Yahoo Lifestyle 
Kmart's 'chew resistant' budget pet buy blasted: 'It lasted an hour'
Kmart is copping some serious criticism online after photos of a ‘chew resistant’ pet bed destroyed after just a few hours was shared by a furious pet owner.
One Aussie mum bought Kmart’s Extra Large Chew Resistant Pet Bed in a bid to find her pet labrador something affordable but secure to lie on, though at $45 it was hardly spare change.
“It cost $45 which I know is not a huge amount but it was for me as a single parent,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
“I was so pleased that Kmart had... [a] big enough and durable outdoor bed that would accommodate our dog.”
She says she was shocked when the new bed barely lasted an hour, as she was hoping it’s ‘chew resistant’ claim would ensure a slightly longer shelf life.
“Then to have it last not even an hour I was disappointed [to say] the least,” she says. “I understand dogs chew and that's why I brought this bed as it clearly states it’s chew resistant.”
Sharing snaps of her pup amid the wreckage of the bed to Facebook, the mum warned others against buying into the product’s claims.
“Don’t bother with the so-called chew resistant new pet beds,” she captioned the two snaps.
Dozens reveal their pet beds disasters
Dozens of other pet owners then revealed they too had had the same experience, some with far more dramatic outcomes.
The similar stories came in thick and fast, with over 600 people commenting on the post, many reporting the exact same issue.
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“Mine lasted exactly 5 minutes,” one angry shopper wrote.
“Our Labrador did the same thing within an hour of having it,” another reported. “Weakest spot seems to be the zip.”
“My daughter's Bull Terrier ripped his apart in [one] hour,” another shared.
Serious risks associated with loose bedding
One woman even reported that her experience with the same bed being torn by her dog resulted in a mammoth vet bill of over $3000 after the dog ate part of the bedding.
In some cases, dogs can’t digest materials used in bedding and have to have it removed manually, as happened to one dog mum last year, after her nine-month-old puppy chewed through an Aldi nylon pet bed advertised as ‘tear resistant’.
The shards of nylon left the puppy with internal bleeding, something a vet nurse commented on at the time.
“As a vet nurse, we see many dogs who need surgery for eating bedding. It happens regularly and even soft beds can get stuck,” the woman wrote.
It comes just weeks after Kmart was slammed by another furious dog owner who claimed her pooch was nearly killed by a popular $5 chew toy.
Lauren Hill spotted the bargain teething toy at the Maroochydore Kmart store earlier this year and thought it would be a great gift for her adorable one-year-old pug Wombat, but the puppy managed to tear a piece from the plastic toy and a large portion became lodged inside his small intestine, making him incredibly sick.
Lauren claims her vet warned that without surgery, Wombat would die – so she forked out $2,200 to save her beloved pet’s life and thankfully, he is now fully recovered.
Others who reported the bedding being destroyed say Kmart refunded them their purchases, after initially refusing, though the mum behind the post says she’s not impressed with the incident at all.
The mum who originally shared the snaps of the destroyed item says the bedding posed a potential hazard for her other pets,
“I had to then gather all the fluff so my 12-year-old blind dog or my son’s 10-week old pup doesn't choke on it,” she says.
Onlookers divided over Kmart’s responsibility
Some argued that some dogs chew through anything and Kmart could hardly be held responsible.
“Even my chihuahua gets through the chew resistant ones in a day,” one pointed out.
“It is chew resistant, but it is not attack and destroy resistant,” another joked.
Others disagreed, pointing out that a product advertised as ‘chew resistant’ should be hardier than the evidence suggests.
“Chew resistant?” one wrote. “l'd be contacting the supplier and demanding a refund under false advertising.”
Kmart has been contacted for comment.
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