# Plastic or Wire crates?



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Just curious on others' experiences using crates at night. I'm now 0 for 3 using a plastic crate, in the house at least. Nikon, Ana, and now Pan all would shriek and howling and gnaw at the door of the crate ALL night long in my plastic kennel. Each one I switched to a wire crate and then voila! sleep w/o fussing. The plastic kennel is not too small, but I guess there is just something about it seems more like jail? Or maybe it's b/c I set the crate on the floor so in the wire crate they can see me in the bed?


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I use this crate for Rogue (the largest one they make) he is 26' at the shoulder, he can stand in it and he always sleeps curled up so he only uses half of his crate.










This is Sinister's crate, it was originally Rogue's but he started chewing the bottom and it was larger than the other crate and Sinister is 28' at the shoulder so I switched them.


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## Schatzi09 (Sep 10, 2010)

i had a similar experence with my GSD's plastic crate, my breeder had actually suggested the plastic rather than the wired crate. She would whine and carry on all night, my thoughts were about the same as yours that the plastic crate was too confined maybe? im not sure excatly what the problem was, but i switched to the wire crate and no more issues, she sleeps thru the night and even naps in there mid day its amazing, but im not complaining i actually get some sleep now lol


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## CaseysGSD (Oct 15, 2010)

I just sent you a message right before I saw this post...too funny! 

Anyway same here, Blitz cried her head off in the plastic crate for 5 nights in a row so I let her (gasp) sleep in my bed for the next few weeks while I ordered her a wire crate, I thought there was no way she would go for it after being in my bed but much to my suprize she loves it...never a peep! I think she likes having a better view but also I don't think the plastic ones have enough air flow and she feels cooler in the wire crate.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Schatzi09 said:


> i had a similar experence with my GSD's plastic crate, my breeder had actually suggested the plastic rather than the wired crate. She would whine and carry on all night, my thoughts were about the same as yours that the plastic crate was too confined maybe? im not sure excatly what the problem was, but i switched to the wire crate and no more issues, she sleeps thru the night and even naps in there mid day its amazing, but im not complaining i actually get some sleep now lol


I had the opposite reaction.

Rogue came with his wire crate, he cried and barked alot the first night I had him and he chewed the bottom of it! He used his paw to grab the bottom of my comforter and he pulled it into his kennel and he ripped it to shreds!  I made the crate switch to the plastic one the next night and we have had zero problems. 

I wanted to add that his owner said he absolutely hated his crate, the wire one ( I witnessed that) but now he loves his plastic crate and he sleeps in it even when the door is open.


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

Otto has a wire crate. He loves it b/c he can see out well. I Also agree with CaseyGSD the air flow is much better in a wire crate than a plastic one.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

How about puppies? I'm really wondering about puppies still in the process of housebreaking and learning to sleep through the night. All my dogs will sleep in any crate I put them in after 4-6 months.


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

I have used plastic and wire....no issue with either. But I think Jake prefers the wire crate....


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Liesje said:


> How about puppies? I'm really wondering about puppies still in the process of housebreaking and learning to sleep through the night. All my dogs will sleep in any crate I put them in after 4-6 months.


I got Sinister when he was 11 weeks old, I had him in a plastic crate up until 8 weeks ago (wire now). As he grew his crate grew.


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## hmmiller05 (Mar 1, 2010)

My puppy loves her wire crate! She sleeps in it all night long with the door open if we forget to shut it! I think its the ventilation for my pups : )


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## ahazra (Aug 20, 2010)

We've both wire and Plastic crate and my puppy prefers the plastic one. He'll whine a little in the wire cage but has no issues going into the plastic one. My guess is because he has more of a 'Den' feeling in the plastic cage whereas the wire cage is just too open ..but that's my theory !


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## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

Wolfie has a wire crate. He has always loved it.


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## Vinnie (Sep 4, 2001)

Liesje said:


> Or maybe it's b/c I set the crate on the floor so in the wire crate they can see me in the bed?


It's been a long time since mine were puppies but we have always used the plastic crates for puppies. As I recall there was always some crying the first night but I found that if I put the crate up on a table (level with the bed) and faced the opening toward us, I didn't have such a problem. 

With my son's dog we had a bit more problems. My mom suggested we also put a ticking clock near the crate. She said that helps them feel like they're near other puppies or mom. Reminds them of hearts beating. It helped.

I haven't tried the wire crates with puppies so I couldn't say if it's better or not.


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## Deuce (Oct 14, 2010)

I use a large, wire cage/crate that I got from Petsmart for $69.99.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Another thing I did differently last night which may have also helped was instead of putting him right to bed, I let him cuddle in our bed while I was listening to my book. Then I quickly moved him into the crate. He groaned a few times but that was it. I'm OK with some fussing at night since I let them wake me when they have to potty, but it just seems whenever I use that plastic kennel it's not fussing but a panicked fit (like screaming, howling, thrashing around and gnawing at the bars). I tried the plastic again this time b/c it's the appropriate size (24" kennel and he's a pretty compact guy). DH asked me to try a wire crate and I only have 36" which I feel is a bit large but he did great last night. Same with Nikon, we used the plastic kennel for 4 days and it was awful, he was SO loud that I could hear dogs in my neighbor's houses also barking b/c of his racket. He would thrash around and even rolled the kennel. Finally I borrowed a small wire kennel, and not only did he stop howling but he slept through the night! I always thought the plastic kennel would be more "den" like but I guess not.


