How to Measure Your Sofa for a Dog Cover | Get the Right Fit

A dog sofa cover that’s too small slips off in the night; one too large bunches into a nest your dog ignores. The fix is simple but precise: measure the whole sofa, not just the seat. Most buyers measure only the cushion area, then wonder why the cover doesn’t reach the armrests or hangs awkwardly on a curved back. Here’s the method that works for any sofa shape, every time.

What Dimensions You Actually Need

Write down four numbers before you browse covers: overall width, overall depth, overall height, and the thickness of your seat cushions. If your sofa has arms, add their individual width and height too — these are the second-most common measurement miss after seat-only width. The Coverstore recommends measuring width from left to right at the sofa’s widest point, depth from back to front at the deepest point, and height from the ground to the top of the backrest. IKEA’s guidance adds the outer edge of one armrest to the other for width, and separately measuring armrests, seat cushions, and back cushions.

For sectionals, L-shapes, U-shapes, or chaises, measure each connected segment separately and note how the pieces fit together. A single sectional number is almost always wrong — each module has its own width and depth.

How to Handle Different Sofa Shapes

Not every sofa is a rectangle. Rolled arms, curved backs, and reclining sections all change where your measuring tape lands. Follow these shape-specific rules:

• Rolled or oversized arms: Measure left-to-right including the arms as the widest point. Do not assume the arms are narrower than the seat — they often aren’t.
• Curved or rounded backs: Measure depth from the front edge to the top of the curve where the backrest is deepest. The Coverstore guidance notes that for curved backs, measurement starts at the top or bottom of the curvature.
• Recliners: Measure with the footrest fully closed (stowed), and also note the maximum extended depth when fully reclined. Some covers can accommodate partial recline positions; check the product’s notes before buying.
• Removable cushions: Measure seat cushions separately for their width, depth, and thickness. The Spruce Pets recommends cushion-specific measurements because thick cushions can bulge a too-tight cover. If your cushion is unusually deep, measure the sofa both with and without the cushion in place.

The Two Most Common Mistakes

The first mistake is measuring only the visible seat area and ignoring the armrests or the outermost edges. A 60-inch-wide seat might need a 72-inch cover once you include both arms. The second is forgetting cushion thickness — a sofa with tall foam cushions will fill a cover differently than a thin-cushion loveseat, even if the width and depth are identical. Coverstore’s fit guide specifically warns against assuming arms don’t matter and ignoring cushion depth when ordering.

For a loose-fit throw style cover, some guides recommend adding 4–8 inches (10–20 cm) to both width and depth. This extra allowance gives room for the fabric to drape naturally rather than straining at the seams.

Comparing Your Numbers to the Size Chart

Once you have your measurements, the most critical step is comparing them to the specific product’s size chart — not a generic size label. One brand’s “large” might fit a 72-inch sofa while another’s fits 84 inches. Check each dimension individually: overall width, depth, and the arm/seat measurements you recorded. A cover that matches width but is 6 inches too shallow in depth will pull off the top corner within a week.

If you are confident in your numbers and ready to buy, our tested roundup of the best dog sofa covers on the market includes size recommendations for each style, making the chart-matching step faster.