How To Protect Air Mattress From Dog (5 Concerns + Solutions)

If you’re fortunate enough to have dogs, nearly everything about your world is better. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing with your kids in the backyard, going for a stroll through your neighborhood, or taking a lazy Sunday afternoon drive, having a dog with you makes the experience better.

Sometimes though, dogs can make things a little harder. They don’t mean to of course, but between their claws, their excitement, and their instincts things can go awry at times. And of course, their hair, their smells, and their licks can lead to less than good hygienic circumstances.

I love taking my dogs camping. They aren’t just my camping companions but also part of my security while out in the woods. But they can be a bit of a nuisance when it comes to keeping my address inflated and clean.

So, what do you do to keep your air mattress safe from rambunctious dogs with fast-moving paws full of claws, (never mind the dew claws!), slobbering mouths, and shedding hair?

How do you protect your air mattress from dogs? Fortunately, whether you’re worried about holes being punctured by your dog, your dog making your air mattress smelly, or dog hair getting on it, there are plenty of solutions to protect your air mattress from your dog.

Keep reading to learn what you can do to protect your air mattress from specific problems and then more general solutions that will help protect your air mattress from most issues.

Punctures

A popped or even slowly deflating mattress is no fun. I’ve slept on a slowly deflating mattress without realizing it until morning. I woke up on the hard ground, with my muscles and joints stiff, screaming at me for sleeping in such an uncomfortable position all night. Fortunately, there are ways to protect your air mattress from such a fate.

Trim Nails

Keeping your dog’s nails under control, trimmed, and filed is one of the best ways to protect your mattress from being punctured. When you allow your dog’s nails to get too long they become sharp and can pop or tear holes in inflatable camping gear like air mattresses, chairs, and even pools.

Nails that are too long also put your dog at risk for painful tears and other injuries, so keeping them trimmed is a win-win for both you and your dog.

Socks And Booties

A lot of dogs won’t be keen to wear them, however, if you have a dog that doesn’t mind or easily adapts to new things, socks or booties are a good way to protect your air mattress (as well as your tent, or floors and furniture) from being punctured by their nails.

Tip: Keep Some Patches Handy

Sadly, no matter how well you try to prevent your dog from puncturing or ripping your air mattress, accidents happen. Be prepared by keeping a few adhesive patches on hand. That way, if your mattress does spring a leak you can patch it up quickly and be back to sleep in no time.

Smells

Though they have sweet personalities, dogs aren’t known to be the cleanest animals around. Whether it’s their slobber, from rolling in the dirt or jumping in a creek, dogs can leave a lingering odor on your air mattress. If you don’t want to wake up smelling like your dog there are things you can do to protect your air mattress from smells.

Wash Your Dog Regularly

The best way to keep your dog from leaving a smelly residue on your air mattress is to start with a clean dog. Washing them regularly will help remove any built-up oils, dirt, and smells that could transfer to your mattress. This will also help with shedding.

Hair

I love my dogs like crazy, but when I got them, I don’t think I knew just how bad dog shedding could be. The dogs I grew up around shed of course, but it wasn’t year round and their hair didn’t seem to embed itself into whatever it happened to touch! I think my two current pooches could simply walk through a room, and somehow there would be hair stuck to every bit of furniture, the rug, and probably even on the ceiling somehow.

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but the point is some dogs shed like crazy and their hair sticks to everything it touches.

When it comes to where you sleep, you likely don’t want dog hair all over. Here are a few good ideas to protect your air mattress from your dog’s hair.

Lint Roller

Tried and true, the lint roller is a great way to remove dog hair from your air mattress before you put sheets or your sleep bag on it. If your dog is a crazy shedder like mine, you can also use it on the bedding as you are getting ready to go to bed.

Wash Bedding Regularly

Washing your sheets, blankets, and pillowcases often will help remove any built-up hair before you go to sleep. This, of course, should already be a habit you have. If not…Ummm…Eww! It’ll also help keep your dog’s smell and your smell from building up.

Rubber Glove

I’ve found that rubber gloves that are designed to groom your dog as you pet it are also excellent at getting pet hair off of furniture and out of cars. They also work just as well on most air mattresses.

