Your Dog Shares Your Bed But Won’t Do the Laundry: A Solution

Swatch is a big one for sharing the bed with his humans. He’s not much help doing the laundry, though.

Do your pets insist on sharing the bed with you? Yes, we know that it’s probably not the most sanitary thing to do and we’re aware that pathogens can be spread, but you can’t deny the feeling of contentment that comes from having a beloved pet within reach. Personally, my cocker spaniel makes the best foot warmer on a cold winter night.

Unfortunately, it’s not as though your pets join you in bed after their nightly bubble bath. They leave fur and dirt all over your bed, and aging pets sometimes can be incontinent. Unless you live in Downton Abbey, washing linens and changing sheets every day isn’t a practical option. Solution: Sew a pet-friendly bed scarf.

Bed scarves are perfect for pets that sleep at the foot of your bed. (Image by Shagreene, from Houzz)

Bed scarves—those small coverlets draped over the foot of a bed—first cropped up in hotels but are now going mainstream. My two dogs only sleep at the foot of my bed, so a bed scarf with a waterproof side sounded like a brilliant idea. For less than $20, I made a quick-and-easy bed scarf by taking a cotton flannel (top layer) from Mood NYC that worked with my bedroom decor, and machine-quilting it to some waterproof cotton (bottom layer) I had in my stash.

Pet bed scarf from Cabela’s. Not bad, but you’re limited to a few colors and it doesn’t come cheap.

It’s very simple to make your own pet bed scarf:

• Option 1: Choose an outdoor fabric or water-repellent fabric that coordinates with your bedroom and just finish the edges with a bias trim (one layer of fabric).
• Option 2: Choose a fabric likely to hold up to repeat washings, like a home decor cotton that coordinates with your bedroom. Pair it with a water-repellent fabric, such as treated cotton, ripstop or nylon. (At Mood NYC we have lots of rainwear fabrics in a wide array of colors.) Stitch the two layers right-sides together, leaving an opening to turn. Turn right-side out, press, and topstitch around the edges.
• Option 3: Use a decorative, washable fabric paired with a moisture-repelling fabric as above, but add a layer of batting between them and machine-quilt to hold the layers together. Finish the edges with a binding like a quilt.

At Mood NYC you can find bolts of water-resistant fabrics as well as Sunbrella® fabrics (right).

Cute as Swatch may be here, I have it on good authority he snores.

Readers, do your pets sleep with you? Do they stick to the foot of the bed like mine do, or do they need to snuggle on your pillow with you? Tell us here, and please share your solutions for co-sleeping with your pet!