Making a Chew-Proof Dog Bed from Jeans

If your dogs are like ours, they have super powers when it comes to chewing and that seems to go double for chewing their dog beds! We’ve had cheap beds and expensive “chew proof” beds and they’ve managed to tear their way into the beds every time, tearing the inside foam to shreds.

The solution: a heavy-duty dog bed made from heavy blue jeans. This inexpensive project takes an hour or two of time. You’ll need:

• one or two pairs of jeans (depending on the size of the dog and the size of your jeans)
• needle and thread (a sewing machine is great but this can be done by hand)
• cedar bedding (about $7 a bundle at garden supply stores. A bundle is enough to fill two or three large dog beds)

First, select the heaviest jeans you’ve got in the rag box. Don’t use jeans with torn knees or pockets or those with thin material. Turn the jeans inside out.

Hem the jeans straight across about one inch from the bottom so that when you turn the pants right side out, the bottom seam will be inside the legs (and harder for your dog to tear apart).

Next, tack the two legs together at least four places down the inside seam to form a solid pillow. Sew the zipper fly shut.

Take your cedar bedding and fill the jeans from the waist. Holding the pants up, fill the pants about 2/3rds full so there’s still a little room for your dog to push the pillow down and get cozy in it.

Sew the waist shut. If you’re sewing by hand, sew just beneath the waistband (you won’t be able to get a needle through the heavy waistband by hand). You can use non-toxic liquid fabric glue, available in fabric stores, to glue the waistband shut after you sew it.

If your jeans are too narrow to fill your dog’s dog house, take another pair of jeans and split them, using one leg and one half of the body to make another pillow just as you did the first. Tack it to the first pillow.

Lastly, top the bed with any fleecy or fake sheepskin material you might have to make it extra cozy

A few tips:

• If your dog is small, just use the legs of the jeans. This way, you’ll avoid the easy-to-chew pockets, zipper, belt loops, etc.

• If your dog house is wide and your jeans aren’t, visit a thrift store and look for the largest pair of men’s jeans you can find in heavy duty denim. You’ll save all the work of sewing on the third leg.

• If you don’t have any cedar bedding, you can use rags, old pillows, etc. as your bedding.