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## boeselager (Feb 26, 2008)

I personally like the plastic Vari Kennel crates. I've seen serious injuries (not from my dog's) that can happen from a wire crate.


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## VegasResident (Oct 4, 2006)

We switched our boy from a plastic 36" ot a wire 42" at 16 weeks old and he now sleeps like a rock. 

We actually did because he had a penchant for running his paws up and down the sides of the plastic keeping us up and also because he was squishing his ears against the sides of the plastic crate (ears up!).

Best thing we ever did. He stretches fully out and is a perfect fit and no potty issues. We place a blanket over part of it for him and then leave bottem edges all open for air to move in and out since cool air sticks near floor.


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

boeselager said:


> I personally like the plastic Vari Kennel crates. I've seen serious injuries (not from my dog's) that can happen from a wire crate.


We have both. I think a calm dog is going to be fine in either crate, but if the dog is anxious and tries to get out, the plastic crates are safer. A dog can really shred it's paws trying to dig out of a wire crate.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

for puppies we use the plastic crates and our dogs are fine with both plastic and wire. But the general thing we see if Riley preferes the wire, Shasta prefers the plastic and Shelby doesnt have a preference except she'd rather not be kenneled in any way shape or form.


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Wire. I would not want to be in a plastic crate...too claustrophobic!


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

lies, your new puppy is one cutie !!

The one thing I found using a vari kennel in my car, every one of my dogs would get car sick in them,,switched to wire and they were fine,,

Mine never freaked out being in vari kennels, but the car sickness thing, made me stick with wire crates even in the house, I'm not sure if it's to claustrophobic (as above poster said), or just that with wire, they have better air ventilation??

who knows, but I'm a wire crate person myself


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## adamdude04 (Apr 15, 2010)

I made my own crate from wood. A temp one for him to grow in. Now that he's pretty much full grown, I'm going to build a really nice one. 

For the floor, I'm using stone tile. LED rope lights on the top edges for lighting inside, a few nice plexi-glass windows, and a nice door handle for the "storm door" looking door. 

Cost as much as a nice platic crate, but much nicer by far. And custom to how I want. Ontop will be a small box for the cats and their feeding station (dog eats their food).


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I did wire crates when Stark was little, that and the X-Pen - not sure if you remember my set up or not. I liked the way it worked out and will most definitely set it up that way again.

I just got a Vari kennel when I started SchH. It's for the car only, haven't used it inside.

I like the idea that I can see the pup through the wire when I am in bed, but that's just my preference. I find the wire crates easier to keep clean as well.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

We have both and all the dogs will readily use all of them. I prefer the plastic ones in recent years because I've discovered they contain fur, water (rainy days) and in general - dirt. They also don't scratch and scuff the floors.

The wire crates I always have to put a blanket under it, and if it's been raining for a week straight (welcome to spring and fall in Indiana) and the yard is saturated, they come in sopping wet and muddy after every potty break. The plastic crates contain this and I can easily clean them out. The wire crates allow them to shake muddy water all over the walls, floor, etc.

Not fun,

I do keep the 54" midwest set up though I have a sheet over it. I don't like stuffing Micah who is huge into a smaller crate.

I buy most crates lightly used from craigslist, so I buy what I need at the time. But if I was buying them new I would buy the biggest size of the furrari's and line them up side by side. I LOVE my furrari cage. It is so nicely made and so easy to take apart to clean because it has big buckles/snaps (not sure what to call them) vs the screws on the vari kennels (have a couple of those too).


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## CaseysGSD (Oct 15, 2010)

Your story with the four night screaming in plastic and then quiet in wire is EXACTLY how it went for us.even when I pulled the door of the plastic crate right next to my bed so she could see me was not working, I really think the plastic crates get too hot, being all closed in with body heat and all that fur. We went right to a 42" wire at 15 weeks and she never had a accident in it but some of them do come with a divider if you want to make it smaller for now without having to buy 2 crates while your pup is growing


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## Ruthie (Aug 25, 2009)

We read that you should set the crate up like a den by throwing a blanket over it, but Bison hated it like that. He did fine in a metal crate next to the bed.


