dandrus1022 wrote:My breeder advised me to stay away from cedar...... she suggested straw or pine shavings. ive used straw as i said before and like it but it seemed to hold ticks and fleas. has anyone used pine shavings or should i just get crate covers?
As I said previously, I have used cedar chips in my dogs bedding for many years with absolutely no ill effects...but every dog is different, so you have to check it out. I have used pine chips(the coarse ones, not the fine)and they have never had any reaction to that either...but pine also has tar and other aromatics in it...so you need to check the dogs also.
I would absolutely stay away from any kind of straw because it turns to dust very quickly and breathing dust is not good for dogs. also, straw breaks down into sharp little chunks which can be irritating.
There are several long leaf hays that you can use as well. Avoid alfalfa or timothy as alfalfa turns dusty very quickly and timothy breaks down almost as fast as straw. I prefer Reed Canary grass hay, second cutting, when I can get it. Long slender blades of grass that remain soft, strong and supple over a long period. used to be able to get marsh grass hay, which is the absolute best because it maintains its structure very well and does not break down... but it is simply not available to me anymore. Orchard grass ain' t bad either as long as it is fresh. Bermuda grasses are pretty soft, but they lose their loft and mat down pretty fast.
One unusual bedding material that I have seen is corrugated cardboard. One fellow I knew had a source of roll corrugated, the kind used in packing... and the time to cut it up into strips and small squares. (He used an old fashioned guillotine style paper cutter) It was awesome insulation and there was zero mess that went out with the recycling when it got wet or was changed out.
RayG