs the full length you measured, plus some. This is where most sizing goes wrong.
- Flat out on their back, legs everywhere. Needs width as much as length. Size up.
- Head on the bolster, body off the bed. They've told you the bed is too small. Listen to them.
Most dogs do all of these depending on the season. Size for the stretched-out position and they can still curl up when they want to — it doesn't work the other way round.
If you crate them
Crate owners have it easier, because a crate has one exact internal measurement.
Measure the internal floor of the crate, then take 2–3cm off each dimension so the bed drops in without bunching up at the sides. A bed that has to be forced in will rumple, and a rumpled bed is a bed they'll dig at.
As a rough guide for standard wire crates:
| Crate size | Internal length | Bed external length |
|---|---|---|
| Medium | ~90cm | ~75cm |
| Large | ~100–106cm | ~95cm |
| Extra large | ~120cm+ | ~110cm |
One thing worth knowing: standard wire crates stop at about 122cm internal. If you have a giant breed, there may not be a crate made that suits them, and a floor bed is the honest answer.
The mistakes we see most
Buying for the puppy they are now. A Shepherd pup at four months is not the dog they'll be at eighteen. If you're buying something built to last years, buy for the adult. Use something cheap and washable in the meantime.
Trusting the breed chart. Breed charts are averages and your dog is not an average. A small Rottie and a big Rottie can be 15cm apart. Measure yours.
Sizing down to save money. A bed they don't fit on is a bed they won't use, and you'll buy another one anyway. Pay the difference once.
Forgetting where it has to go. Measure the space beside the couch or in the corner before you order, not after. A bed that doesn't fit the room ends up somewhere they don't want to sleep.
The short version
- Measure nose to base of tail
- Add about 10% for comfort
- Match that to the internal sleeping surface, not the external size
- Size for how they sleep at their most spread out
- If they're crated, measure the crate floor and go 2–3cm smaller
We publish internal sleeping surface, external dimensions and crate fit for every size we make, because we'd rather you bought the right one than sent the wrong one back. You can join the waitlist here to know when they're available.