The usual problem with a heat-reflecting mat is not the heating, it is the washing. Most of them hide a foil layer that survives one spin cycle and then crackles like a crisp packet for the rest of its life. This one is built to be washed, and for a mat living in a crate or the back of a car that is the specification which actually decides how long you keep it.

It works the way any self-heating pad works: no power, no element and no battery, with the fabric holding your dog's own body heat against them instead of letting it drain into the floor. That means the mat is only warm with a dog on it, and it is at its best laid over something cold and hard, a crate tray, a tiled kitchen floor, the boot of an estate. Six colours, two sizes, and the darker ones do not show a muddy spaniel.

• Machine washable plush fabric
• Two sizes: small or large
• Six colours: black, brown, light green, orange, grey and plush brown
• No power, batteries or heating element required
• Supplied as one mat

Who it's for: Crate-trained dogs, muddy walkers whose bedding needs washing weekly, and car boots where a plug-in heated bed is simply not an option.