About my SuperCozy Beds

Cushioned with layers and
chopped fleece fill

Stay-put layers

Finished bed showing how
thick and cozy it is

What makes SuperCozy beds different from other pet beds?

Typical fleece beds are filled with polyester fiberfill, the stuff used for bringing stuffed animals to life and filling decorative pillows.  Fiberfill pillows and beds look great, but there's issues.  Fiberfill doesn't stay put meaning it shifts easily with manipulation, which quickly leads to the fibers separating and loosing loft, eventually creating clumps and thin spots.  Dogs typically paw and circle as they settle into a bed and this repeated action wears fiberfill down to nothing in no time.  As wonderful as fiberfill looks, it's just too squishy and unstable for dog bed use if you're expecting the bed to last.  

My beds don't look super thick at first, but the feel is far superior to any fiberfill bed and far more cushioned.  Layered fleeces and quilt batting are tied in place so they won't shift, bunch or clump with use which means the bed will last much, much longer and provide a stable, stay put cushion for the pet.

Are SuperCozy Beds Easy To Care For?

Completely machine washable, just toss the whole thing in the wash.  No removable cover that leaves the bed itself to absorb and retain pet odors.  The whole bed is easily washed needing no special attention.

Despite the multiple layered filling, the bed is very breathable and dries beautifully in the drier.   Drier heat helps to sterilize the bed, keeping it fresh and healthy for years to come.

Will SuperCozy Beds Last?

The best beds are covered with Polar or Sherpa fleece, long lasting fabrics that maintain their good looks over years of use.  I have fleece pillows and dog beds made ten and twenty years ago which still look and perform fantastically, I can't say the same for heavy upholstery fabric covered items which "bit the dust" ages ago.  

Custom Orders Welcomed

I know we all have our unique needs, likes and desires.  So, if you need a certain size, thickness, or fabric theme, just contact me and we'll get it in the works for you!  It's always a pleasure making a pet  and their person happy.

How Can I Get A SuperCozy Bed?

I have two shopping venues with an easy and secure payment/ordering platform.  Both stores are always up to date with in stock, Ready-To-Go beds:

Etsy:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/FleecePetBeds?ref=hdr_shop_menu

ArtFire:   https://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/home/BestFleeceDogBeds

Both sites offer free shipping within the US on all beds.

Local to my neck of the woods?  Contact me to purchase a bed directly.  No added sales tax, no shipping, no problem!

New at East Tennessee TTouch

New at ETT:  Super Cozy Dog Beds

Medium Super Cozy (24"x29") with tied edge

Back of Med. Super Cozy

Braided edge
(top is 'finished', bottom is 'raw')

Tied edge

Chevron edge

Super Cozy pads/beds were born out of necessity beginning nearly twenty years ago.  Back then, I had adopted an "Uber Hound", who was an impressive 145 pound Treeing Walker Coonhound.  Basically, he was an inside pony.  He needed a huge, comfy, well padded bed that would last the ages, so I went online to one of those tony outdoor "Eddie Bean" type stores and purchased a huge, fluffy bed with a heavy duty canvas cover.  It was pricey, but I expected it to last.  Nope!  Within two years the fluffy poly-fill was mashed flat and with all the dogs pawing had worn thin spots in the canvas fabric as well as breaking up the poly-fill and causing it to lump.  The bed was horrid and hideous in just a few years.

Super Cozy with its many layers

Rag Doll filling around the edge
of this Super Cozy bed

So, I made a new fleece bed focusing on the padding, and came up with the "Super Cozy" which features two (or more) additional layers of quilt batting in the center portion of the bed to cushion hips and joints.  That's in addition to the layers of quilt batting throughout the entire bed (which can range between two and four layers).  All the layers make it super-duper cushioned, warm and comfortable while remaining breathable.  Absolutely priceless for elder dogs.


About the beds

Super Cozy beds feature multiple layers of breathable cushion for superior comfort.  Layers are made from cotton quilt batting, high loft poly quilt batting and/or fleece remnants unsuitable for bed covers.

