# Crate Sizing



## TankGrrl66 (Jun 29, 2010)

My female is almost a year old. She is 23" tall and in the mid 50lb range.

What size crate works best for a dog her size?

She is currently in a 42" crate but its a little spacious. I have no problem with that, but I am getting a 2nd crate for the car and to give her somewhere safe to chill whenever I take her places.

Should I consider a soft crate? I found a ood deal on one that is 36" long but only 25-26" high or so. I think this is too small...or will it work?


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## DonP (Apr 13, 2009)

I have this soft crate (large size) : Clean Run: Canine Camper Double-Door Soft-Sided Dog Crates
My dog is about the same size and she is very comfortable in it. She sleep in it every night. We leave it open, so she wouldn't be in there if she didn't like it. We also bring it along when we travel. As long as your dog is done tearing things up, I would recommend having a soft crate.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

I think a 36 would be fine. For meals when we have fosters, when we are having the doors open a lot, or for crating during some classes we put Frag in a 36" crate and while I wouldn't leave him there for hours, he fits and doesn't mind it. 

He is 27ish inches and 80lbs.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

My van kennels are all 36" and my dogs range from 50-80lbs. Normally I'm transporting three male GSDs and my friend's dog is the largest at 88lbs. 36" is fine, the dog should not have room to be standing and pacing around in a vehicle.

Personally I would not use a soft crate in a vehicle or even a cheaper wire crate (the ones with the thin bars). If I can't walk on top of my crates then they aren't solid enough for my dogs' safety.


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## vomlittlehaus (Aug 24, 2010)

I would not use a soft crate in a vehicle either. The 36" is fine to use.


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## TankGrrl66 (Jun 29, 2010)

Any recommendations?

I am looking for a crate that is:

Safe
Water/mess proof. She gets car sick.
Easily cleaned
Easy to transport and set up.

This is my 2nd crate...I want it to be safe in the car, but also to contain any vomit in case she gets car sick. The car sickness is much more likely, but safety is more important just in case.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Furrari's are pricey, but easy to clean IMHO. They are the hard sided crates but don't have all the little screws like the regular hard sided travel crates do. 

I love our furrari. I think it's 42" -ish inches long, depending on where you measure it to and from.

Here is a 36" one
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Furrarri-Carriers-Model-Color-Vary/dp/B002U4JC4O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325981331&sr=8-1[/ame]


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

There are pros and cons to both but I use wire crates with a heavy duty wire gauge. A plastic airline type will contain mess better, but my wire crates have pans (with sides) that slide right out, so I don't have to take the crate apart or reach inside to remove a mess. Wire crates are better ventilated (important for me since we often train when it's humid and high 90s) and I find them much easier to fit side by side because the sides are flat/flush whereas the airline kennels either have a ridge on the side or are almost diamond shaped. I like the ability to easy bungee crates together (I have little to no rattling in my van), bungee the doors shut, and strap stuff on top of the crates. One of my wire crates flattens in on itself, so I can make a big space in the back of the van without removing a crate or taking it apart. This is handy when I transport our kayak inside the van. I've got two wire crates side by side in the way back and one in the middle row, so to get the kayak in I just flatten the crate that doesn't have another one behind it and slide the kayak on top of it. Since we travel a lot I just find the wire crates much easier to slide out flat and bring into a house, hotel or cottage or especially if I'm at a dog show and kenneling my dogs inside the venue and don't want to bring extra sets of crates. For me the versatility of wire crates wins, but some of the better made airline crates are stronger and better for dogs that chew on a crate or thrash around.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

TankGrrl66 said:


> My female is almost a year old. She is 23" tall and in the mid 50lb range.
> 
> What size crate works best for a dog her size?
> 
> ...


My dogs can go through a soft crate between home and training class. So I don't do soft crates in the car. I have one for dog shows, and I have another one I use with puppies when I am cleaning the whelping box. But I don't use them when I am not right there to stop any extra-mandibular activities. 

However, I use 36 inch airline type crates in my car. Mostly in the car the dog will lay down and sleep anyway. They are plenty tall enough for my bitches, and even were for my dogs. In a pinch I can put Cujo in one, but he is 29-30 inches at the withers, and it is a bit of a squeeze for him.


