Bolster or Flat Dog Bed? How to Choose

The difference is easy to see and worth measuring: one style offers an open top; the other adds a place to rest against.

Watch how your dog uses an edge

Some dogs rest their chin against a cushion. Others stretch across an open surface. Many alternate between the two. Look at the positions your dog chooses in a familiar setting before deciding on a bed shape.

The flat Royal Bed cover leaves its top open. The bolster cover adds a raised cushion along three sides. It offers a place for a dog to rest their chin or lean their body, while leaving a smaller central area where they can lie completely flat. ANBERSO first developed this surround style after customers asked for a bed with a chin-resting edge that could be added as a cover to an existing bed.

Match the shape to the resting space

Consider a flat cover if your dog frequently stretches across the surface, changes direction, or uses most of the bed's top. It gives the full top to a flat resting position.

Consider a bolster cover if your dog often chooses an edge to rest against and their usual stretched pose still fits the central flat area. The raised sides are useful resting space, but they take up some of the bed's footprint.

Neither observation predicts what every dog will prefer. It gives you a practical way to compare two shapes for the dog you know.

Measure the part your dog lies on

The same size name can offer a different amount of flat space in each style. Measure your dog's natural stretched pose, including the width they use. Compare those dimensions with each style's flat sleeping area. Check the bed's overall dimensions separately so it will fit where you plan to place it.

Our Size Guide shows the measurements to compare.

For a measuring walkthrough, read How to Measure Your Dog for a Bed.

Compare a set in each shape

Use the Royal Bed Complete Set comparison to view flat and bolster styles side by side before looking closely at a particular set.

For a like-for-like look at the silhouette, see the Cammy Beige flat Royal Bed Complete Set and the Cammy Beige bolster Royal Bed Complete Set. These are examples of the two shapes; check each product page for current sizes, contents and availability. You can also browse all Royal Bed Complete Sets.

For care by component, read What Is Actually Washable in a Dog Bed?

Before choosing, ask three questions: Where does your dog naturally put their head? How much flat space does their stretched pose need? Which overall bed footprint works in your room?