An adult dog sleeps up to 8 hours a day, and a cat sleeps up at least 12 hours. Pet sleep products have become a niche market in the pet business. According to the use environment, dog or cat sleeping habits, there are various types of pet beds. The core of a pet bed is the stuffing and filling, and if the dog bed is to be used outdoors, the stuffing must be light and easy to fold. For kneading cats, the inside stuffing must be full and soft. In this article, you will learn about the 12 common types of bed fillings on the market, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each filling. We hope this will help you in your pet’s business.

1. Polyester Fiberfill

Polyester fiberfill is the most common filling used in commercial dog beds, it mimics the soft and lightweight qualities of down filling, is washable, lightweight and is the most affordable, but it can easily be compressed and lumpy.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Affordable
• Washable
• Hypoallergenic and less likely to cause allergies in pets
• The fluffy softness of polyester fiberfill provides a soft and comfortable sleeping experience for your pet.
• Keeps pets warm. 
• Sufficient support for small dogs or large breed puppies

Cons:

• Tends to retain odour.
• After long-term use or washing, the fillings tend to clump and be compressed together and need to be patted and adjusted to recover a comfortable fluffy fit.
• Retain heat and no cool in summer

Commonly used: 

• Dog pillows, pet stuffed toys, pet beds

2. Non-woven Polyester Batting 

Non-woven poly batting is a filler derived from poly fibre fill and has all the qualities of poly-fil, such as warmth, lightness and washability, but with a neater shape, suitable for dog beds with a flat surface or for outdoor dog mattress pads that need to be portable.

Pros:

• Affordable
• Washable
• Lightweight, easy to carry
• Hypoallergenic and less likely to cause allergies in pets

Cons:

• Thinner after multiple washing and loses warmth

Commonly used: 

• pet quilts, pet crate mats, etc.

3. EPE Foam Sheet

EPE Foam Sheet, also called Expanded Polyethylene foam, is a new environmentally friendly plastic material, originally used as a protective packaging material for products, but due to its lightweight, waterproof, non-absorbent and good keeping performance, many outdoor pet pads use EPE foam as its stuffing.

Pros:

• Water and moisture resistant
• Helps keep pets warm in the cooling season.
• No odour
• Rebounce easily, the dog bed will not lose its shape over time
• Portable

Cons:

• Not compressible making this type of filling costly to transport

Commonly used: 

•  Waterproof outdoor shelters

Foam

Foam is the second most commonly used filling in pet beds and varies in the production process to produce various types of filling for specific types of dog beds, which certainly has an impact on the cost. The thicker, denser foam is ideal for many dogs as it provides great support. Foam-filled dog mattresses last longer and are more costly. However, foam beds all have common disadvantages, one is the strong smell of a brand new foam, and the second is the yellowing of the original white foam after exposure to air for a long time until the entire foam filling became yellow. Even if the buyer can tolerate the awful smell of the foam after the foam is completely turned yellow it will be discarded by the pet owner. The following is a short description of the advantages and disadvantages of different foam dog beds.

4. Traditional Foams

Pros:

• Varies colors
• The bed with foam offer great support than other non-foam filled 
• Affordable price
• Long-lasting lifespan

Cons:

• Low-density foam flattened after prolonged use
• Strong chemical odour
• Yellowing.

5. Egg-shaped Foam

The use of egg-shaped foam as a padded bed can provide good support for your pet’s joints, but also better breathability due to its unique design that enhances airflow, making it ideal for summer use. The price is also lower than memory foam. The egg-shaped foam is one of the many cut-shaped sponges, which can be defined as a kind of foam hairstyle. The egg-shaped foam is not the same as memory foam, but memory foam can be styled as egg-shaped. Many businesses use ordinary foams cut into egg-shaped but claim to be memory egg-shaped foams.