Rag Doll beds utilize leftover fleece and batting fabrics for a "squishy" comfort cushion sandwiched between a layers of batting and quilted to hold its shape.

All beds are lightly "tie" quilted with heavy duty upholstery thread to maintain their shape without bunching or wadding with use.

Edge finishing is either tied creating a fluffy, scrunched bed;  chevron which lies flat, or braided which also lies flat and accommodates thick stuffed beds.  Braided edges can be "raw", showing the ends of the fringe, or "finished" which involves securing the fringe ends under the braid with upholstery thread.

All beds are completely machine washable.

Check out my Etsy shop for Ready-To-go beds

Sales of these wonderful beds will fund medications and medical care for my little Dachshund battling Sterile Nodular Panniculitis as well as old age issues. 

If enough beds are sold, ETT will donate beds to a local shelter. 

WIN A SUPER COZY DOG BED!

+  Like my Facebook page:  East Tennessee TTouch

+  Share the "Win a Dog Bed" post

+  Like my Etsy shop

You'll then be entered to win a Super Cozy bed!  Winner will be announced May 1st, 2017.

Anxiety Blankets

Nestle is enjoying modeling the new anxiety blanket.
Nestle?  You awake?

When I drape this blanket over someone's shoulders, the look that washes across their face is testimony enough to the wonderful affect of experiencing a weighted blanket.  Their shoulders relax and their face softens and the smile is pure blissful magic.

More popular and known amongst the autistic community (I somehow missed that news flash as did my mildly autistic son) for helping calm their sensitive nervous system.  You don't have to be autistic to enjoy the amazing feeling of these blankets, the nervous system absolutely loves it and it's very, very calming.  Just look at old Nestle there....thirty seconds under the blanket and he's in doggie heaven.

I played around and made several of these in various sizes and weights depending on the size of the dog, of course.  Each blanket has an outer fleece case for easy washing and long wearing.  Inside is a cotton blanket quilted with poly beads creating the weight.  Each can be used separately or together.  The poly blanket is washable but please dry it on low to preserve the beads.

Now available over there in the TTouch shop which has been completely updated.

Healing TTouches

This has been the year of Nestle and his Sterile Nodular Panniculitis which raised its ugly head late last March.  In addition to the knots that popped up all over his body he also had dangerously high fevers that honestly frightened the crap out of me.

Nestle was prescribed a mixing bowl of medications including Prednisone to suppress his immune system.  He'd begin with a high dose and begin the long process of reducing the dose every couple of weeks.   About six weeks into this and at a certain point in his steroid reduction he'd experience a resurgence of the Panniculitis fever and back we went to the full dose to begin the long process again, and again.  In the mean time the steroids were having their affect on the poor little guy and essentially he was getting weaker and weaker.

In October as the Prednisone dose dropped to that "milestone" level, the fever came back.  Nestle was done.  I was done for him.  It had been six months of torture already.  But!  The vet changed his steroid and I was to continue the long slow drop in dosage with the prednisone till it was done.  Every two weeks I would give one quarter less of his pill.  At first the continued dosage drop looked great, his energy was increasing and the abdominal swelling began to reduce.  Then as the last two weeks of his long drawn out Prednisone experience he really got weak.  Nestle had a hard time maintaining his balance and often times would fall over, and he always had a very hard time getting up.  There were good days and there were worse days, but the issue of his ability to maintain motor control was certainly there, not painful, just weak.  I asked the vet about this of course, as I was very concerned.  I was asked to give it some time; Nestle's been on steroids for a long time and his body has been through a lot.

Naturally Nestle has gotten a lot of TTouch and energy work during this time.  The picture above shows him wearing two wraps, the Half Wrap as well as the Buckle Wrap to bring awareness to his rear end, hips, and spine, while offering the most gentle of support.  The wraps aren't snug at all, he's just little, so they're slightly loose.

