New University of Pennsylvania Study Evaluates Big Barker Dog Beds

In a clinical study conducted by University of Pennsylvania, owners reported that the Big Barker bed reduced joint pain & stiffness, improved joint function & gait, and led to improved nighttime restfulness in large dogs with arthritis.

It took 3 years to complete this study, and it's the most significant thing that's happened since creating the Big Barker bed back in 2012.  

We've been saying for years that real beds change lives.  Now here's the proof!

The results of this study prove once and for all that your choice of dog bed can have a dramatic impact on your dog's quality of life.

If you already have a Big Barker, then yes, you probably knew that already.  Or you may have seen reviews from customers over the past decade saying how their dogs are limping less, moving around easier, and helping bring dogs back to their best after experiencing joint or mobility problems.  You may have also seen one of the many endorsements of the bed from veterinarians who strongly believe in the health benefits of the Big Barker.

And now we have a clinical study to back it all up. From University of Pennsylvania, no less! The Ivy League school who runs Penn Vet, one of the most prestigious veterinary schools in the entire world.

We couldn't be prouder to present you their findings:

If you don't yet have a Big Barker bed, is now the time to make the switch?
Click here to learn more.

If you'd like to see the raw data and learn more about the study methodology, here's the full report from Penn Vet's Clinical Investigations Center.

 

 

Our big takeaway: this clinical study data not only re-enforces, but provides clinical evidence that a Big Barker bed should be a necessary component of the basic standard of care for every large dog - no matter which stage of life they're in.

What do top vets say?

Not content with just reading the data from UPenn, we sent the raw data to an independent clinical statistician for analysis (see pages 3 & 4 in the document above). We also asked our friend, Dr. Sarah Wooten, DVM, to interview three of the most respected experts on canine joint health and pain management to get their thoughts on how this breakthrough study impacts their recommendations to patients.


Dr. Robin Downing - DAAPM, DACVSMR, CVPP, CCRP

Founder & Director, Downing Center for Animal Pain Mgmt.

"I found this to be a really innovative study. I am unaware of any other formal research group, particularly affiliated with an academic institution like the University of Pennsylvania, that's undertaken any kind of study looking at sleeping surfaces to benefit dogs with diagnoses of osteoarthritis. So the innovation, the insight to really pursue that really, really got my attention. "

 

Dr. David Dycus - DVM, MS, CCRP, DACVS-SA
Chief of Orthopedics, Nexus Veterinary Bone & Joint

"So having this dog bed shows that these dogs were actually getting better sleep, or what we perceive as better sleep, I think is a real plus. And it extends beyond just arthritic dogs, but I can say, from the sleeping habits of dogs in general, there might be something there to help out with."

Dr. Matt Brunke - CCRP, CVPP, CVA
Rehabilitation Specialist, Veterinary Surgical Centers

"they said, well, let's put activity monitors on [the dogs] and see if they sleep a little bit better, because we know with arthritis, if your back hurts... then you're not going to sleep, or you're going to toss, you're going to turn, you're going to get up. So usually the good thing is, is if you're out cold, you feel great the next morning. And that was one of the things from the activity monitors was that it started to show that there could be a trend here in that they're going to just not get up as much at night, so that was really important to me. And it was the simple fact that the pets sought out the bed."


As Drs Downing, Dycus, and Brunke noted - there's still more research to be done.  This was a single-arm pilot study, which validated our belief in Big Barker, and opens the door to more studies to be done on other dog beds and other home modification devices.  Let's see how else we can attack this problem!  I'd absolutely welcome other dog bed companies to do their own clinical studies to get more data, and let's all share our results to help achieve our common goal... less pain, more mobility, better quality of life.

As you can tell, we're extremely proud of the results in this study.  Our mission since 2012 has been to extend the happy and healthy years of a dog's life, and this data tells us that's exactly what we're doing - that a Big Barker bed really does play a vital role in properly caring for a big dog.

If you don't yet have a Big Barker bed, is now the time to make the switch?
Click here to learn more.

 


UPDATES!

Everything has been very exciting since we made these study results public!  Here's the official "launch announcement" that I did with Dr. Hannah Capon of Canine Arthritis Management - last I checked, over 5,700 people had watched it!

 

 

Dr. Justine Lee, an emergency critical care veterinary specialist,and an alumni of UPenn, brought Milo and Lola to talk about the Big Barker bed.  She agrees with the study results and says the Big Barker "is definitely worth the investment, especially if you've got a dog with any kind of arthritis."

 

 

More to come!