# what size crate do i get for my GSD??



## Ludogg

okay my pup is now 18 weeks and hes ready for a new crate.. should i go ahead and get the biggest one i could find? ( 48x30x31) that way i dont have to replace again.. or does his crate have to be more snug??
i found a great deal on CL for $50 (48x30x31)...


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## LaRen616

At this age I would get the biggest one I can find at a decent price. Your puppy should be potty trained by now or close to it. No sense in spending more money on a new crate everytime your puppy grows. Go for the big one


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## GSDSunshine

I would agree with the big one. If he seems to be having trouble with having too much room and is having potty issues. I was looking to see if you could find just the divider and ran across this. It is the same size 48" and is only 50 bucks and it has 2 doors and a divider. 

Black 48" Two Door Folding Dog Crate Cage w/DIVIDER - eBay (item 160419725281 end time Apr-06-10 12:45:56 PDT)


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## Ludogg

question?? i heard tell if you crate your dog he'll be agressive... every-time i take him out the first thing he does is go buck wild..chase down my lil dachshund hercules and chew on him.. i know hes playing but sometimes it looks bad.. like hes gonna hurt him.. i usually only crate him when i cant supervise him.. wich is overnight and periodically thru-out the day...is it just cause he still a pup and is playfull??? or should i make a dog run in the yard instead of a crate? hmmm???


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## GSDSunshine

No crating will not make him aggressive. You do want to make sure that he gets plenty of exercise before going into his crate so he will be tired and nap, or calmly chew on a chew toy (kong, nylabone). When he is let out he was just recharged. And has tons of more energy now. He will be ripp roaring and ready to go. Its sounds like normal puppy zoomies lol. I would try to redirect his excitement on something else besides the the dog, maybe take him on a walk right after, play some fetch, or a bit of tug to get the extra energy out. He has all that energy the key is to get him to realease it in a way that you find appropriate.


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## Rerun

To echo an above poster, as long as he's not having any potty training issues and doesn't begin having potty training issues in the bigger crate, you may as well buy the 48" crate (although it should be noted that unless your GSD is one of those mammoth shepherds he doesn't NEED a 48" crate - a 42" would be perfectly sufficient).

Crating your dog will most definitely not make him more aggressive. However, he is blowing off excess bottled up energy when he comes out of the crate so you'd be better off exercising him before putting him in there and again after coming home right when you let him out of the crate to give him a better outlet for his energy than tackling your little guy.

Regarding ebay crates and the such, there are good crates and bad crates no matter where you look. Well, perhaps "bad" is not the right word. However, crate brands do come in better quality and crappy quality. They may all look about the same (the wire ones that is), but the wire strength and the welds are different. If your dog is not hard on crates then you likely won't notice or care if yours is not one of the super strong ones. But if your dog is hard on crates, buying the cheaper crates will be more expensive in the long run.


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## 4loveofadog

i agree with "rerun". the heaviest crate i've found is the 6 gauge Gorillia Tough, size 28/48/35". i've had lighter gauges and they do not seem to hold up. you can get this one from Dr Foster and Smith. Cost is $199. the only complaint is the tray they give you is weak, other than that, it works great with a large shepherd. i know it seems expensive but it does do the job. good luck with your dog.


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## codmaster

Also don't forget that most large crates come with a divider that you can use while the puppy is small to restrict the pup to a small area - this should help considerably with the pup not going in the crate!


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## mysablegsd

I got Carly the biggest one I could find. Got it at Petsmart.


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## GSDSunshine

holy cow... what size is that?


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## Mrs.K

Indra only goes into a kennel when she is in the car. I have her kennel on the backseat while the other two are in the trunk. She loves beeing in that kennel and in the car. I know it'll be to small for her one day but I have a bigger one that I can use later on anyway. 

I have only one crate in the house. And she only goes in there when I am cleaning up because she's chasing the vacuum cleaner AND the mop. That way I have her out of the way. Other than that, she isn't crated at all, plus she hates the crate in the house. She's also outside during night and is doing perfectly fine. 

Other than that I take her mostly with me. Good thing that Germany is so dog friendly, I can take her literally everywhere I go. All of them, actually..


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## mjbgsd

For the inside crates, I bought the biggest size wire crates I could buy for my oldest two. For the car, they get the #500's. Akbar is in a #500 right now in the house but it's too small for him so I'm hunting for a #700 atm, he's a growing boy, lol. The reason I don't have him in a wire is because he can brake the wire gaging(sp?) apart simply by pulling, he's a strong boy. He can't grab the wire door on the hard crate though so he has to sleep in that.


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