He slept a lot the first week of his Prednisone-free life; a lot, a lot.  It occurred to me that he was sleeping as much as a being recovering from intense illness or surgery.  So, I let him rest, kept him warm and did loads of TTouch work on him.   After that first week Nestle began to "wake up" a bit, he has been more alert with each passing day as well as more mobile and much more steady on his feet.  The magical spark of my little man has begun to shine again and I am forever grateful as Christmas day approaches; after all, it was only a couple months ago when Nestle pretty much let me know he was "done", and I didn't think I'd have my little friend around for the holidays.

The Power of Intention

When I was going through the TTouch training one thing that came up often was "intention":  i.e., "change your mind, change your dog".

Hugh?

Before I get into the nuts and bolts of intention, here's what I've experienced:

I read Lynne McTaggert's books on the subject ("The Field" and "The Intention Experiment") and gave this far out concept a try.  My son was intrigued by the concept and decided to do a science fair project on a small group of plants.  We purchased four identical spider plants and placed them in different areas of the house so that the experiment on each didn't affect the others (no cross intentions).  Each plant was to receive a different intention:

1.  "Happy" ~ this plant was to receive "good" and "happy" thoughts towards it.  When being around this plant one was to think of happy and positive things, "good vibes".

2.  "Angry" ~ this plant was to receive "negative" thoughts from anger to sadness, including envisioning trimming off the plants leaves.

3.  "Neutral"  ~ this plant was to receive any and all emotions, from very happy to very sad and everything in between.

4.  "Control" ~ this plant simply received water and care with no intentions given to it whatsoever.  This plant was to measure the effectiveness of the other plants intentions, if any.

All the plants received the same water and light requirements during the experiment which lasted (if I recall) about four to six weeks.

The results were really interesting!  Happy and Neutral showed the most growth with more fullness as well as overall growth.  Happy was a bit fuller and taller than Neutral.  Control came in second/third with noticeably less fullness, height and overall growth.  Angry came in dead last (ha!  No pun intended), with the least amount of growth, no fullness and really,  this plant was just hanging in there compared to the others.

I was astounded.  Intention can affect a plant?  Who knew?!  Sooooo.....if it makes a noticeable difference with a plant, what's with this stuff and dogs?

We know dogs are more sensitive than humans when it comes to the vibrations of things unseen.  Dogs know that stranger is bad news long before we do.  Dogs know that other strangers are pure gold, sometimes we pick up on that, sometimes we don't.  It's often said that dogs have a sixth sense, and yes, it's something like that, for sure.  They are far more tuned into "The Field" than we are, but we can put our intentions out there and they do pick up on it, no doubt.

If a dog can be receptive to intention, it sort of makes sense that when Fido is pulling on the lead and the human is focusing on the pulling, the pulling continues.  That's not to say that you can change the pulling behavior with just thoughts alone, but thought does play a key role.  Placing your thoughts where you want the dog to be does actually help the dog to get there.  While training/conditioning a dog not to pull, putting strong thought into a well balanced dog on a loose lead actually does help the dog to understand what's what and he/she learns to not pull more easily and more quickly.

I took my old Dachshund to Tractor Supply a while back.  It had been a very long time since he had been out in public and you'd expect that he'd be straining at the lead in this new and stimulating environment.  Although I expected it too, I kept my mind trained on the vision of him walking comfortably at my side without any pulling as we walked through the store.  He knows how to do this, but excitement easily makes that "knowledge" fly out the window.  Guess what?!  He was a perfect gentleman and never pulled once.  He walked comfortably by my side the whole time.   This is a little dog who's had a ton of TTouch training and has learned to "tune in" to me.  He is not an obedience dog.  He's had the basics of obedience, but that's pretty much it.  He has no other job other than to enrich my life, really.  And there he was out in public being a super star and performing as well as my competition obedience dog from decades ago!