Wet Towel

A wet paper towel or washcloth can also work in a pinch to remove dog hair from your air mattress. It likely won’t get all of the hair, but it should get the majority of it so you can feel better about not getting too gross while you sleep. Just be sure to wring the towel out well so that your mattress doesn’t end up soaking wet.

Protect Your Air Mattress From Everything Your Dog Can Throw At It

I went over some targeted solutions for specific problems above. But what if you don’t have one specific issue to deal with? What if your dog, in general, is just hard on your air mattress? Then what? Here are some solutions that will cover all of the problems outlined above in one go.

Air Mattress Cover

Investing in a good-quality air mattress cover will help protect your mattress from everything your dog can throw at it. Look for one that is strong enough to withstand your dog’s claws and is easily washable so you can quickly remove the smells and hair from your bed.

Don’t Let Your Dog On Your Air Mattress

Depending on how you’ve trained your dog, this might be easier said than done. But, if you can manage to keep them off of your air mattress it will help protect it from their nails, hair, and anything else they might track in with them.

Get A Dog Bed

This goes along with the point above. Consider getting your dog their own little washable bed to sleep in next to yours. You can find some great quality dog beds online or even at pet stores. Once they realize that is where you want them to sleep and day nap, they will be less likely to want to lay on your mattress and, more importantly, less likely to damage it.

Buy A Mattress Topper

If you are someone who likes to sleep on memory foam or down toppers, buying a mattress topper will not only make your air mattress more comfortable but also help protect it from wear and tear from your dog.

Furniture Blankets

Good thick blankets designed to keep furniture safe during moves are also excellent at protecting air mattresses from dogs. Just make sure you get one that is big enough to tuck under the mattress so it doesn’t slip off the top.

Keep Your Dog Well Groomed

I briefly touched on this before regarding washing your dog and trimming your dog’s nails. The whole package you get from getting your dog to a professional groomer or taking the time to do a thorough job yourself will help protect your air mattress from gross dog smells, hair, and sharp nails.

Don’t Let Your Dog In The Room

If nothing is working, the answer might be to keep your dog out of your room, tent, or wherever else you have your air mattress. Of course, this isn’t likely the answer you want to hear, but until you can invest in something like furniture blankets or train your dog to sleep in its own bed, this might be the best that can happen for the short term.

If you decide this is a long-term solution, you might even want to train your dog to recognize the invisible barrier to your air mattress and not cross it.

Video Tutorial: Teach Your Dog The Invisible Barrier

Other Problems Your Dog Could Cause For Your Air Mattress

You should now have plenty of solutions for the obvious problems that every dog poses to air mattresses to some extent; smell, hair and possibly puncturing the air mattress. What about other issues though? How do you address those?

Flea And Tick Medicine

One concern I haven’t addressed is that dogs can bring bugs and parasites into your bed. An easy way to make this much less likely is to make sure your best friend is up to date on all preventative flea and tick medicines.

Potty Train Your Dog

Most dogs are potty trained. If yours isn’t, take the time to train your furry friend. It’s an important lesson every dog needs to learn. Beyond just going outside though, your dog also needs to understand that it can’t potty just anywhere. Your dog needs to know that pottying on your stuff is not okay. You don’t want your dog to potty on your air mattress, even if you’re sleeping outside under the stars.

Summary: How To Protect Air Mattress From Dogs

Sleeping on an air mattress can be fun and comfortable as long as it is properly maintained. What if your dog is damaging your air mattress or otherwise ruining the experience? Luckily there are some easy and affordable ways to mitigate the problems your dog may pose to your air mattress.

Protect your air mattress from being punctured or ripped by your dog by trimming their nails, using socks or booties, and keeping adhesive patches on hand. You can help protect your air mattress from smells by washing your dog regularly and using a lint roller, rubber glove, or wet towel to remove their hair. Also, be sure to wash your bedding regularly to remove any built-up hair or smells.

There are a few things you can do to protect your air mattress from dogs in general too. First, consider getting a dog bed for your furry friend to sleep in. This will help keep them off of your mattress and prevent them from damaging it. You should also keep your dog well-groomed by taking them to a professional groomer or regularly brushing them yourself. You can also try using furniture blankets or another type of barrier to keep your dog away from your mattress.

Don’t forget to potty train your dog and keep up with its flea and tick medicine.

If all else fails, you may need to train your dog not to go into the room or tent where your mattress is located.