I’m very lucky in that ever since I can remember mom and dad have allowed me to share their big dog bed with them. Everyone has always slept soundly at night with all of us together (some of us snoring louder than others), but still relatively peacefully.
Then suddenly things changed when I found out we had a 4th family member sharing the big dog bed too (my new little sister), and mom decided she could no longer sleep with me digging my paws into her ribs at night.
Thats when this funny looking pillow called a Snoogle* showed up in our bed. Mom said it was supposed to help her sleep, but after about a week I had commandeered the Snoogle all to myself!
*affiliate link
With a combination of pillows, rolled up blankets and the Snoogle I was now corralled into the center of the bed so that everyone could sleep soundly at night again. That is until Mom decided she wanted her pillow back!
So instead of relegating me to the couch at night (I’m much too important to sleep on the couch!), Mom came up with a DIY Solution so that we could all sleep comfortably again.
Mom made me this super cool bumper type pillow to keep me in the center of the bed at night (and from kicking everyone) so that she could take her pillow back. So far it’s been great, and I’m even enjoying having some of my own space at night too!
Since I’m sure there are a lot of dog’s out there that share the giant dog bed with their humans I thought I would share just how my mom made it:
A DIY Solution for Sharing the Bed with Your Dog!
What you need:
- Fabric (We bought 3 yards of sweatpant type material which was plenty enough to make the bumper pictured – but since you could make this in any size you want you might have to adjust how much material you buy)
- Ribbon
- Scissors
- Stuffing (we used some old pillows we had laying around the house)
- Sewing Machine & Tread
Step 1: Cut your fabric into 12 inch x 8.5 foot strips. This makes the size pillow you see me pictured with, and if your fabric is not long enough for 8 feet you can cut more than one strip and attach them together (which is what we did). My pillow turned out to be a pretty good size, but mom said if she made it again she might make the thickness a little bigger. Also, you can certainly adjust this size for different sized dogs, bigger sides and longer for big dogs, and maybe a shorter length for smaller dogs.
Step 2: Fold your strips of fabric length wise in half with the inside facing out and stitch along the long side to create a “tube” of fabric.
Step 3: Cut two circles out of your fabric 6 inches in diameter. Again this size can be adjusted depending on how big you plan to make your pillow.
Step 4: Cut a slit in the center of each of the circles for your ribbon to slip though and then attach with the sewing machine.
Step 5: Sew one of the circles onto the end of the fabric tube you created. Make sure if it’s still inside out that you sew the correct side onto the end.
Step 6: Flip your tube of fabric right side out and start to fill with stuffing. Since this pillow is over 8 feet long we found it helpful to use a broom handle to push the stuffing down the the bottom of the fabric so that it was tight and compact.
Now suddenly from my perspective you have a new snake buddy! But we’re not done…
Step 7: Now attach the other circle you cut to the end of your tube. Likely you will have to hand-stitch some of this to close it off completely.
Ta-da! You now have a pillow that can be used to corral your dog anywhere you like. The ties at the bottom are super helpful in keeping the pillow together (so I don’t kick my way out at night).
And as a bonus it can also be used to tie up the sides to make the walls of the pillow higher if need be.
I’ve really been enjoying my new “bed nest” and it’s definitely helped give my entire family a great nights sleep. In fact I’ve gotten so used to sleeping in it that when I had to sleepover at the farm the other night without it that I picked a spot at the end of the bed and curled up out of the way of everyone for the duration of the entire night. I guess I’ve just gotten so used to sleeping more independently that it’s what was most comfortable!
Does your dog share the bed with you at night? Do you think you’d co-sleep better with one of these pillows?