On the wilder side of intention, I was on my way back to East Tennessee from Florida one Christmas and found myself racing a wicked snow storm coming into the region.  I don't do snow.  Last time I drove in snow I ended up in the hospital for a week.  I do not do snow.  I was scared.  There was snow all around and as I drove through Atlanta accidents were happening all around me and roads were getting horrid and dangerous.  There I was driving my intention at full volume, imagining clear roads around me and a "bubble of safety".  I made it the whole way home with snow and bad roads all around, but I was fine!  The road and other drivers around me all remained safe and clear.   My family was absolutely astounded.  I should have been snowed in in Atlanta.   Honestly, I can't explain it.  Maybe my intentions made a difference and The Field actually heard me.  Maybe it was angels.  Maybe I'm just crazy.

Intention does help, though.  Along with giving calming signals to a barking dog if you imagine quiet and calm at the same time, it increases the volume of your message tremendously.  This I actually know....because I use it all the time.  Intention works the same as the law of attraction; put it out there and make it true.  We receive what we give.

Many folks who know me simply say that I have "the touch" with animals.  That "touch" comes from my toes, through my heart and intention to the animal.  I always see the potential, wish the best for them and believe they receive this message and react to it accordingly.   We know when we meet a good person with a genuine heart, it's an intuitive sort of thing, very akin to intention.  It's right up there with having that gut feeling when a stranger enters a room....how do you know whether they're truly friendly or approaching to do you harm?  You just do.  That's the power of intention.

Give it a try and share what you experience.  Remember, believe what you put out there....that's key.  Come from your heart.  Trust and let it be true.  This is one of the hidden keys to TTouch.

Tale of an American Mastiff

My dear friend loves life in a large way and I was thrilled when she tentatively asked me to ride shotgun with her up to Ohio to pick up a new family member, Carolina, a four year old American Mastiff.   Carolina had spent her life as the foundation brood bitch on an immense farm.   She was being retired from "breeder duty" and needed a forever home.  My friend was their first pick.  A great match if I ever saw one.  Cathy hails from the Cumberland Plateau where she lives on a very large farm with her herd of exotic warmblood horses, her other American Mastiff, a humorous and tolerant husband and a small band of cats and birds.

Being a TTouch prac, I towed along my "kit" on this adventure "just in case".  After all, a 200+ pound animal that spent the bulk of her life in an immense barn, in an immense kennel and not well socialized....well, I had some concern and wanted the very best for this dog and her new family right from the get-go.  No 200+ pound dog was going to make a drag-along out of me or my good friend....and honestly, it's what I expected to be addressing with this large dog.

This breed and this gal, Carolina, totally blew me away.  She reminds me of a Clydesdale in that her size is balanced beautifully by her quiet, tranquil demeanor.  She never once pulled on her lead, not even a little bit.  Carolina was calm, relaxed and completely compliant.  Ha!  The joke was on the TTouch practitioner....this dog is just fine!

Other than a huge reluctance to get into her new vehicle (and who could blame her....the "in" was a big jump into the back of a Volvo wagon instead of a step-in to a huge van), she had no issues with anything.  She traveled just fine and slept most of the way if she wasn't resting quietly.  No signs of stress were associated with this dog.....at all.

Carolina arrived to her new home late, after I was dropped off at home.  Waiting for her was her new housemate, Chunk, a younger American Mastiff from the same kennel and boy was he ever thrilled to meet his new pal!  Despite the attempt to separate these guys at first, Chunk made his way over to Carolina who was amazingly gracious and patient with her new young friend as well as politely parental when necessary.

In all my years of dog doings, I've never met a breeder dog who was so well emotionally balanced and level headed.  What a stellar dog Carolina is and I'm thrilled for my friend!

Client Spotlight: Lucy

This is my best TTouch success story ever...!

Lucy is a three year old Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix, medium sized and with the expected activity level of both breeds.  Lucy came to her forever home at about the age of 1.5 years, after being re-homed several times.   Over the last 1.5 years since Lucy found her forever home, she has been quite a bit of a trial for her new family.  She doesn't have a mean bone in her body and is really a very sweet, affectionate dog, but she had some very significant issues that were troublesome to deal with and I'm sure were the basis of her multiple re-homings.  The owners had hired several trainers to work with her in their home, with some improvement in keeping her mind active and learning new skills, but not in learning to manage her anxiety and maniacal fits with any vehicular.  They were nearing the end of their rope.

