Well, the MidWest QuietTime Deluxe Pad is advertised as “non-skid.” Is it? I’ve lived with this thing for about eight months now, first as a crate liner for Maple when she was a gangly teenager, and now as a floor mat in the kitchen where she supervises my cooking. Spoiler: it is not non-skid. But that doesn’t mean it’s useless. It just means it’s not what the box says it is.
Gale Pacific Coolaroo The Original Cooling Elevated Dog Bed, Indoor and Outdoor, Large, Brunswick Green, 51.00" x 31.50" x 8.00"
Survived my 95-pound destroyer for 3 years. Dogs choose it in summer.
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MidWest Homes for Pets Medium QuietTime Taupe Micro Terry Pet Bed, Ultra-Soft & Cushioned Crate Pad for 30-inch Crates, Machine Washable
K&H Cool Bed III: no-electricity cooling mat; 44x32 in, fills with water.
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K&H Dog Cooling Mat, Cool Bed III - Large 44x32in Chill Blue
K&H Cool Bed III: no-electricity cooling mat; 44x32 in, fills with water.
Visit on Amazon →I keep a spiral-bound notebook with coffee rings on it where I track foam compression, cover failure timelines, and whether the zipper survived the third wash.
This is that notebook, in article form.
The biggest mistake I see with puppy beds
New puppy owners buy a bed, put it in the crate, and expect the puppy to love it instantly. Then the puppy chews it, digs at it, or refuses to sleep on it, and the owner assumes the bed is bad. Most of the time, the bed is fine. The approach is wrong.
A golden retriever puppy doesn’t know what a bed is. It knows what a soft, warm, chewable thing is. Your job is to make the bed the obvious choice. That starts with placement, moves to positive association, and ends with patience. I’ve done this with both of my dogs, and I’ve helped friends do it with theirs. Here’s what actually works.
Start with the Coolaroo if you have a digger
Let me get this out of the way first. The Coolaroo Elevated Dog Bed is the one I recommend when someone says “my dog is hot” or “my dog chews everything.” The elevated design gets the dog off the hot porch surface, and the woven mesh fabric breathes.
Biscuit has had one for three years now, and it’s the only bed he hasn’t systematically dismantled. The frame is aluminum.
The fabric holds up to claws. Buyers report 7 to 10 year lifespans, and Carolyn L., who has owned Coolaroos for ten years, told me the frame finally broke after three but the cover was still in great shape.
But the assembly is a genuine problem. The last bolt sits under tension, and it fights you. I nearly threw mine across the garage. The trick, which I learned from a buyer named Ang, is to leave wiggle room.
Do not tighten any bolt fully until all of them are in. Ang figured this out after struggling with her first one: “The first one was harder because I tightened each bolt down as I went, but you have to leave a little space for wiggle room to get the last bolt in because the bed is tight.” That’s the secret.
The second bed goes together in half the time.
There’s also a design flaw with the plastic nest pieces that hold the bars. They’re not attached to the caps, so you need a second person to hold them in place while you screw. One buyer glued them down with E6000 before assembling. I did the same thing. It works. Don’t skip that step.
For a puppy, the Coolaroo is great because it’s not warm and fuzzy. It’s just a comfortable place to be. My dogs choose it in summer over the padded beds. If it gets cold, throw a berber pad on top. The large size fits an 85 to 90 pound Goldendoodle perfectly, so a golden retriever will have room to grow into it.
The MidWest QuietTime is a mat, not a bed
Here’s the thing about the QuietTime Deluxe Pad: it is not non-skid. Multiple buyers, including sgt. pepper and Customer2011, report the same issue. It slides around on every surface. A dog scratching at it will bunch it up in the corner of the crate in seconds. I watched Maple do exactly that.
It’s also much thinner than the photos suggest. LFP said “not much cushioning for dog to sleep on.” For a large-breed puppy, that’s a problem. A 60 to 95 pound golden carries weight on their elbows and hips when they lie down. A bed that thin means they’re effectively sleeping on the floor. I’ve seen the elbow calluses and the stiffness that comes from that. I won’t recommend it as a primary bed.
But it’s not useless. It washes and dries easily, and it’s cheap. I use one in the kitchen for Maple to supervise cooking. One buyer, José Miguel León Santos, uses it as a waterproof barrier when the floor is wet.
That’s the right use case. It’s a floor mat, a crate liner for a puppy who will outgrow it, or a base layer under a real bed.
If you’re using it in a MidWest crate, get the next size up. GSDGal reported it ran at least an inch too small all around and returned it.
The sides also curl after washing. sgt. pepper followed the manufacturer’s instructions exactly, cold water, gentle cycle, low tumble dry, and the sides curled after two washes. That’s not user error. That’s a design flaw.
The training method that worked for me
Here’s what I did with Maple, and what I tell friends to do with their puppies.
First, put the bed somewhere the puppy already wants to be. For Maple, that was next to my desk while I worked. Not in the crate, not in the corner, but where the action was. Puppies want to be near you. If the bed is where you are, they’ll choose it.
Second, make the bed rewarding. Toss a treat on it every time you walk past. Let them discover it. Don’t force them onto it. Forced placement creates a fight. Voluntary use creates a habit. I’ve seen this play out a hundred times.
Third, if the puppy digs at the bed, redirect. A bed digger is normal. Biscuit is the worst bed digger I’ve ever met. He scratches and paws at his bed before lying down, and that’s the number one cause of premature cover failure. The Coolaroo handles it because the mesh doesn’t bunch. The QuietTime doesn’t. If you have a digger, skip the soft pads and go elevated.
Fourth, don’t leave the puppy unsupervised with a new bed. The first week is the highest risk window for chewing. After that, most puppies settle. Biscuit once dismantled a “chew-proof” bed in 14 minutes flat. I timed it. That bed cost me $60 and lasted less than a day. The Coolaroo has lasted three years.
What about the K&H Cool Bed III?
I’m still evaluating this one. The concept is sound: a pressure-activated cooling pad that doesn’t need refrigeration. It’s useful for hot climates where an elevated bed isn’t practical. But the review data is polarized.
Three 5-star reviews, two 1-star reviews, and mixed in between. That tells me there’s inconsistency. I want to know more about long-term durability before I recommend it.
Biscuit’s summer sleeping habits are the perfect research subject, so I’ll have an answer eventually.
For now, if you’re choosing between the Coolaroo and the Cool Bed III, go with the Coolaroo. The evidence is stronger.
Cost-per-day math you can’t ignore
I do this arithmetic in every review because it matters. A $60 bed that lasts three years, which is 1,095 days, costs 5.5 cents a day. A $30 mat that lasts six months costs 16 cents a day. The more expensive bed is cheaper. You just pay for it all at once.
The Coolaroo is the better value even though it costs twice as much upfront. The replacement covers are inexpensive and easy to find. When the cover finally wears out, you don’t buy a new bed. You buy a new cover. That’s the difference between a product and an investment.
My honest bottom line
Train the dog, not the bed. Put the bed where the puppy already wants to be, make it rewarding, and don’t force it. If you have a digger or a chewer, buy the Coolaroo and learn the wiggle-room trick before you start. If you need a cheap washable mat for the kitchen or as a temporary crate liner, the QuietTime is fine for that. Just don’t call it non-skid, because it isn’t.
I don’t track prices day to day, so I won’t pretend to know next week’s deals. But I know what survived my dogs, my washing machine, and my skepticism. Start with the Coolaroo.