I will recommend this over and over. We just got a new puppy and we are crate training. Because we are keeping him in the crate all night, I wanted to get something comfy for him, rather than the hard plastic, but I also wanted something that would be waterproof and easily washable because, with a puppy, I was worried about accidents. I was also worried about chewing, so I looked for one of the cheaper mats that didn’t seem like garbage, so that if he destroyed it, I wouldn’t be out a lot of money. This mat/pad fit the bill for what I was looking for, but I didn’t expect to love it.
1. Waterpoof: As mentioned, I was looking for something waterproof because I knew the puppy would have accidents and I wanted to make sure that the pee didn’t soak through and end up damaging my wood floors if it didn’t stay contained within the plastic crate tray on the bottom. We are fortunate that we didn’t have any accidents so I can’t speak to the waterproof aspect, but there are plenty of reviews that say it’s great there. So that was one of the reasons I chose this mat.
2. Washable: With a puppy (and really any age) I wanted to be able to easily toss this in the wash. It washes very well! I throw it in the washer by itself and wash like any other load. I did wash on the “large” load setting just because it keeps its shape and you can’t just stuff it down in the bottom of the washer, so you need the water level to be deep to cover the mat. We have a top loader with an agitator, so the mat needs to stand up on its side in the washer, if that makes sense. If you have a front loader then I’m sure you could do a small load size setting. The mat then goes right into the dryer and I just dried as normal.
3. Durable: I didn’t expect this mat to be super durable. I didn’t know how my puppy would be with chewing so again, I looked for a cheap mat, assuming I’d probably just toss it after the puppy stage. Thankfully my puppy hasn’t been a super destructive dog, but he’s certainly done some “digging” and chewing of the mat and it’s no worse for the wear. I’m extremely happy with the durability. If your dog is realllly destructive, I’m not sure if it would last or not, but it’s been great with my 3/4 month old Husky Weimaraner mix (that we think has some Pit Bull in him too). Because the mat is a little more stiff (not in an in comfy way though) I think it makes it less appealing for him to even try to grab the edges of.
4. Size: We purchased the small size for our small crate. I measured the crate to figure out which size pad/mat I needed. We have a standard wire crate. I think crates in general are a standard size and the mat was a perfect fit. *Please note that in the written description, the size of the mat is listed as the small size, no matter the size you selected, so don’t go by that measurement.* Scroll into the description to find the photo with the dimensions on it to make sure you purchase the correct size.
We love this mat and I’m about to purchase another one for a new, larger crate now that the puppy is outgrowing the small one. I had intended on purchasing something nicer/more expensive once we went to a new crate. As mentioned, I thought I was purchasing something cheap just to get through the puppy stage, but we love it so much that I’m going to get the same one in a larger size! Unless you have a dog that really needs something orthopedic, you’ll love this mat!
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