This guide is all about veterinary beddingand how to tell that you're getting the genuine article. It is aimedmainly for pet owners, but Vet bed can be used for baby, nursery, home furnishings and disabled or bed use!
Way back in the early 70s, (probably earlier) someone ( Iwont say who but Inow know who it is)invented an imitation sheepskin fleece to protect people from bed sores and nasty infections caused from being bedridden. It wasknownas MEDICAL FLEECE
This was used extensively in hospitals and is to this day. The idea was it didnt hold bugs, could be boiled for cleaning so soiling by the patients wasnt a problem. People with allergies were safe on it as it was hypo allergenic.So Medi fleece was invented. As happened with the brand name of sticky tape,"sellotape", it was soon was being made byvarious brand names like Medi pad, Hospital fleece, Pro pad,Dry bedetc etc.
Then a bright sparkdecided to sell it to avet for injured animals who were recouperating from their operations and so VETERINARY BEDDING was born. It was soon apparent that this amazing stuff was handy for a bit more than just post op care for dogs. The Breeders screamed out for it. Kennels and catteries couldnt manage without it. It took the pet world by stormThe same happened in the dog world with the trade names and suddenly we had.. Pro Fleece, Vet, Bed, Medi bed. Dry Bed.. erm me Bedding Box Vet Fleece.
The basic make up of vet bed is a tough latex lined backing and a 1.5 " thick imitation sheepskin top. The idea is any moisture runs straight through the fibres thus keeping the dog, cat, animal, or human, dry and comfortable.
THE TECHNICAL BIT
The amount of fibres per square inch provides the support. This is measured in weight GSM
An average veterinray bedding should be between 1200 and 1450 GSM. This is a medium weight vet bed and the one you are most likely to find on sale.
The lightweight one is around 850 - 1000 gsm. its like the fleece you get on a cheap paint roller. THATS BECAUSE IT IS THE STUFF YOU GET ON A PAINT ROLLER. It wont give any support, due to the thinness of it, it cannot stay dry on the surface as efficiently as the medium weight. Its not designed to do the same job as true vet bed, so it wont. Another way to tell its paint roller fabric is the backing is very flimsy, and doesnt have the latex coating also its rarely green backed, more often than not white or similar colour to the sheepskin side
The heavy weight is around 1600 gsm and its not often seen on general sale and has to be ordered. WHY? Becausethe heavy weight doesnt actually do much more than the medium except it will give more support. Its ideal for giant breeds with elbow problems, but other than that the mid range is perfect for every day use.
HOW DO I KNOW I AM GETTING A REAL VET BED?
Ok first and formost a few old wives tales..
"VET BED is only genuine if it has a green back"
Erm.. RUBBISH! It can be any colour you like. It was originally made under the brand name of VET BEDfor the company "pet life"wth a green back. It was put in very fancy packaging and to this day is sold in pet shops. It is the most expensive around, but it is the same as all the other vet beds and does all the same things.. To prove this, vet bed was and still is being sold at dog shows by the sheet for half the price or less than you would pay for the same thing with pet life. So pet life had a lovely idea and had the backing made YELLOW, re packaged it and went on a huge marketting campaign to re sell the "original" vet bed, now with extra special properties under the new name of "Vet bed gold". The one good thing about pet life vet bed is you can get the odd sizes and oval shapes from them, but they are still the most expensive on the market.
Well the obvious happened and yellow backed vet bed sprung up at the shows. Interestingly enough its not as popular, as people had been told so many times only green back was the genuine vet bed, and so they were wary of this new yellow backed vet bed. So thats how the rumour started that only genuine vet bed had a green back
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Genuine VET BED is white?
WRONG again. Originally you could only get white. Then came grey, then brown. Vet bed was then re branded by another company and blue
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