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## TankGrrl66 (Jun 29, 2010)

How about this one? I like the price and the size seems good. Thankfully shes a girl and I like the color pink 


[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Triple-Door-Suitcase-Style-Folding-Metal/dp/B001QXLANQ/ref=sr_1_15?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1326047790&sr=1-15[/ame]


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

TankGrrl66 said:


> How about this one? I like the price and the size seems good. Thankfully shes a girl and I like the color pink
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The size is perfect but this design will make it extremely noisy. I would get a similar dimension crate but with only one door. The more doors and fancy openings are in a wire crate the more it will rattle. Something like the below one is more practical,
Amazon.com: Midwest Life Stages Single-Door Folding Metal Dog Crate: Pet Supplies


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I agree. With wire crates you have to address rattling, unless you really don't care. With three crates in my van sometimes traveling several hours at once I can't stand rattling. I use bungees across their doors (and anywhere else that needs to be "tight" to avoid rattling) and it's not an issue. I'd wonder if having all those doors compromises the tensile strength of the crate?


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

Liesje said:


> I'd wonder if having all those doors compromises the tensile strength of the crate?


It does, the panels and all these doors/openings are made with very wide tolerances and the whole thing is seriously "loosey goosey". The rattle factor would be more than having 3 of 1 door only crates as everything is so loose. Best to keep it simple, you get relatively higher sturdiness and waay less rattle with a 1 door only crate.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Yeah I've got one two-door, only because it has to open out the side (sliding door) and I couldn't find a crate that had a side door but no normal door, and it rattles more than the others without being bungeed. Luckily the end with the door I don't use butts up against something, so even if the dog got slammed on impact the door can't open.


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## TankGrrl66 (Jun 29, 2010)

I don't mind the rattling much; I listen to music while I drive anyway. 

That metal crate would be sturdier than this:

Amazon.com: 36" Pink Pet House Soft Crate Carrie: Pet Supplies

Which is what I still may get but I really can't decide. Yeah, pink seems to be the least expensive color! I don't mind it...seems like this one would keep any vomit contained within as well.

Would it be safer to get a soft crate for the car? I was thinking about it today and...wouldn't the sides of a soft crate kind of 'catch' the dog? If the crate was generally fastened to the seat? It would deaden an impact...a wire crate would remain steady and give her something hard to slam into. Or worse, pop the two retaining clips and let her keep going through it. I wish there was a study on this...I'm gonna go look now 

My budget for a 2nd crate is about 40-50 bucks.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

Personally, I would never use a soft crate in my vehicle. I think of a crate inside the vehicle as primarily being used for keeping the dog contained and preventing the dog from becoming a projectile that will kill me if we ever get into an accident. I don't think there are any soft crates that are sturdy enough to do both. Heck, most soft crates won't even contain a dog if the dog tries at all to get out.

I have been using a wire crate in my car for some time and that has been working well for us. However, because the majority of wire crates are designed to be folded flat for transport or storage, they still have weak points and I don't think any of them will ever be as sturdy as a plastic airline kennel. I use Zip-Ties on my wire crate to reinforce all the sides where the panels come together, and I use bungee cords across the front door when I am transporting my dog, just in case. (Also cuts down on the rattling.) 

My crate is also secured to the rollbars in my Jeep by straps ... one going to the back corner of the crate from the roll bar pillar behind the passenger seat, and one going to the front corner of the crate on the driver's side rear pillar. Holds it securely in place. If we ever were to get into an accident, I'm pretty comfortable that the crate would remained secured.

I recently got one of the Ray Allen RAMTech kennels on Craig's List (for $100) and that's currently my main "at home" crate but will also be my travel crate. I haven't figured out yet how to best secure it so it can't move around the back of the car, though.

If your budget is $40 to $50, I think you would get the most bang for your buck picking up a used plastic airline kennel on Craig's List. $50 should get you a nice 36" one. Most of the VariKennels I've had over the years, I got this way. 

Another thought ... if your dog gets car sick, a plastic kennel may be a better option, anyway. I have never had a wire crate that had pans like Liesje describes, only the kind where the pan is in the bottom, with maybe 1" lip around it. I once had a transport dog get car sick in one of those ... it was an enormous mess. It was everywhere. I would never again transport a dog that gets car sick (or has the runs) in one of those. Ever.


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