Hello, I’m Chris

There are three dogs in our house in Belgium, and no two of them sleep the same way.

Arran, our Labrador, sleeps as if he owns the place: flat out on his side, legs stretched as far as they will go. Babes and Jack, our two Dachshunds, do the opposite. They dig, circle and burrow until there is nothing left to see but a nose.

For years we bought dog beds the way most people do, by size and by photo, and we kept getting it slightly wrong. A bed that looked big enough was too short the moment Arran stretched out. Babes and Jack walked straight past anything flat and went looking for a blanket to crawl under. And most of the beds that did suit them looked as if they belonged in a kennel, not in the middle of a living room.

Hound & Home started with one question I kept asking: how does this dog actually sleep? Once you know that, choosing becomes much easier. A curler wants raised sides to lean into. A sprawler needs length and a flat, supportive base. A leaner wants a backrest. And a dog on the move needs something that rolls up and comes along. That is how the whole shop is organised.

What I look for in a bed

Before a bed goes into the range, it has to tick four boxes.

• The right shape. Sides to lean on, room to stretch, or a backrest, depending on how a dog sleeps. Every model is listed under the sleeping style it suits.
• Easy to live with. Dogs bring the garden in with them. Most covers unzip and go in the wash, and the fabrics are chosen to take daily wear.
• Materials you can check. Where a maker has tested or certified a fabric, it says so on the product page: OEKO-TEX, rub tests, what the foam is.
• It looks right at home. A dog bed sits in plain view, often next to the sofa. It should look as though it belongs there.

Why Labbvenn and Purré

I chose to start small, with two European makers rather than a catalogue of hundreds.

Purré makes corduroy dog sofas, basket beds and mattresses in Poland. Lodie, Nino and Carré each come with a choice of classic foam or memory foam, which matters for bigger and older dogs, and the covers zip off and wash at 30°C.

Labbvenn designs beds, cushions, travel mats and carriers with the eye of a furniture brand, and they are made in Europe. Its Elva carrier was designed at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.

Between them, they cover every way a dog sleeps: from the small dog who burrows to the big dog who sprawls.

Delivery included

Delivery is included in every price, so there is no shipping fee to add at the end. Orders arrive in 3–8 working days, anywhere in the 25 EU countries I deliver to.

If you would like help choosing, write to me at chris@houndandhome.eu or use the contact form, in English, French, Dutch or German. Every message comes straight to me.

Chris, with Arran, Babes and Jack