When it comes to dog blankets, I鈥檝e tried them all. The ones custom-fit to the back seat of your car. The ones that claim to be waterproof. Expensive ones. Cheap ones. And even human ones the dogs have stolen. But nothing, no matter how expensive or how many special features it claims, has worked half as well as .
A dog blanket has a couple jobs: first and foremost, it must be easy to clean. Not necessarily in the sense that it can be machine-washed, but rather that you can simply pick it up, take it outside, and shake it off.听My 300-pound collection of dogs all shed copious amounts of fur, a substance that seems to fall from their bodies with abandon听yet instantly cling听to any surface it lands on with a tenacity that defies vacuum cleaners and lint rollers鈥攁ny surface, that is, aside from those $10 moving blankets from Harbor Freight, from which fur falls freely off.
A dog blanket must serve as a barrier between a dog听and whatever that dog may want to sit, lay, or jump upon. A dog鈥檚 nails can be sharp, and expensive things like car upholstery and couches often need a little extra protection if they鈥檙e听to see regular use by dogs (as everything in my life does). That鈥檚 exactly what moving blankets are designed to do. With thick exterior face fabrics on both sides, and a little padding sandwiched in the middle, they protect furniture from bumps and scrapes as it鈥檚 carried around. Or bumps and scrapes caused by big, boisterous canines.
And听for obvious reasons, a good dog blanket should also protect your things听from liquids. Especially dog liquids. While these $10 moving blankets from Harbor Freight aren鈥檛 waterproof, they are heavily water-resistant. Whether it鈥檚 been bile, a dingleberry, or even accidental pee from a 100-pound puppy, they鈥檝e kept it off my stuff. The moving blankets actually seem to achieve this goal better than totally waterproof blankets designed specifically for dogs; their slight absorbency prevents liquids from simply following the path of least resistance downhill and, inevitably,听into the crack in the back of a seat.
The other big advantage these moving blankets have over purpose-built items听is versatility. Because they鈥檙e not designed specifically for a car seat, they fit your couch, too.听Have a big couch? Use two of the 72-by-80-inch blankets. Folded up a few times, they make a nice, cushioned dog bed. That鈥檚 what my dogs sleep on when they camp in the back of my pickup truck听or, in nice weather, underneath it. In a tent? They鈥檒l protect the thin fabric听floor from claws听and add a little insulation from the cold, wet ground, keeping you more comfortable, too.
If you want to use them to protect car seats, poke听a couple holes in the blankets to match the location and width of the headrest mounts. Pull the headrests out, push the mounts through the holds in the blanket, and then reinstall them in the seat. That way they鈥檒l be custom-fit听to your car鈥攁nd at the exact location you need to use them. This typically makes them fit better than the so-called universal straps听employed by name-brand dog hammocks and seat covers. Hang one blanket from the back of the front seats to keep your dogs in the back. Hang another from the rear headrests, and drape the blanket across the seat to protect it. Fold a blanket in half and put it on the front seat, again using the headrest to hold it in place, if your dog likes to ride up there.
Why do I prefer the $10 moving blanket from Harbor Freight as opposed to the $8 version? I鈥檝e tried both, and something about the fabric used on the more expensive camo print seems to resist pilling听and wear with more听gusto. Plus, the camo really does hide dog debris.
How long these blankets last听depends on how you use them.听The care label instructs you not to machine-wash them, but if you do, they鈥檒l hold up to at least one hot cycle听and a run through your dryer before they start to fall apart.听The price is a definite advantage here. I own at least ten of these things听and cycle them from the nice cars and furniture into the crappy truck and garage as they wear out. I still have the first one I bought about two years ago. It鈥檚 getting worn-out in its appearance, but still does its job as if it鈥檚听brand-new.