Edition 7. How to Measure Your Dog for a Bed, or Anything They Rest In

Most of us guess our dog’s size from the breed. A soft tape and one nap will tell you more than any breed chart can.

Why the breed isn’t enough

Two dogs of the same breed can be inches apart. Breed websites often give a taller height, taken with the head up and alert. The only measurement that counts is your own dog’s.

So when we size a residence, we don’t start from the breed. We start from three numbers and a photo, and you can use the same four things for anything your dog rests in.

Three numbers and a photo

• Length. From the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, with your dog standing calmly on a flat floor. The base is where the tail joins the body, the point where it starts to move when they wag. Stop there, not at the end of the tail.
• Standing height. From the floor to the crown of the head, with your dog standing normally and the head not raised. If their ears stand up, measure to the ear tips as well.
• The curl. Wait until your dog is asleep, then measure straight across the widest part of them, just as they’re lying, curled or stretched out. Don’t wake them or move them into position.
• The photo. Optional. Your dog napping beside a scale card, so you can see how they rest. Your tape numbers are still the ones to use, because a camera angle can make things look bigger or smaller.

Our free guide, How to measure your dog, walks through each one with a drawing, and there’s a scale card at the back to print.

The one most people miss

It’s the curl. Most dogs don’t sleep stretched out. They curl up, nose to tail, and a curled dog is nearly as wide as it is long. A length measurement can’t see that.

Standard sizing charts do not ask for it. We do, because it’s how most dogs actually sleep.

What to do with your numbers

Hold them up against the inside of whatever your dog will rest in, never the outside. Look for the inside length, the inside width, and the height inside at the lowest point where your dog will stand. If a maker doesn’t publish inside dimensions, ask them.

We went looking for measurements of how much room a dog takes up lying down, curled or stretched out. We couldn’t find any published for dogs. So we publish our inside dimensions in full, and you can hold them up against your own dog.

A few tips

• Measure twice and use the larger reading, rounded up to the nearest half inch.
• Have a second person read the tape, without holding your dog in place, and keep a few treats close.
• Measure a puppy again as they grow. They grow faster than you think.
• Wait for a real nap for the curl. A sleeping dog gives the true number.

Start on a quiet afternoon

Print the free guide, wait for your dog to settle, and take your numbers. One quiet afternoon and one nap is enough, and the numbers are good until your dog grows. If you’re sizing for a PupHut, our Sizes page asks for the same three numbers.