tanned sheepskin safe as dog bed?

We adopted a dog from the shelter a few days ago and are preparing for her arrival home (she had to be spayed before they let us take her home). I happened to find a beautiful black sheepskin rug at a yard sale and thought it might be a good option for her bed. Not too much a gamble at $5. When I got home, I started reading about it and learned that while many people do use sheepskin rugs for dog beds, there could be issues due to the chemicals used to tan the leather, depending on what was used and the process. But alas, I don't know those details. I searched for the name of the company that made it, Mayall, and found nothing useful.

Does this seem like it should be safe for her? She is having some skin irritation due to allergies right now, plus she'll have a healing wound from the spaying, so I want to be extra careful what she's exposed to until that all heals.

I think any chemicals should be washed off by the manufacturer, as people use it on sofas, armchairs, etc. Does it have any strong smell?
While the wound is healing, I would just put some cotton sheet on top of it (maybe an old bed sheet) so the hair from the rug doesn't get into the wound.
When I took my dog from shelter he was very dirty and smelled really bad, but I couldn't wash him because he was too scared, so I was putting my old clothes on his bed and throwing them away when they got dirty, until the dog was clean too... then I bought him a proper bed when I was finally able to give him a shower.

Thanks for the reassurance, Flora! I really want to be able to use it, as it seems like it would be really comfy and comforting for her. It doesn't have a strong smell, I think the fellow had it for awhile, so presumably it would have off-gassed anything long ago. I just didn't know if there were any issues from frequent, direct contact. When I was searching for info, I saw some things coming up about formaldehyde, lead, etc sometimes being present, though it sounded like it might be rare. I don't know why those would be present, as I am not familiar with that kind of tanning. I only know brain tanning. I looked at the back of the hide, and can tell from that it is is dyed black. So there's dye present as well.

Yes, I definitely think a washable barrier of some kind is in order until she's healed up. Luckily she's not too dirty or smelly, just smells like her diet isn't great. But that shall be remedied soon.

Heather, what color is the back/inside of the sheepskin? That can give a fair indication of the tanning process used. If it's gray, blue-gray, or green, particularly if it's very easy to roll/fold/crumple up, it's likely chrome tanned, as is the majority of garment or near the skin type commercial tanning. Because the rug is black, it might just be a lighter shade of black, though - which will make it a little more difficult to determine. The fact that it's hair-on indicates that this is the most likely method used, especially at the price, even for a yard sale.

John is extremely allergic to chromium, so we tend to search for oil, brain, or veg-tanned. The downside to veg tanned (as well as how I'm sure that's not what you have) is three-fold: it tends to be pale orange or yellow, unless it's dyed, it tends to be substantially stiffer (think saddles), and it doesn't allow for hair retainment.  Oil tanned will also be hairless - think Latigo- the deep, rich, red/ burgundy, with a smoothish side and a slightly rough suede side. Brain tanning is rarely used in commercial processing, because it's more labor intensive,  and rather picky, but is one of the few ways I know of, to retain the hair, beyond chrome tanning.

So, I'm going to assume (yup, I know what that means...) that it's chrome tanned. If that's correct, then I'd go ahead and use it (chrome tanning has been around for a very long time, in the garment leather industry,  though it's definitely not an organic method), and just watch her for possible allergic reactions, like excessive itching, stomach upset, hot spots, some possible behavioral issues, etc. If anything like that pops up, the first thing I'd remove, to test for improvement, would be her food, and the next would be the fur. Congratulations on your new family member!

Thank you, Carla! The back is blue-gray. It's quite flexible too. I suspect you're right that it's chrome tanned. I really appreciate the descriptions of what other tanning processes would look like.

I did read that chromium could be an issue for some. Maybe I'll wait til her skin calms down, as she's already quite itchy and I might not be able to tell. I'm almost certain her current itchiness is due to the low quality food she's been eating plus the crazy amount of stress from being at the shelter. Hoping to transition her to raw or at least home cooked eventually. Thank you! She's such a sweetheart, I can't wait for her to get to come home with us!

So glad to help! Yeh, if she's already itchy, I'd probably dig through my old towels, rewash in vinegar, to eliminate any odd residues, and give her that. The vinegar will also soften whatever you choose, be it towel, blanket, pillow, or... I'm so glad she's going to be with someone who will take such good care of her!