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Soft-sided Crate Suggestions

M

Mic

Guest
I have three crates now:
a very small plastic one 21x14x15 good for rescue pups,
a medium plastic one 24x16x15-good for 2 cavs on short trips or 1 cav all night.
a medium wire one 24x18x21- good for 2 cavs plus fluffy wally bed-both can stand, walk around with out a problem

The wire one folds down, but not very easily. Plus, it's heavy and rattles in the car. Abby and Cappy like being in a crate together, so the wire one has kind of become their night time kennel.

So I need another crate for the car. I'd like it to be about the size of my medium plastic one, but it seems like nothing fits the bill. It will be used only for transporting during short trips, so it doesn't need to be big enough for them to...oh...I don't know...throw a party. I prefer that they just sleep during these short jaunts.

BTW, I drive a VW bug, so SIZE MATTERS! The wire crate is great in our Excursion for long trips/vacations, but not in my daily driver.

Check out these crates and see what you think:
http://www.petedge.com/shopping/pro...08&iSubCat=433&iSubSubCat=438&iProductID=3998
X-Small...21"L x 15"W x 15"H........$50
Small......26 1/2"L x 18"W x 21"H..$60

http://www.petedge.com/shopping/pro...08&iSubCat=433&iSubSubCat=438&iProductID=6085
Small......24"L x 18"W x 21"H...$30
Medium...31"L x 21"W x 26"H...$40

None are really the perfect size; either too big or too little. Does anyone have another company I should check out?
 
Mickey ~ I've personally seen the soft sided crates and they look like they're very well made. I would personally go with the small home-n-go if I were you. There's even an additional pocket to put things in there that you might need to keep. I'll probably eventually buy one for Faith and Kosmo to ride in too. :) The lady at the pet store recommended small to me.
 
I like the looks of the Home & Go one best, but it's a tad bit bigger in length than the other one; 26.5" vs. 24". Actually, it's the height that gets in the way and isn't really needed since they just crash during the short time they're in it. Why can't I find a soft sided crate that's close to the same size as my plastic one?

Sara, how do the prices compare?
 
I know the home n go folds down to almost nothing but it is quite heavy. I will use it for travel for example when we go back home to WA and stuff too.

You're asking about prices here?! :yikes They are expensive - over $100 and that's for the X small. :yikes

Dog.com sells them for $70 but they are $11 more for oversized shipping. I would convince you to order one with me from there so we could both save $10 but they are out of stock until after I come back there. :(

Looks like petedge is the best but I know dog.com does a 110% price match guarantee

Have you used petedge before? Do you know how much shipping from there would be?
 
My sister uses PetEdge a lot and hasn't had a problem. Her trainer recommended them.

PetEdge would be $72.25
Dog.com would be $85, I think.

Still looking for the perfect size...and a reasonable price.
 
arasara said:
They are expensive - over $100 and that's for the X small. :yikes

Just saw it at PJ Pets in Pickering today (I remembered this post) the small is $129. At U.S. prices its a great thing to have. At Canadian prices its hardly worth it when the plastic carriers are on sale for $39.
 
I'm just wondering if the plastic crate would get very hot to touch if it was in the car on a hot, sunny day. The softsided crates don't get hot, and they are cooler outside in the summer, for agility matches, etc.
 
Cathy Moon said:
I'm just wondering if the plastic crate would get very hot to touch if it was in the car on a hot, sunny day. The softsided crates don't get hot, and they are cooler outside in the summer, for agility matches, etc.

ahhh having 3 dogs makes you think of things I still dont realize. good point!
 
:yikes :yikes :yikes

Kody - I remembered them being expensive but not THAT expensive!

That's NUTS!
 
A soft sided crate *is not safe as car transport*. I think it is very misleading for these companies to show pictures of dogs inside them in a car -- any dog would be crushed in an accident and many rescue teams are specifically instructed -- in the US in particular -- NOT to EVER touch or rescue an uncrated (hard crate) dog even if it is in danger of dying in a car wreck (this reported to one list I was on directly from someone who had spoken to rescue services on this point). You might as well just put a dog in a cardboard box. I would instead invest in a couple of seatbelt harnesses if you are concerned about space. A soft sided crate is basically intended as an alternative for *in the house* for a dog or when travelling when the dog will be *inside*, like inside a hotel room as an alternative to a hard crate. Or in the case of sherpa-type bags, for airline travel.

A softsided crate would offer absolutely no protection in a car impact. Consider whether you would stick a human baby or toddler, unrestrained, inside a soft crate lying on the seat and consider that adequate protection for a car. Eeven if the crate were fastened to a seatbelt. There is just no way that would be safe -- and it is the same thing with a dog on any size or age.

The dog either needs to be in a safety harness connected to the seat belt with little room for movement (or it will just be thrown thru the air on its tether as if it had no restrainst at all -- don;t use those long tether things that come with some harnesses as they are pointless from a sfaety perspective) or needs to be in a hard crate held in place by seat belt or wedged into a place where it cannot roll.
 
Thanks for the link, Debbie. The Noz-to-Noz seem well built also. It has the metal tube frame like the Home & Go. I'll see if I can buy it locally. Thanks for everyone's help. I appreciate it.
 
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