1. He can stretch out fully

The 2XL is 120 × 80 cm. For the first time, his head and all four legs fit on the bed at once, even when he sleeps with his legs straight out.

The first evening, he did his usual three circles, lay down, and kept going: legs straight out, head on the far side. Nothing hung over the edge. I went and got my phone, because I'd never seen him lie like that anywhere except the sofa, where he isn't allowed.

2. I stopped guessing at sizes

Every bed I'd bought before was chosen from a photo. "Large" on one website was barely bigger than "medium" on another, and I never knew which I'd got until it arrived.

Every size is matched to a weight range, so I chose by Ollie's weight rather than a photo. He's over 50 kg, which put him in the 2XL, the size made for dogs like Bernese and Great Danes.

It sounds obvious now, but choosing by weight meant the bed arrived the right size the first time. No measuring tape, no second order, no return.

3. He rests his chin on the side

The bolsters run all the way round and are 20 cm high on the 2XL. Whichever way he faces when he settles, there's an edge to lean into, the way he leans against me on the sofa.

Ollie has always been a leaner. He props himself against the sofa, the door frame, my legs. Now he does it in bed. Most nights he ends up with his chin on the bolster, watching the room until his eyes close.

4. He isn't lying on the floor through it

His old beds always gave way in the same places, under his hips and shoulders, where all that weight presses down hour after hour.

Deep-fill cushioning spreads his weight across the whole base, so he isn't pressing through to the floorboards under his hips and shoulders.

When I press down where he sleeps, I can't feel the floor underneath, which is more than I could say for any bed he'd had before.

5. Muddy walks aren't a problem any more

We walk across fields, so Ollie comes home wet, muddy or both most days of the year. His old beds smelled of wet dog within a week, and spot-cleaning never got it all out.

The cover unzips completely. It goes in at 30°C and tumble dries on low, and the inner sleeve keeps the fill in shape while it's off.

Now the cover goes in with the towels on a Sunday and the bed is back in its spot by the evening.

6. The bed stays in the living room

Our last bed lived in the hallway. It was too big and too tired-looking to keep anywhere people would see it, so Ollie slept away from the rest of us.

We went for Oat, which works with our light floors. It looks like part of the room, so it can stay where Ollie wants to be.

He spends his evenings next to us now instead of in the hall, and if I'm honest, that's the change I like most.

7. He stays put all night

Bernese run warm, and Ollie used to get up and move to the cool floor. The corduroy is cosy without trapping heat, and these days he stays where he is until morning.

I used to hear him get up in the small hours, pad across the room and flop down by the back door. That doesn't happen any more. When I come down in the morning he's in the same spot I left him, still stretched out, still asleep.