Does your dog have a cafe mat?

[Zeffy]

On holiday we'll be frequenting cafes, pubs etc and want our dog (largish lurcher, quite boney) to be comfortable. Do you take a mat or something else with you? I know she wont settle or be comfortable lying on the floor

I use a bath mat, they are usually rubber on the back so they don’t slip and they’re quite comfy (easy to wash too)

stapletonsguitar good point about slipping issue which hadn't considered* *

Once on a ferry 2 men rolled out this HUGE mat for their Irish wolfhound! They adored that beast!
*he was a mammoth beast!!

My friend’s whippet has a picnic blanket - waterproof backed, rolls up with a carry strap- as she is also bony and needs some cushioning between her and the floor.
My lab just counts herself lucky if she’s anywhere near a cafe.

Honestly no. But then the Brew hound is an odd beast who seems to voluntarily choose to make himself as uncomfortable as possible. A nice comfy bed, sofa or mat will always be ignored in favour of a cold hard damp floor.

If you think she won't settle then personally I would go with a picnic blanket. you can get some that fold up very small and fit into handbags.

No. He is firmly against all bedding 😂
But he DOES have a cafe antler/marrowbone, which keeps him happy.

Yes but she isn’t so bothered about the comfort aspect… however she’s trained to stay on and it’s bright orange which stops the occasional dog hating idiots from stepping on her and using the “we didn’t see her” excuse.

Shes an assistance dog so it’s fantastic to have for hospital appointments etc too and definitely makes life so much easier when we need her to know to keep in one space - also fabulous for busy trains!

I have one. Folds in half with a carry handle. None obtrusive, my DD loves it.

No, as my dog is a resource guarder which includes bedding. Absolutely fine with other dogs, providing none of his belongings or food are involved. So I’m afraid he just has to make himself as comfy as he can on a hard floor!

As a lab owner this made me giggle

My old lurcher found it very hard to lie on the floor in his later years, and a fleece blanket wasn't enough. The roll up carry mats sold for dogs weren't big enough for him, so I got him a short length sleeping mat https://alpkit.com/products/airo-120 which was easy to carry around and comfortable for him

Three peaks foladable mat

I'm in cafés all the time with my dog. I swear by this. You can so easily unfold either just half or fully deoending on how big your space about table is.

Yep, dog is a bony little sod plus a princess so won’t lie down on a cold hard floor so having a blanket saves me giving her my jumper 🙄. She had a foldable wipe clean mat and a small foldable blanket that I pick between depending on the circumstances. Both can be chucked in the washing machine and tumble dryer, which is my top tip.

They are also useful as if you get it in advance you can work on a place command, mine is so used to it that if I put the mat/ blanket down she automatically goes and sits on it, which is handy in a busy cafe setting.

My lurcher would just stand and stare at me rather than lay his bony self on the hard floor. I haven’t got a mat as we don’t often frequent pubs with him, and when when we do go somewhere like that he just sits on my lap (he’s small whippet sized -10kg). If I had a bigger Lurcher I can definitely see a mat being handy.

CMOTDibbler This seems perfect. Will see if I can find one a little cheaper

CMOTDibbler this looks nicely portable and a good size

Our lurcher had a sheepskin, which is soft, lightweight and easy to roll up.

Mine does as it's how we taught "settle", he's also quite big so it helps to get him where I want him to be so that he doesn't get in the way. It's just a fabric washable thin bed that I can roll up in a small bag for life.
Some people have made odd comments, but I'd rather they think I'm weird for bringing a dog mat than him struggle to settle down.

I know of people who use cut up yoga/exercise mats, which I thought was a great idea and I wish I'd done it for ease of cleaning.

edit to add: sorry I missed the bony bit! so yoga mat is no good

No. I frequent lots of very dog-friendly cafes and pubs with my cocker spaniel and I have never seen any dog with a dog mat. Did not know it was a thing! One place I go to does provide blankets, which DDog likes, so maybe it's something to think about.

My dog had a mat that could roll up and easily fit in a bag. It was just the vet bed stuff with backing. Was £8 from a local market.
She was a greyhound, and refused to lie down on the bare floor.

I’ve literally just bought one from Amazon for my greyhound. Haven’t got tired of slippy blankets. Haven’t had the chance to use it yet but it looks good. I just typed travel dog bed.

My mums Weimaraner loved being out and about but would never put her princess bottom on any public floor so we used to take a small towel out with us.
our prince of darkness Weimaraner will sit in a puddle of dirty mud so none necessary, as long as I remember to pack him a grazing box stuffed with carrot , cheese and kibble 😜

We don’t have one, but in one cafe, a dog lie on a towel. It wasn’t a comfort reason, more the dog had been taught to settle on ‘mat’.

Watching! I might need to get one so appreciating the suggestions. We were taught how to use a cafe/ pub at puppy training but especially at the time when you have so much puppy clobber to remember it felt like just another thing. And she didn’t particularly need it anyway. But starting to think she might

Yes we always take a mat - otherwise my skinny dog won’t settle.