Crate help, please...

[midori115]

I've crate trained Oscar from the beginning and it's worked out very well. However, he is now very large and I'm afraid he needs a bigger crate. And that's fine. But I'm not sure how to choose one. Are there better brands? and how much room should he really have in there?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Guest Anonymous]

I use the theory that he should be able to stand, lay down comfortably, and turn around will little trouble. Brand wise i dont think there is a huge difference, but crate styles vary greatly. I personally go for airline crates, they give the dog some privacy and they seem more relaxed when they are in that, as compared to wire crates... well at least my dogs anyway.

[eric]

An other alternative, if you have the room in your basement, is to buy one of those outdoor, chainlink dog enclosures, and set it up inside.

They're not that expensive ($200 to $300) but they provide lots more room. You can even leave toys, food and water in there.

I felt guilty having my dogs locked up in little crates all day so I got a 10' x 10 ' model. This way, all three can be together which hopefully makes their day go by a little faster.

[kendalyn]

I like the hard sided airline crates too. The wire ones are too open. I think the dog feels like it's more of a "den" if it has hard sides.

I know some people who like the X-pens. They are portable and easy to set up and give the dog some extra roaming space. I'm not sure about cost.

[drjeffrock]

I recommend the airline plastic and wire gate kennels. I have two Varikennels, they are great. No complaints here. 8)

[TDG]

i agree with everyone else, the plastic airline type is the kind i prefer too. the one i have is a petmate vari-kennel "fashion". i just picked the fashion over the regular grey one because of the color, it's the same as the interior of my car. lol :roll:

easy to clean, more versatile, less chance of injury to the dog.

[Taurus and Jada]

I am having the same problem right now. Jada only goes in her crate tio sleep at night.... not during the day, but she is allready almost as big as we expected she would get and shes only 8 months old! We paid $180 for her crate, and now we're going to have to buy a new one soon.
I agree with the airlione crates. She has a "petcargo" right now. She really seems to like it. It does give them privacy and the "den like" feeling, but there are slits in the side, so she can see our bed when she wakes up in the morning.

[Peng1zrule]

I got the airline crates, too. the "tent" ones didn't work cause the dogs would just push at the sides of them...not very containing. I love wire ones for training, but I think the dogs like the plastic ones better once they are trained...more like a hideaway. I like the folding crates of any kind because they are portable.

[science_doc]

We have a HUGE crate for Hailey......when we bought it I wasn't worried about house breaking issues, but we wanted her to be able to stretch out during the day. Her crate is the "wire" type, which I like......at night when the door to our bedroom is open and the cats can wander in and out, we keep a blanket over the crate for privacy. during the day, when the cats are locked out of the bedroom, we lift the blanket off the crate so Hailey can look around and get some sunshine. I like this system right now, but to tell the truth as soon as we buy a house we are going to build and outdoor run with a roof and a heated/cooled dog house for Hailey. I don't feel right about keeping her inside all day. DRAT I wish someone around my area would open a doggie day care!