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## Ruthie (Aug 25, 2009)

CaseysGSD said:


> Your story with the four night screaming in plastic and then quiet in wire is EXACTLY how it went for us.even when I pulled the door of the plastic crate right next to my bed so she could see me was not working, I really think the plastic crates get too hot, being all closed in with body heat and all that fur. We went right to a 42" wire at 15 weeks and she never had a accident in it but some of them do come with a divider if you want to make it smaller for now without having to buy 2 crates while your pup is growing


We did the divider thing with Moose, Gator, and Bison. Worked well for us.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I was very, very lucky that Karlo's breeders put the pups in crates alone to eat(as they got older) and then left them inside for a bit to get desensitised to them. 
They also took them for rides in the van to get use to travel in a crate. 
I used the same, plastic varikennel for Karlo as a wee pup, and used the wire one when he outgrew the plastic. 
I put the varikennel right by the bed and put my fingers inside so he could sniff them when he started fussing. It was late April, and my house was always on the cool side-no overheating that time of year.
By the 2nd night he was settled in just fine. I also brought some crate pads home from the breeder so he had familiar scents the first couple of nights. 
I never used a divider in the wire crate, but he held it for much longer than the average puppy. I only had 3 accidents in the house in his whole housebreaking.


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## PupperLove (Apr 10, 2010)

We started Jackson off in a wire crate, and the fact that he could see out of it made him nuts if he couldn't be right there with us, so I usually covered it with a blanket. When he got bigger, we bought the same exact Remmington plastic crate that LaRen posted. We decided to go with plastic because it is more confined and could be used as a portable shelter if we did any out-door activities with the dogs. If he can't see me, he doesn't know that I'm not right there and he cries less. We took the plastic crates camping with us and they worked nicely as 'dog houses' and of course, made the dogs feel at home.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

LaRen616 said:


> I had the opposite reaction.
> 
> Rogue came with his wire crate, he cried and barked alot the first night I had him and he chewed the bottom of it! He used his paw to grab the bottom of my comforter and he pulled it into his kennel and he ripped it to shreds!


I had a new foster GSD that was HW positive a couple yrs ago and had to be crated or penned a good chunk of the day as a result of the HW. Also had a minor ACL tear but the prolonged crate rest healed it up beautifully...

Anyway, I came home a couple days after getting him (he was in a 42" wire crate) and he had completely destroyed the plastic pan on the bottom - I mean destroyed!! - pulled the curtains hanging on the window near his cage though, shredded them (and broke the curtain rod in the process by pulling it down), shredded the blanket that was underneath his cage, and then done some damage to the carpet by scratching at it.

I immediately went to petsmart and bought the biggest sturdiest petmate kennel they had, luckily the nearly $200 cage was on clearance for $75...and he never had a problem after that.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Rerun said:


> I had a new foster GSD that was HW positive a couple yrs ago and had to be crated or penned a good chunk of the day as a result of the HW. Also had a minor ACL tear but the prolonged crate rest healed it up beautifully...
> 
> Anyway, I came home a couple days after getting him (he was in a 42" wire crate) and he had completely destroyed the plastic pan on the bottom - I mean destroyed!! - pulled the curtains hanging on the window near his cage though, shredded them (and broke the curtain rod in the process by pulling it down), shredded the blanket that was underneath his cage, and then done some damage to the carpet by scratching at it.
> 
> I immediately went to petsmart and bought the biggest sturdiest petmate kennel they had, luckily the nearly $200 cage was on clearance for $75...and he never had a problem after that.


 
wow!!! thats almost what Shelby used to do only she has seperation anxiety and is a crate escape artist. fixed that! but still!!! wow. lots damage.


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## olskool53 (Sep 23, 2010)

boeselager said:


> I personally like the plastic Vari Kennel crates. I've seen serious injuries (not from my dog's) that can happen from a wire crate.


I read somewhere that Hundreds of dogs die each year in Wire crates. Our Breeder and trainer highly recommend plastic crates.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

We used wire with the divider as he grew and this worked very well. No need to buy more than one crate. He was crate trained so quickly, no big upsets.

I think that anything can be dangerous (sounds like the plastic crate could be dangerous from what she described Nikon doing..)

Very important to make sure they are stable, safe and used to the crate before you leave them in it if that is what one is planning on doing, but starting off with using it when you are home and sleeping I would think is generally safe.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

a plastic crate is to enclosed. a wire crate
offers more freedom. they can see more
with the wire crate.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

The wire crate has been working out well. However in the van I use the plastic kennel because when the vehicle is moving I think it's very important to have the safest crate. Not that the plastic is always safer (my other dogs ride in wire kennels) but my wire kennels in the van are too big for a 10lb puppy. If something happened I don't want so much room that the puppy can be tossed around really hard. The plastic one is the correct size for him right now. At night he's done much better in the larger wire crate. He wakes me up when he has to go outside.

I agree with Steph that both types have pros and cons, and any can be dangerous depending on the dogs' behavior. Luckily once past 4 months or so, all my dogs have been well crate trained to be in either type, anywhere. If I crate adults in the house I use 42" wire crates, mostly because they are cheaper and it gets so hot in the summer (no AC) I want them to have more ventilation. But in the van, I always use a size-appropriate crate so they have 36" wire crates. Again, wire because of ventilation and they fit together so I can use more. The plastic kennels have weird shapes and I can't fit them side by side.


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

I use wire crates in the house but I cover them for a den like feeling. Both dogs love it.
I use plastic crates for traveling as they are in the bed of the truck with a canopy on it. So for two dogs, I have 4 crates. :thinking:


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