How to Wash and Care for Your Bully Bed Covers

Quick answer

Unzip the cover, shake off loose hair and debris outside, then machine wash it on a gentle cycle in cold water and air dry it flat or line dry. Skip the dryer and skip bleach. If your dog is rough on the bed, a heavy duty replacement cover protects the bed underneath, so the cover takes the wear instead of the whole bed.

Dog bed covers get dirty faster than most people expect. Oils from your dog's coat, drool, dirt from the yard, and the occasional accident all work into the fabric, and if you let it sit, the smell settles in and the zipper starts to gum up.

The good news is that the covers sold for Bully Beds are built to come off and go back on. This guide walks through a wash routine you can repeat every few weeks, plus the small habits that keep a washable dog bed cover fitting and lasting longer.

Before you wash: prep the cover

Start by removing the cover from the bed. The covers zip on and off, so there is no need to wrestle the whole bed into a machine. Take the cover outside or over a trash can and shake it out to remove loose hair, kibble crumbs, and grit. A rubber glove or a damp rubber brush pulls embedded hair off microfiber far better than your hand.

Check the zipper and seams while the cover is off. Run the zipper open and closed once to feel for grit or a bent tooth, and look at the corners where your dog digs and circles. Catching a small seam pull now is much cheaper than discovering it after a wash cycle turns it into a tear.

• Common mistake: washing the cover still zipped shut, which traps hair and dirt inside the drum and stresses the zipper.
• If the cover is heavily soiled, pre-treat spots with a pet-safe enzyme cleaner and let it sit for ten minutes.

Washing: cold water, gentle cycle

Wash the cover alone or with other pet bedding, not with towels that shed lint into the fabric. Use cold water on a gentle or delicate cycle with a mild detergent. Skip bleach and skip fabric softener. Bleach breaks down fibers over time, and softener leaves a residue that can reduce the water resistance of treated fabrics.

If your cover is a chew-resistant model made from heavy 600 denier fabric, it is water resistant, which means water beads on the surface rather than soaking straight through. That same quality means you should not over-soak it or leave it sitting wet in the drum after the cycle ends.

• Checkpoint: if the wash water runs dark brown on the first cycle, run a second short rinse cycle with no detergent.
• Do not overload the machine. One large cover per load gives it room to move and rinse clean.

Drying: air dry, no exceptions

Lay the cover flat on a drying rack or drape it over a line. Air drying protects the fabric, the zipper, and the shape of the cover. A dryer on high heat is the fastest way to shrink a cover, warp a zipper, and dull the surface of a water-resistant fabric.

If you are in a hurry, point a fan at the cover or hang it in a room with good airflow. Flip it once halfway through so both sides dry evenly. In humid weather, give it extra time. A cover that feels dry on the outside can still be damp at the seams, and putting a damp cover back on the bed invites mildew.

• Common mistake: tossing the cover in the dryer on low heat and assuming it is safe. Even low heat shortens the life of the fabric.
• Checkpoint: press a dry hand into the seam allowance. If it feels cool or clammy, it is not dry yet.

Reassembling and spot cleaning between washes

Once the cover is fully dry, slide it back over the bed and zip it closed, working from one corner to the next so the fit stays even. If the cover is tight, do not force the zipper. Check that the bed insert is seated correctly inside the cover before you pull the zipper shut.

Between full washes, spot clean. A damp cloth with mild soap handles drool marks and paw prints in a minute. For a heavy duty dog bed cover with a water-resistant finish, wiping is often all it needs. Full washes every two to four weeks are usually enough unless your dog is a heavy shedder, a drooler, or prone to accidents.

• Keep a spare cover on hand so the bed is never out of service while one cover dries.
• If your dog chews, do not leave the cover off the bed unattended. An exposed insert is more tempting to a bored dog.

When it is time to replace the cover, not the bed

Covers wear out. Zippers fail, seams pull, and fabric thins at the corners where your dog digs. When that happens, you do not need a new bed. Replacement covers are sold separately for the standard orthopedic bed, the 3 sided bolster bed, and chew-resistant crate pads, so you can refresh the top layer and keep the bed you already own.

This is also the practical reason to keep covers in rotation. A cover that takes the daily abuse keeps the bed insert cleaner and drier, and swapping in a fresh cover is faster than waiting on a wash cycle.

• Checkpoint: if the zipper has failed twice on the same cover, replace the cover rather than repairing it again.
• Match the cover to the bed style. Standard, bolster, and crate pad covers are shaped differently and are not interchangeable.

Your repeatable cover washing routine

1. Step 1: Unzip and shake out: Remove the cover, take it outside, and shake or brush out loose hair and grit before it ever touches the machine. Checkpoint: no visible clumps of hair left in the seams or corners.
2. Step 2: Inspect the zipper and seams: Run the zipper once and look at the corners. Note any pulls or thinning so you can decide whether to repair or replace. A failed zipper is the most common reason a cover gets retired.
3. Step 3: Wash cold on gentle: Wash alone or with other pet bedding, cold water, mild detergent, no bleach, no fabric softener. Checkpoint: rinse again if the water still runs dirty.
4. Step 4: Air dry completely: Lay flat or line dry, flipping once. No dryer, even on low heat. Checkpoint: seams feel dry to the touch, not cool or clammy.
5. Step 5: Reassemble and spot clean between washes: Zip the dry cover back on, seating the insert evenly. Wipe drool and paw marks with a damp cloth as they happen. Full washes every two to four weeks suit most dogs.
6. Step 6: Replace the cover when it wears out: When the zipper or seams fail, order a replacement cover sized to your specific bed style rather than replacing the bed. Keep a spare cover so the bed is never out of service.

Covers that make washing easier

• Original Orthopedic Bully Bed Covers: Super soft but durable microfiber, washable and removable, zips on and off with ease, available in tan, gray or chocolate. This is a cover only, not a complete bed. The zip-on design is what makes a regular wash routine realistic. You remove the cover, not the whole bed.
• Heavy Duty Covers For Our Original Bully Beds: Made from super strong 600 denier fabric, water resistant, available in all sizes from medium to XXL. These only fit the standard orthopedic beds. If your dog is rough on their bed, this cover takes the wear and adds a water-resistant layer, which also means less soaking and faster air drying.
• 3 Sided Bolster Bed Covers: Super soft but durable microfiber, washable and removable, zips on and off with ease, available in gray or chocolate. Sizes are matched to specific 3 sided bed dimensions. Bolster covers are cut to fit the raised edges, so measure your bed before ordering instead of guessing by bed size name.
• Chew Resistant Crate Pad Covers: Covers to fit the chew resistant crate pads, available in khaki or gray. Covers only do not carry the damage replacement warranty that the crate pads do. Worth knowing before you buy: the warranty sits with the pad, not the cover, so treat the cover as the replaceable layer.

A washable dog bed cover only stays washable if you treat it well. Cold water, gentle cycle, air dry, and a quick inspection each time will keep the fabric and zipper working for far longer than a hot wash and a dryer ever will.