****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I really vacillated over whether to keep this pad or not. It felt hard, the plastic or rubber bottom is indented and I worried the dog could feel it through the fairly thin padding (adequate layers of padding, but a senior dog is the recipient and prefers a softer bed). I kept getting it out, thinking no, this won't work, but it really did appear made to a higher standard and again, I really like the concept of reflected heat. Some thought clearly went into making this mat. So I finally compromised and it lines the crate bottom but I put a softer layer/mat over the Artic Shield. I think the Artic Shield padding is adequate and comfortable for most dogs, BTW. As far as the ability to chew it up--honestly anyone with a big aggressive chewer and/or dog that digs in its bedding, is going to have a problem no matter what. Maybe give your dogs a distraction? Don't crate them for extended periods of time causing them to become restless and bored? Short of making something out of the same material as body armor, like Kevlar, etc. I don't think any retail product is going to hold up to that kind of abuse. And the price of those materials would probably make the mat prohibitively expensive for the average consumer.
