Dog blanket for the car, the sofa or the dogbed

Which blanket goes where?

After the walk it is always the same. The dog passes the kitchen, glances at the sofa, then picks the bed. Or the other way round. What he picks depends on where his scent is and where it happens to be softest at that moment. A dog blanket is a small but useful thing in that routine: you move your dog's place without carrying the whole bed.

Only, not every blanket works equally well everywhere. A blanket that stays in place in the car is too thick for a small bed. A thin fleece you put in the crate does little on a linen sofa. So here we look at the three situations we get the most questions about: the car, the sofa and the bed.

Why one dog blanket rarely fits everywhere

A dog uses a blanket in three ways. He lies on it, he digs in it, or he crawls under it. Sif, the dachshund the workshop is named after, roots around for half a minute first and then curls up with the edge of the blanket over her back. Other dogs stretch out and want the blanket flat. A dog that digs needs strong seams. A dog that crawls underneath wants a blanket supple enough to wrap himself in. A dog that only lies down chooses by warmth and scent.

Then there is the place. In the car everything moves, on the sofa the blanket lies on upholstery fabric, in the bed it sits in a round shape of Ø50 or Ø60 cm. Three places, three sets of demands. That is why many people end up with two blankets after a few months: one for the car and one for the sofa.

Dog blanket for the car: safe first, then comfortable

A dog blanket for the car is what most people look for, and also where the biggest misunderstanding sits. A blanket protects the upholstery and gives your dog a recognisable place. A blanket does not hold your dog in place during an emergency stop. A well-fitting car harness or a sturdy crate does that. The RSPCA explains on its page on restraining dogs in the car why an unrestrained dog is a risk to himself and to everyone else in the car. Read that first. The blanket comes after.

Back seat, crate or boot

On the back seat, a dog blanket usually goes on top of a cover that protects the whole seat. The cover catches the sand and the water, the blanket is the layer your dog actually lies on. After a wet walk you only take the blanket indoors. A 70 x 100 cm blanket fits one seat of the back bench, next to the harness.

In a crate, the blanket is the floor. Here a blanket that is not too thick wins, so the dog keeps room to turn. Fold a teddy blanket double for a small crate, or lay it flat in a larger one. In the boot, with a kennel or a divider, the same applies. The blanket stays in place better if it is slightly larger than the floor, so the corners fold up against the sides.

Why the scent of the blanket matters in the car

A dog that travels badly often settles on something that smells of home. That is why the blanket that lies on the sofa during the week makes a better travel blanket at the weekend than a new one out of the packaging. You bring his place along, not just a piece of fabric. So do not wash the blanket right before a long drive, but after.

What a teddy dog blanket in the car is not: a protective cover for a dog that comes out of the ditch soaking wet. Use an old towel for that. The blanket is for lying on.

Dog blanket for the sofa: hair, texture and the rest of the room

With a dog blanket for the sofa, it is less about the dog and more about you. The dog is perfectly happy on the sofa without a blanket. You want the sofa to still look good in three years, without a blanket you whisk away as soon as guests arrive.

That is why, for a sofa blanket, we always look at the fabric and colour of the sofa itself first. A blanket in the colour of a curtain or a cushion you already own disappears into the room. The Teddy Sand dog blanket comes in a natural sand tone that sits quietly on a linen or light grey sofa. The Teddy Brown dog blanket is slightly warmer in colour and suits wood and warmer tones. The merino wool dog blanket, also in Sand, is the thinner and smoother of the two. All three are 70 x 100 cm, large enough for a corner of the sofa, small enough not to take over the whole seat.

On the sofa we choose merino wool more often than teddy. A wool blanket lies flat, looks like a throw that would be there even without a dog, and wool stays fresh between two washes. Teddy is the choice when the sofa mainly needs to catch hair: the full pile holds the hair instead of letting it roll across the seat. At wash time the hair goes into the machine with the blanket, and the sofa stays clean.

A scene we hear back often: people come over for dinner, the dog stays on the sofa, and nobody asks why there is a dog blanket lying there. That is exactly the point. A blanket you do not have to explain.

A blanket in the dog bed: when it helps and when it does not

The bed already has a lining. So why add a blanket to your dog's bed? For two reasons: the seasons and the digging.

In winter a small dog wants more than a lining. A folded teddy blanket in the bed makes a higher nest, with the edges turned up, so the dog decides for himself whether to pull the edge over his back or not. In spring you swap the teddy for the thinner merino wool blanket, and in summer the blanket comes out and the bed stays airier. The bed stays the same, the season changes.

