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She's coming home TODAY... crate question

D

Daisy

New member
Our puppy is coming home TODAY! :) :) :)

We have spent up the next month's mortgage (well, almost) on puppy supplies and I think we are good to go! The only thing I am not 100% sure we did right was the crate. It seems big to me. But two people at the pet store said it was the right one for even a puppy Cavalier. They said this way I could buy just one and not have to buy a bigger one when she gets bigger. Still... self doubt is creeping in. To me it looks like the right size for an adult Cavalier. But Fergie is just a puppy!

Does anyone have ideas for measurements on a puppy crate? Do you sometimes have to have one small crate, and then get a bigger one as the dog gets older?

Fergie is 8 weeks old...

MANY thanks!
 
The crate we got for Ruby was HUGE when she was a puppy, but it came with a little wire wall to put up so that you could adjust how much room she had. Did yours come with one?? We got the Life Stages 1624DD for her, and it's been great. Very easy to break down and transport, and easy to clean, etc. Congrats on getting your baby!!!
 
Like Jessica said, ours came with the metal divider. The biggest mistake people make, and I did too, is giving the puppy too much room in the crate. I was told it should be just enough room for them to sleep, and not a condo ;) . If it is too big, they will potty in the crate. If yours didn't come with the divider, you may want to exchange the one you bought for one with a divider. You could make your own divider, but seems easier just to get one with the divider. Congrats on the new puppy!
 
We bought the smallest size crate offered at the pet store that said it was for up to 10 lbs. Once Bailey got to about 8-9 lbs, we switched to the next size up, which I believe is up to 25 lbs. He is 18 lbs, so it works out well. I don't think you want to get one too big, as I remember when my friend did this with her pug, he would just urinate and poo in the back of it.
 
I got a 30x19x22 cage for Waffles and I think it fits her just fine. She does have extra room but I believe she will grow into it. Shes a very animated sleeper, so she moveas around a lot when she sleeps so I think this size crate is perfect for her. It also came with a divider if the cage was too big
 
My husband wondered what on earth I had in mind when I came out of the pet store with our crate. (I had in mind big enough for 2 cavs at the time, but that was not meant to be!). Although Wrigleys crate is big enough for a Husky, he seems comfortable in it. He is coming up for a year old and completely house trained. He did have a few problems peeing in his crate when he was younger. He would lay on a soft towel and sometimes pee on it, so after some advice, I kept the towel out of the crate and he has no problem now. We put the bedding from his doggie basket at the front of the crate each night, so this gives him the option of laying on something soft or settling down at the back of the crate where it is cooler. I think the only problem is that the crate looks huge in the kitchen, but he seems very happy in it.

I know many people say that dogs should not have too much room in a crate, but I would hate to be cooped up in a space all night where I didn't have enough room to move around and stretch my legs.
 
Generally you really do only want a puppy to have enough room to move around and stretch out to sleep but not enough to allow them to pee or poop in one corner and have room to get away from it. If they can do the latter, they generally will, and this sets back housetraining.

The pet shop advice was good to get a large crate if you don't want to buy two. You can just put a cardboard box inside to fill up the extra space -- you probably want to block off about a third to half of it.

Have fun, a new puppy is so sweet!
 
We use 18x24 for both our cavaliers. We never put up a divider, and never had a problem with them pooping or peeing in their crates. I guess we were lucky. It does seem big when they are little, but they grow fast and before you know it - it is the perfect size.
Good luck!
 
I'm a "the bigger the better" kind of person when it comes to crates. Ours are L=107 cm x W=68 cm x H=68 cm (L=42” x W=27” x H=27”). I have never had a puppy pee inside his crate, ever. However, if this did become a problem & you wanted to make the crate smaller in the short term, you can just slide some wooden boards through the bars to make it whatever size you need.

Whatever you do, do not make the mistake of placing newspaper in half of the crate & bedding in the other half, as you will most certainly then be training your puppy to pee in his crate.
 
When we brought bobo home we had a medium size crate(18x24), when he was full grown he is on the small size we bought a large size so he is more comfy,we only crate him at night time.
judy
 
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