Pros:

• Sufficient support and help for relieving pressure
• Dissipation of heat

Cons:

• Not washable. 
• Low-density foam will be compressed after prolonged use
• New foam with the heavy chemical smell
• Yellowing

6. Memory Foam

Memory foam was designed by NASA in the 1970s to protect pilots and passengers of aircraft. And then the memory foam was widely used in human mattresses and pet mattresses thanks to its conformability, which means it can be shaped according to the body sleeping on it, providing good support and excellent pressure relief.

Pros:

• No clumping problems like polyester fiberfill
• Great support for your pet’s joints and other pressure joints, relieving suffering from the joint disease in canines
• Lasts longer than standard foam. Can be seen as a long-term investment in your pet’s health.

Cons:

• Much more expensive than other fillings, costing 1.3-1.5 times more than regular foam
• Trapping heat and leads to an uncomfortable sleep
• Strong chemical odour
• Yellowing

7. Orthopedic Foam

Pros:

• supports canine joint and bones and the whole body, relieves pain

Cons:

• None of the materials is certificated orthopedic and is often used as a promotional trick by dishonest businesses.
• Strong chemical odour
• yellowing

8. Gel Foam

Gel foam is an upgraded version of memory foam, in the production process the gel is pumped into the memory foam, making the gel memory foam more breathable, the use of this stuffing foam pet mattress can help pets regulate their own body temperature, fit the curve of the pet’s body to provide effective support.

Pros:

• Supportive
• Regulate pets’ temperature at sleeping by absorbing and releasing heat

Cons:

• High price 
• Less heat preservation performance than memory foam
• Strong odour

9. Shredded Memory Foam

Shredded Memory Foam combines the supportive, shaping qualities of memory foam, yet with a lower price. If you want to provide your dog with a high support bed, but considering the cost and your pet like the security of a nesting bed like a donut bed, then using a shredded foam-filled is a good choice.

Pros:

• Lower price
• Supportive
• Softer
• Dissipation of heat

Cons:

• Need to be pat the filling evenly before use or affect the experience
• Once leaked, clean-up will be a problem
• The yellowing and thin foam will make you feel that the bed is cheap.

Pellets Foam

Pros:

• Breathability
• Affordable

Cons:

• Need to be pat evenly before using the padding otherwise it affects the experience of using it.
• Once leaked, clean-up will be a problem

10. 4D POE Fiber Cushion

The use of POE cushion as a pet bed filler has become more popular in recent years. POE’s Noodle design allows air to flow freely, so if your dog likes to sleep directly against his belly on the floor in the summer, but you feel that the ground is too wet and may lead to dog skin disease, then consider buying a POE filled. This material can be flushed directly with water and dried in the shade.

Pros:

• Cool and breathable, fast heat dissipation
• Washable and easy to take care of
• Lightweight
• Help to reduce dog body pressure
• Sufficient support and no collapse

Cons:

• High price
• Not compressible, high shipping costs, increased costs.

11. Cedar Chips

Dog beds made with cedar chips or cedar shavings are more commonly in farms or breeding facilities. Because this type of stuffing can effectively repel fleas and other insects, and the price is low.

Pros:

• Cheap
• Repel fleas
• Maintain pets’ body temperature

Cons:

• Irritates dogs sensitive nose 

12. Old clothes/Clean Rags

A dog bed made of pet owners’ clothes is a minimal cost, easy to make,  environmentally friendly and almost no canine or feline will say NO to. For the four-legged, the smell of the owner is the most relieving, and the clothing offers warmth better than else fillings. And whatever you use for stuffing, make sure it stays safely inside the bed. Glitter, buttons and zippers are small parts that can potentially cause choking hazards for your pet, so be careful.

Pros:

• Environmental-friendly 
• No expense required
• Easy to DIY
• Warm and pet favour

Cons:

• High workload when washing

The above 12 types of dog bed stuffing almost cover the filling that is used in the current market of pet beds, if there is a filling you want to know more about, we are very happy to have an in-depth discussion with you. Starting a business is risky and you need to have knowledge of every detail of the pet product’s composition. In the next article, we will introduce several commonly used dog bed fabrics. If there is anything else you would like to know about pet bed products, feel free to leave a comment below.