For dogs that like to root around before lying down, a loose blanket is also an outlet. They can push it about and bunch it up without the lining underneath suffering. Just make sure the blanket is not too large for the bed. A 70 x 100 cm blanket fits a Ø60 bed folded double, and a Ø50 bed folded in three. If you are unsure about the size of the bed itself, the sizing page explains how to measure and which breeds generally fit S or M.

There is one situation in which we advise against a blanket in the bed: a puppy that eats everything. Wait until the chewing phase is over, or only put the blanket down when you are there.

If you travel without a bed, to a hotel or a guest room, you can also look at the Pouch Roll instead of a blanket, a roll-up dog sleeping bag of 60 x 70 cm with a chenille outside and a faux fur inside. In a hotel room it does what the blanket does at home: the dog's own place, with his own scent, on an unfamiliar floor.

Which fabric for which situation

Not every dog throw is made of the same material, and the fabric largely decides whether a blanket stays where you put it. This is what we see in the workshop.

At Studio Sif we make the blankets in two fabrics. Teddy, because it is warm enough for the bed and holds the hair. Merino wool, because a wool dog blanket is thinner, lies flat and stays fresh longer between two washes. A throw for your dog does not need three functions, but it helps when one blanket can handle two. Both are in the dog blankets collection. If you would like to see the teddy fabric as a bed first, you will find it in the Teddy collection.

Washing and care: 30 degrees and patience

A blanket that goes everywhere gets dirty. That is fine. The Studio Sif teddy blankets go in the washing machine at 30 degrees, with a mild detergent. The merino wool blanket is washed on the wool cycle or at 30 degrees, with a wool detergent and a low spin. We skip the dryer for both: hang the blanket on the line or lay it flat on a drying rack. The same goes for the beds and sleeping bags, as described on the wash and care page.

What we add to that: wash less often than your instinct tells you. Brush sand and dried mud off teddy and off wool as soon as it is dry. A blanket that only smells of dog goes outside for an afternoon. Wool benefits most from this, it airs out by itself. Every wash is one less in the life of the fabric, and the scent you wash out is exactly the scent that kept your dog calm in the car.

Common mistakes when choosing a dog blanket

The first mistake is choosing by the photo instead of by the place. Measure where the blanket will go first: the back seat, the crate or the bed each ask for a different size and thickness.

The second is buying a blanket as a substitute for something else. A blanket does not replace a harness in the car, a cover for a wet dog, or a bed for a dog that needs an edge to lean against. If your dog always presses against the edge of his bed, he is looking for boundaries, not a layer. In that case, first read where your dog prefers to sleep.

The third is colour. A dog blanket you bought because it was cheerful is in the cupboard after a month. A blanket in a colour you would also choose for a cushion stays out.

Conclusion

You choose a dog blanket by place. In the car it is the familiar layer under a properly secured dog, on the sofa the fabric that leaves the room intact, in the bed the extra layer for winter or for digging. Teddy for the cold months and the hair, merino wool for the sofa and the rest of the year. One blanket can handle all three places, as long as you mind the size and the colour of the room. If your dog's place moves around more than one blanket can keep up with, look next at the dog sleeping bags or at a bed with handles from the Pooch Pouch collection. But start by watching. How your dog lies tells you which dog blanket he needs.

Frequently asked questions

Which dog blanket is suitable for the car?

A blanket your dog already knows from the sofa or the bed, so he finds his own scent in the car. Put it in the crate, in the kennel or on a cover over the back seat. The blanket is the place to lie, the harness or crate is the safety measure.

Can a dog blanket go in the dog bed?

Yes, folded double in a Ø60 bed and folded in three in a Ø50 bed. In winter the blanket adds a layer, in summer you take it out. With puppies that chew fabric, wait until that phase is over.

How do you wash a teddy dog blanket?

In the washing machine at 30 degrees with a mild detergent. Not in the dryer, but on the line or flat on a drying rack. Brush dry sand off first and only wash when it is needed.

Can a wool dog blanket go in the washing machine?

Yes, the Studio Sif merino wool blanket goes on the wool cycle or at 30 degrees, with a wool detergent and a low spin. Dry it flat and keep it out of the dryer. In between, an afternoon outside is usually enough.

Is a dog blanket the same as a car seat cover for dogs?

No. A car seat cover for dogs covers the whole back seat or boot and protects the upholstery. A dog blanket is smaller and softer, and is meant to lie on. Many people use both: the cover underneath, the blanket on top.