Summer Dog Bed

One of the biggest drawbacks to having a hobby that is also my job (sewing, crafting) is that I rarely get to make things just for fun anymore. If I'm making something, it's usually to sell. But this summer, I've allowed myself to "goof off" a bit and have enjoyed making some things for me.

Well, not for ME per se, but at least not for sale. Last month, I made quilts for my sister and my mother-in-law for their birthdays. I had so much fun making them that I've gotten a bit stuck in the quilting mode.

I bought this dog bed for $3 almost a year ago. I love the soft sherpa cover, but it was decidedly too wintery and in need of a summer makeover.

Using this "charm pack" (a little package of 42 pre-cut 5" squares of assorted coordinating fabrics) and an old pure linen tablecloth, I spent this afternoon happily busy doing TWO things I enjoy--being creative AND spoiling Cabana.

Voila, a new summer dog bed cover! It's so light and cheerful to look at and probably much less hot for Cabana to lay on. Plus, like all good dog bed covers, it has a zipper so I can remove the stuffing for washing.

Best of all, since the linen tablecloth was re-purposed, and the fabric charm pack cost $5.40 (regularly $8.99, but I used a 40% off coupon at Beverly's), this dog bed, while almost twice the cost of the original $3 cover, was still quite a bargain.

Does Cabana love it? I don't know, she probably couldn't care less. BUT I love it! So I guess I was really just spoiling myself, which is okay. It's summer, I'm allowed to goof off!

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Tuesday Topics 1 - Sleeping at Night

Here's Cabana napping during the day. As you can see, she likes to get RIGHT in front of the space heater. Although I don't need to tell you that the z's were added in with the beauty of Photoshop, they are a mere shadow of the real snoring that Cabana produces. This puppy's snoring can put a 300-pound beer-drunken sailor to shame.

With my Tuesday Topics posts, I'd like to ask other puppy raisers out there some questions. Because I am a new puppy raiser, there are so many things that I don't know, and I'd love to know what others do.

So here's my question for this week. Where does your puppy sleep at night? In a crate? On a dog bed? With or without a tie down? In your bedroom or another part of the house? And why do you have the puppy sleep there? Does it help with a problem? What's the best scenario for getting to sleep in a bit on weekends?!

We put Cabana in her crate at about 10pm, and she sleeps all night without any problems. Not a peep. At about 6:30am, we get up and let her out to do her business. She might be able to wait longer than that, but I get worried that she's getting uncomfortable. Her crate is downstairs in our family room. As I said, she's a loud snorer, so I don't think we can have her sleep in our bedroom because I'll never get any sleep.

But I wonder when/if we should transition her to a dog bed. I'd like to, but I don't know if that will work for us since she's not in our room at night. And I won't be able to leave her on a tie down since she'll be unsupervised....

Please leave me a comment with where your puppy sleeps. I'd love to hear from a few of you, and I thank you in advance for your input!!

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