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Crate Question

THFC1882

THFC1882

Active member
I know this has been posted here many times before about crates, however i thought I would be able to post my own question on it. Myself and my other half were talking about this just last night, on 1 hand we don't like the thought of putting our pup in the crate at all but we need to think of what is needed done for the pups sake, to keep her out of mischief, away from harming herself amongst other things.

We are thinking about getting a crate to put it in at night to sleep or when everyone is out during the day, for example to visit my parents house (which is a 5 minute walk away) for an hour or 2. We both work from home therefore spend most of our time in the house.

So we are wondering what size of crate would be required, so that there will be enough room for the pup to play or sleep in. Even if you have any advice as to which manufacturer or anything will help out.

Of course when the pup will be house trained and hopefully can be trusted in the house alone not to wreck and chew on the furniture the crate can be done away with.

Thank you for your advice in advance
 
Our crate is 22" wide x 24" high. That seems to be a good size for our cavalier, Pickles. She's 10 months old and she is quite petite.

The manufacturer will specify breed types for each crate, usually.

Also... just a tip. Look on ebay for a crate.
 
We have a crate for Chester but mostly just to put him in when we are trying to eat something or when we have our baby neice round as all he wants to do is kiss her! He did sleep in it for a while but now prefers to sleep in the kitchen. Although he does go into it on his own for a sleep during the day time.

Maybe you should consider getting a play-pen for your little puppy as well. We had part of our dining room sectioned off for Chester when he was tiny so when we couldnt keep an eye on him 100% of the time we still knew he was safe but that he had plenty of room to play around in. Now he has moved into the kitchen when we are out, which we separate off with a babygate so he can still see what's going on.

There are quite a few people on here that have pens so am sure they can give you all their opinions on them.
 
Only thing about our house is the kitchen is actually quite small and i don't think we would have the room for a play pen / run type of thing. Is there much difference in size between the pens and a crate?

Overall we don't want to keep her in the crate much at all, apart from the times that we need to, until she's fully trained and we can trust her not to hurt herself or wreck the house.
 
I crated my two when I left the house until they became potty reliable. They both sleep in their crates at night out in the family room. And they love it! At 9:00 sharp (I think Shelby knows how to tell time!) Shelby will dash into her crate. I say "let's go night night" and they both tuck right into their crates and sleep in there peacefully until 6:00 the next a.m. My two are on the large side (Jake is 24 lbs and Shelby 21 lbs) and our crates are 18"x24".
Snug as little bugs in a rug!!
DSCN0475.jpg
 
Chester (20lbs) and Rupert (19lbs) have Midwest Life Stages Model #1624 crates which are the same dimensions as Jake and Shelby's and they love them. I paid a little extra to get the kind that fold down so it's easier to travel with them. They also came with a divider panel that you use when the pup is tiny and you need to reduce the size of the crate. Here's a link to it: http://www.midwesthomes4pets.com/ProductPages/LS-1600.asp
 
Sorry to steal your thread but just got a quick question for Cathy, do you shut the doors of their cages at night time?

Great picture by the way!
 
Kelly,
I shut my boys' doors at night, otherwise they would jump up in the bed with us halfway though the night and wake us up!
 
That's why I dont think Chester settles, he doesnt seem to like the door shut. He tries to dig his way out!
 
If you want the dog to play or stay in it an extended period of time-- I'd use an x-pen-- If you want him to settle and sleep- I'd use a crate. My dogs love their crate. fwiw
 
We never used a crate with Sally and never had a problem. She's never chewed anything while we've not been there. She has the kitchen to herself while we're out and at night and she is happy enough playing with lots of toys. We just bought a large bed and filled it with a cushion bed and blankets and she loves it. Before we had Sally we had a Lab and had such a horrible time with the crate. She hated it and used to bang the metal bars all night and we just felt mean putting her in. I guess it was our fault for not training her properly to enjoy going in it but I was determined we wouldn't have another crate with Sally after that experience. I think you'll be fine with the crate if you can manage to train your pup to accept it.
 
We just bought our girls a crate (30 inch for two - they are very small) today, they're already 9 months old though. We're going on holiday with them and thought it might come in handy. To our surprise they seem to love it straight away, we put their bed in there and draped it with a fleece blanket. Very cosy! ;)
 
Yes, I latch the door shut at night. They have slept in their crates since the first night coming home. The only time they don't sleep in their crates is on vacation with us and they have no problems going back into their crates when we get back home.
 
Barkley's breeder recommended the Midwest Life Stages and he recommended a little bigger one...the 31". I got the folding one. I recommend Amazon because the shipping is free and I got it in two days; they had the best price I could find when considering shipping and the fact that I didn't have to pay sales tax.

Barkley sleeps in a travel crate next to my bed because I want his other crate to be where I hang out in the house. Today is our two week anniversary and he does not seem to be distressed by being crated when I'm at work or asleep.
 
I just started my pup in crate last night and expected to wake up to a boo boo. So far it's been okay. I'm still working on making it fun to go in on his own. He's become quite clingy in the past week. It really surprised me because he seem independent when we first brought him home. My dh thinks he might be on the small side so I bought the 24'' x 21'' size.
 
Just for laughs, enjoy this photo!! My boyfriend keeps a crate at my home for when his Giant Schnauzer comes to visit...we simply cannot eat our dinners unless his dog is crated. I put Barkley in it just to take this picture. Hilarious!

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:rotfl: Oh that's hilarious Debby!!

My lot are all crated at night, I have very big cages and 3 dogs to a cage, they all snuggle right up in a corner and sleep straight through! The cuddle can almost tell the time I swear, as at around 9-9:30 they are looking at the folded down crates and then at me as if to say "Come on Mum, we want to go to bed!!" :rotfl:

Even my parents threesome take themsleves off to bed in their kennel cabs as well!! Amazing how they love the ritual actually!!
 
Thank you for all your replies & links. We will have a look at the links/sites you gave us and see which one suits.

Thanks for the nice pictures too, debby's gave us a giggle.
 
Would this crate be ok??

size:-
31.5"L x 20"W x 22.5"H (external)
29.5"L x 18.5"W x 21"H (internal)

ITEM DISCRIPTION
This is a 2 door lightweight cage. The 36" has 2 bolts per door.

On these cages the frames are 4mm gauge wire with rounded corners for added safety.
The mesh is 3mm gauge. The Mesh spacing is 30mm x 100mm.

Not as strong as our Dual coated range but these economy cages are every bit as good as all the other single coated cages on ebay but at the very bottom of the price range. We don't recommend anything other than the heavy duty dual coated cages for dogs such as Staffies or escape artists.



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