First Look: Carlson Portable Dog Cot Review
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This post is sponsored by Carlson™ Pet Products. I am being compensated to help share the Carlson Portable Dog Cot, but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Carlson™ Pet Products is not responsible for the content of this article.
It’s been several years since I raised my last puppy with Guide Dogs of America, but I still attend monthly meetings and help out at puppy kindergarten and obedience classes.
A few months ago I was working with our area leader teaching the dogs “place” using a Carlson Elevated Portable Dog Cot.
The Carlson Portable Dog Cot was the perfect tool to teach “place”. Not only that, but I could think of hundreds (not literally…maybe a dozen) of other uses for an elevated portable dog cot.
Guess what? I recently got my hands on a large red Carlson Portable Dog Cot for review.
Carlson Portable Dog Cot Specifications
The specs!
First and foremost I like to look at the details of any new doggy product I bring home:
From the Carlson Pet Products website:
Carlson Large Portable Pup Bed
- Color: Red
- Dimensions: 48” L x 26” W x 9” H
- Ideal for medium to large breeds
- Sets up and folds down in seconds for storage/travel
- Easy carry case included
- Durable, waterproof nylon is easily washable
- Sturdy, all-metal frame
- Model: #8035
**These are the exact specs for the Pup Bed I have at home. You can get different colors or sizes. Here’s a look at the adjustable options:
- Colors Available: Red, Green, Tan, and Gray
- Sizes: Small (26″ L x 26″ W x 9″ H) or Large (48” L x 26” W x 9” H)
What’s Included in The Box
- One Carlson Large Portable Pup Bed
- One Carry Bag
- Instruction Manual
I’m not going to bore you with all the details and descriptions so lets hop on over to our review of this portable dog cot.
First Look: Carlson Portable Dog Cot Review
I was excited to get our hands on our very own Carlson Portable Dog Cot. As you can see Raven enjoys relaxing poolside on her new dog cot.
The Dog’s Initial Reaction
It arrived just in time to let our newest puppy, Charlie test drive it before he left for Seattle. Here are the first reactions from our 4 dogs:
Linus: Hopped up, laid down, jumped off.
Stetson: Same as Linus.
Raven: She got on the cot and curled up and only used half of the bed. Raven is a 70 pound Golden Retriever and she decided to only use half of the bed!
Charlie: Our 14-week old puppy. He was hesitant to get on at first, but that quickly changed when I added a few treats to the mix. He was up and on the portable dog cot like it was his new favorite toy. Portable Dog Cot = Treat Machine 🙂
Initial reaction from the dogs: THUMBS UP!
A Human’s Initial Reaction
My first thoughts after opening our new doggy bed:
Everything arrived on time and I like the packaging Carlson uses for both the Portable Dog Cot and the Portable Pet Pen.
Very, very easy to set up. Pull out of the box. Remove cover. Fold-down. Setup in seconds!
Canvas feels very sturdy and the frame is made of steel. From Carlson: Designed to handle up to 95 lbs.
Lightweight and even before removing it from the box I could tell it would be very easy to transport for visits to the park, beach, and adventures camping.
Honestly, this bed looked very comfortable so much so I wanted to try taking a nap on it. Yeah, my legs would hang off the end, but maybe if I had two running lengthwise I could have my own portable cot! Oh, and I exceed the 95 lb weight limit 🙁
Initial reaction from the human: THUMBS UP!
Why I Love the Carlson Portable Dog Cot
Obviously, the awesome portability is at the top of our list of things I love about the new dog cot. I also love:
- Portability!
- Ease of use.
- While I’ve only had it for a couple weeks it feels very durable.
- It’s extremely lightweight.
- Easy to clean – I’m considering moving my dogs to these elevated beds because they are so much easier to clean compared to their regular dog beds.
- Perfect size for our dogs. I have a 55 lb Aussie Mix, a 70 lb Golden Retriever, and a 80 lb Labrador Retriever.
We are not regular adventure dogs. Most of our outings are for the benefit of socializing one of our service dogs.
These outings do not require a portable dog cot, but as I said I could think of many ways we could use our dog cot with our pups:
- Camping, Fishing, Hiking, Backpacking – The last time we went backpacking was at the Narrows in Utah a couple years ago and Linus hasn’t camped with us in…I can’t remember. While we’re not regular outdoorsmen we do make the occasional excursion with our dogs.
- Dog Beach – The service dog organizations don’t allow our pups to go to dog parks including dog beach. Once again we are not regulars, but we do partake in outings to dog beach from time to time.
- Parks – We do have a regular outing to the park with our guide dog group and this would be a perfect time to use our portable dog cot.
- Pickleball Tournaments – My parents purchased a motorhome to travel to pickleball tournaments. Yep, this would be a good time to bring your dog cot.
- Home Indoors and Outdoors – I currently have mine setup in my office. I also bring it outside when I’m doing yard work. It’s portability makes it easy to move from one place to another.
- Training – As I mentioned in the introduction the portable dog cot is a great tool for teaching cues like “place” or “go to your bed”.
- Other Outings – I’m not involved in events like Agility, Nosework, Rally, etc., but I imagine there would be a use for a Carlson Portable Dog Cot between runs.
What else? Can you think of anything to add to this list?
How would you use a Carlson Portable Dog Cot?
I Wish My Carlson Portable Dog Cot Had…
After using our Carlson Portable Dog Cot for over 2 weeks here a couple of things I’d add to the product:
- I wish the canvas was removable for replacement – It’s the first thing I envision will wear out. I haven’t seen my dogs do it yet, but I often see them digging into their beds before they settle in.
- I wish the feet had a no-slip pad – I have a bunch of spare no-slip stickers I had for my furniture that I added to my dog cot, but I wish they came standard with this product.
What Others Have Said About the Carlson Portable Dog Cot
One thing I always do before purchasing a new product is to check out the user reviews on Amazon.com.
There are a lot of great things said about the dog cot including:
- Great for the money.
- Loving the portability.
- Ease of use.
- How easy it is to clean.
There were two main groupings of negative reviews.
- The “large” dog cot needed to be larger.
- My thoughts: The dimension are clearly listed: 48” L x 26” W x 9” H. This size is fine for my dogs between 55 lbs and 80 lbs.
- The rivets were breaking.
- My thoughts: This is something I’ll have to report back on in a future update. The good news: several Amazon users found DIY fixes for this issue.
Over the next few months the one thing I’m going to keep an eye on is the durability of our dog cot especially the rivets.
I’ll report back with any updates.
A Final Word On Carlson Pet Products And The Portable Dog Cot
We’ve had and used the Carlson Portable Pet Pen now for a year and a half and love the product!
It’s been durable and has lasted through two litters of puppies. That’s 14 puppies in total!
We’ve come to trust the Carlson brand and even though this is a sponsored review we think highly of the products we’ve tested and reviewed.
After two weeks of use, we’ve seen the same high-quality in the Carlson Portable Dog Cot and while we wouldn’t mind seeing a few minor additions it’s definitely a product we’d recommend for the outdoor adventure dogs or even if your just looking for an elevated dog bed to use at home.
What about you guys?
Have you ever used an elevated portable dog cot?
Tell us about your experiences in the comment section below.
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I was really amazed of how does it work! Great article!