Lucy's main issue was cars.  What this means is that Lucy could not be taken for walks, was not tolerable traveling in a vehicle and even raised cain in her own home when seeing or hearing vehicles pass by.   Her reactivity to cars consisted of the most impressive manic activity I've ever seen with barking, spinning, and general "coming complelely unglued" behavior.  Can you imagine having your sweet, kind dog turn into a wild "Jeckel & Hyde" every time a car passed your house?  Window drapes were left closed as were the doors to obscure Lucy's view of the street.  Eventually Lucy was taken to see a behavioral vet at the UT Vet School who referred the family to me.

Although Lucy's parents are older, their love for the Border Collie breed is huge as is their love for Lucy herself.  She is at least their third Border Collie.  However it does present challenges when you're older and your dog is behaving like a maniac.  Lucy is a well behaved dog and it's obvious she's been worked with as she responds to commands very well.  As long as no cars are moving.

At first Lucy was a bit resistant to TTouch.  It wasn't that she disliked it, rather it was new and her mind was just too busy to grasp this new "thing" in her life.   She did warm up to it (as we all do) and we began to see significant change within a couple of weeks.  First and foremost, she calmed herself enough to readily accept TTouch.  Now the magic could begin.

That huge first milestone came on a pleasant afternoon when my client had her front door open letting light in through the storm door.  Lucy was laying on the rug by the front door, looking outside while her Momma sat in a nearby room at her computer.  Then, a car passed the house.  The owner looked up and towards the front door because she realized that "nothing had happened" when the car passed.  Lucy was still there by the door, unmoved and unchanged.  The owner was shocked and she continued to watch Lucy quietly.  More cars passed intermittently, six in all, and Lucy simply laid there and watched.   No barking wildly, no clawing, jumping, pawing, or racing around the house all obsessed and possessed.  None of that.  She was simply relaxing by the door watching traffic.

We then moved on to working with Lucy's car.  Lucy had a new car and was not too crazy about it at first because it was different.  With TTouch and treats she learned quickly that her new car was really okay and the world became whole again.  Except for actually going on rides.   One step at a time.

Lucy needed help with the visual stimulus of cars in her life if she was ever going to learn that relaxing was achievable and a way better option than flipping out.  We fit Lucy with a ThunderCap from the makers of ThunderShirt and got her Rescue Remedy to help dial in her calm.  The Thundercap is a little jewel designed by TTouch practitioners from our use of wraps on the head to help calm.  Lucy didn't do well with head wraps due to her small, slick head where the wrap would slide right off.  I fitted the cap to her head and took her outside in her front yard to see how she did with cars.  Already the change was astounding, but being only her first time there was plenty of room for improvement.

Next came the car ride.   Lucy sat in the back seat with me, her ThunderCap in place and my large Melissa & Doug stuffy (black Labrador) on her other side.  I know it sounds crazy that maybe a stuffy could influence Lucy by not reacting to the things that set her off, but it's worked for other dogs, so my stuffy, Darwin, happily came along.   When the traffic picked up, Lucy was snuggled next to Darwin, nice and quiet and watching the cars go by.  She was visibly relaxed....a first!  It was her first "normal" experience that I'd seen with vehicles.  This sweet dog had finally laid her groundwork for overcoming her car issues!  Her next car ride was considerably longer and included a lot more traffic, including plenty of trucks.  She barked three individual times and settled quickly between each incident.  In fact she settled down more than she got excited and she was much more at home wearing her Thundercap.  Huge step forward for our furry rock star!

I can't convey enough how proud I am of this sweet girl, Lucy!  My heartbreak for her owners being confined by their dogs inability to leave the house safely was huge but equally I was impressed by their commitment and dedication in improving their beloved pets life.   Honestly, Lucy was miserable being so driven and reactive to "life" essentially.   I'm deeply thankful that TTouch can help such a sweet and deserving dog improve her quality of life and increase her comfort level by an order of magnitude.  The stress level in her home has gone way, way down.

Thanks to TTouch, Lucy has a new lease of life.