The bed arrives, you set it down, and your pet walks straight past it to the floor. This happens in nearly every home, and it almost never means the bed is wrong.
Start with smell, not looks
The first thing to understand is that pets recognise a bed by smell long before they judge it by looks. A new bed smells of nothing they know. The fastest fix is to put something of yours on it — a worn t-shirt is plenty — or their favourite toy.
Placement matters more than you think
The second thing is placement. Resist moving the bed to the corner that looks tidiest to you. Put it exactly where your pet already chooses to lie: their usual corner, or beside where you sit. Once they have accepted it, you can move it a little at a time.
Many pets want something solid behind them. Try the bed against a wall or into a corner rather than out in the open.
Never force it
Don't lift your pet onto the bed and hold them there. Being made to stay teaches them the bed is a place things happen to them. Reward them when they climb on by themselves instead — a treat, or just praise. A few days of that usually does it.
If the bed is fresh out of the box, fluff the filling first. A bed still flat from being folded in transit does not feel the way it should; the fibre comes back to full loft within a day or two.
Give it a week. If your pet still will not touch it, look again at the size — a bed slightly too small, with legs hanging over the rim, is the most common reason a pet turns one down.
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