Couch & Bolstered Dog Beds

A “bolster” bed refers to any bed that has at least one raised edge, creating a soft, elevated place for your dog to either rest their head, elevate their feet, or lean up against. Bolster beds are most commonly available with three raised sides (sofa style, with a pillowed edge along the back and sides of the bed) or fully encompassed (den style, with bolsters that follow every edge of the bed). When a bolster bed has a raised edge along multiple sides, it allows your dog to really snuggle into the space and feel safe and secure. 

K9 Ballistics Bolster Beds come in the following varieties:

Rectangle Bolster

Our classic bolster bed, the Rectangle Bolster Bed has a rectangular-shaped footprint and a bolster that lines the back and sides of the bed to give it a couch or sofa-like appearance. This bed features your choice of mattress: firm, solid foam orthopedic (good for big breeds, heavy dogs, and senior pups) or shredded foam pillow (good for smaller breeds, lighter dogs, and any pups that like to nestle down into their bedding). The bed is made up of three separate components: the cover, with an internal compartment for the bolster and an exterior, exposed zipper along the outer edge of the base of the bed, the rectangle mattress, and a U-shaped bolster pillow. The bolster pillow is filled with shredded foam to keep it plump and supportive even when your dog leans against it.

Oval Bolster

The Oval Bolster Pillow Dog bed is a rounded, den-style bed with a raised bolster wall that almost fully surrounds the perimeter of the bed. It features an opening in the wall at the front of the bed for easier access, and allows dogs to poke their head or feet out if desired. The pillow mattress is made from shredded foam for a soft but supportive feel, while the bolster wall is densely filled with fiberfill batting. Unlike the rectangle bolster bed, this style has only two components—the pillow mattress, and the cover with a sewn-in bolster wall. 

Giant 7” Bolster

As the name suggests, our Giant 7” Orthopedic Bolster bed was made for the truly giant breeds. This bed features a massive, 7” thick mattress of pure, solid foam, providing super dense and supportive comfort for the pups who need it most. It tends to work best for dogs that are at least 80 lbs, but if your dog likes a pretty firm surface, it can also work for lighter pups. This bed comes in XL and XXL sizes only, and features a headrest-style bolster made from shredded foam at one end. Just like with the rectangle bolster bed, this bed breaks down into three components: a rectangular mattress of solid foam, a bolster pillow made from soft shredded foam, and a cover with an interior compartment for that bolster pillow. 

Sizing Considerations

When it comes to bolster beds, the raised pillow edge usually cuts into the available sleeping surface of the bed. This means that bolster sizes technically run smaller than non-bolstered sizes for beds that have identical footprints. It’s important to check the size guide and compare your dog’s size against the sleeping dimensions of the bed, rather than the outer dimensions. For dogs with longer bodies, or those that land just on the cusp between sizes, it’s usually best to go up a size.

Durability Notes

Bolster beds maximize comfort and are a very popular choice, but their design does come with some durability concessions. A raised bolster adds a lot of extra edges, seams, and corners for a chewer to latch onto and gnaw away at, which means that this kind of bed tends to fare more poorly against a frequent chewer than a non-bolstered bed. Additionally, because of the way the bolster affects assembly, bolster bed covers have semi-exposed zippers that can make for an easy target for dogs, especially those that like to hunt down and rip apart zippers. 

For dogs that tend to chew on their beds, we recommend either a non-bolstered bed like our Tough Ripstop Rectangle Orthopedic Dog Bed (which still has some corners, so keep corner-chewers supervised) or our Tough Ripstop Round Pillow Dog Bed, which has no corners and is thus the best cushioned option for a dog that tends to bite or gnaw at those areas. For heavy, persistent chewers, only the Chew Proof Armored series will do, as those beds have no exposed seams, edges, or corners to latch onto, and the bed sling is pulled taut so that there are no wrinkles or folds to attack, either.