Best bed for Dogue de Bordeaux with bony hips

An 11-year-old Dogue de Bordeaux with bony hips is exactly the situation where the wrong bed does real damage — pressure sores on prominent hip bones are painful and can become serious fast. Before I point you toward anything, tell me: roughly how much does your dog weigh right now, how do they prefer to sleep (curled, stretched out, on their side), and has the vet mentioned any other concerns beyond the pressure points — arthritis, mobility problems, anything like that?

That weight loss is exactly what makes this urgent — less muscle and fat padding means those bony prominences are bearing his full weight directly against whatever surface he's lying on. Stretched out on his side at 55kg, he needs a bed that's both wide enough to contain him fully and soft enough at the surface to distribute pressure away from the hips and elbows, while still having enough base support that he doesn't sink to the floor. What's your floor surface at home — hard floor or carpet? And does he struggle to get up from low positions, or is he still fairly mobile getting on and off the ground?

Perfect — that tells me everything I need. On a hard floor with arthritic hips and elbows, you need serious foam depth, not a thin memory foam mat that bottoms out under 55kg. The one I'd point you to is the Big Barker 7-Inch Orthopedic Dog Bed in the Giant size. It's specifically engineered for dogs over 50kg and built around the problem your vet has flagged — it uses a three-layer therapeutic foam system where the top layer is a softer pressure-relieving foam and the base is a denser supportive foam. The surface cushions those bony contact points without letting him sink and twist his joints. Big Barker also publish clinical data showing it measurably reduces joint pain in large dogs, which is rare for a pet bed brand. The Giant size gives him full stretch room. It won't collapse, it won't bottom out, and the cover is waterproof-backed and washable — important at his age. It's the only bed I'd recommend without hesitation for this exact situation.

It sits about 18cm high, which is actually helpful rather than a problem at his stage — low enough that he's not climbing up onto anything, but elevated enough that he's not starting from flat on a hard floor. The foam gives him a slight spring-assist when he pushes up, which dogs with hip arthritis tend to find easier than pushing off a dead-hard surface. You could also place it against a wall or in a corner if he uses the wall to brace himself when getting up — a lot of older large dogs do. The main thing is it won't slide away from him when he's pushing up, because it's substantial enough to stay put.

Good luck with him — at 11 a Dogue de Bordeaux is doing well, and getting the sleep surface right genuinely makes a difference to how they feel day to day. If the pressure points are already visible or broken, it's worth mentioning that to your vet before they develop further — a good bed prevents new ones but existing ones may need some attention too.