# Crates - Plastic or Wire - and what size?



## sanjo (Feb 22, 2017)

Hi all - 
We'll be bringing our new pup home in a few weeks and I have a smaller wire cage (summer yard sale pickup, only 30" tall but large enough for a pup) I was planning to use to start off with - but I'm thinking maybe I should just buy the 'end crate' for them now off the start. I figure that will be better than trying to swap out something new in a year or less (omg what happened to my house!)

Full grown the dog will be less than 80 pounds - so I don't need a monster sized crate - but I was curious what height you guys use and prefer.

I was also deciding between the plastic types like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000R3J5L0/ref=twister_B01N2PA5OC?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

Or the wire crates like this one: https://www.amazon.com/MidWest-iCra...1488242804&sr=1-4&keywords=48"+dog+crate&th=1

The plastic ones would feel more cozy (I like in MI so warm weather typically isnt an issue) but I've read some dogs will chew out of the plastic ones. 

I know the main purpose is to give the pup a place that's his home, that feels safe - and also to help with potty training or as a way to keep them out of trouble if no one is around for an hour or 2.

What's the general consensus here - are plastic ones the way to go? Most of the kennels and breeders we visited seemed to have more plastic crates than metal ones, was that just a cost thing or are plastic just better for certain situations?

Thanks for any help


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

Wire, they are collapsible and much harder for a dog to destroy.

They also provide more visibility to the dog, so the dog can feel included. If more privacy is what you want just throw a blanket over it.


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## Diegotxe (Feb 26, 2015)

I suggest a wire and divider. It worked best for me with my gsd. He couldn't chew thru it, it was sturdy, the divider was helpful as a pup and he had room to grow. For the cozy den like feel you could always throw a blanket or sheet over it. Idk why you saw more plastic crates than metal at your breeder/kennel visits? Maybe another member can better explain that? ?


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## sanjo (Feb 22, 2017)

Awesome - I was kinda leaning towards the wire ones too 

Should I get 36" or 42" of this? https://www.amazon.com/MidWest-iCra...1488242804&sr=1-4&keywords=48"+dog+crate&th=1

Both have dividers and are the same otherwise, the price difference isn't much either.


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## JnK (Feb 21, 2017)

I've always liked wire crates for the reasons mentioned above. It's much easier to break down and fold a wire crate than a plastic one. Be sure to get one with a divider (and use it) for when they are small.


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

sanjo said:


> Awesome - I was kinda leaning towards the wire ones too
> 
> Should I get 36" or 42" of this? https://www.amazon.com/MidWest-iCra...1488242804&sr=1-4&keywords=48"+dog+crate&th=1
> 
> Both have dividers and are the same otherwise, the price difference isn't much either.


The bigger the better IMO, you can always use the divider if it's too big, and you never know if you'll have a bigger dog! The 48 inch is perfect for my GSD.


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

for sure 48". i was an idiot and bought a 36" for my pup and she outgrew it in no time. now i have to buy another one. i can only use it to put her in to sign for a package from UPS and no longer than that.










IMO she still would be cramped in 42" and she's kinda small.


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

Here is mine in his 48" crate. He's curled up here but he has room to stretch out too.


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## sanjo (Feb 22, 2017)

48" it is! 

Just out of curiosity - did you guys use x-Pens for them at any point?

My house is still 'toddler proofed - so they wont be able to get into the kitchen, down stairs or into any of the rooms but have free roam of the living room, which is where I planned to put their crate - the dining room and the hallway. It's like 75% hard wood floors so honestly I'd like to keep them off it and on the carpet as much as I can when they are young. (for healthy joints)

Something like this would let me keep them in the mix but confined to an area: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00063KG46/ref=twister_B00P1NKX9Y?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

I don't want to go overkill or anything, haha but I figured since I'm ordering the crate today, I might as well get anything else I might need too. =p

Thoughts?


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

here is what I use in the house. Good quality crate. Folds up when needed and the plastic tray on the bottom seems pretty decent.
Dog Cages & Crates: Drs. Foster & Smith Great Elite Classic 3 Door


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

A 6'x4'x4' kennel indoors. That way I dont feel as bad leaving her. IN an emergency of diarrhea, pee, etc. she can hopefully find space to keep away from it, she can have a bowl of water in her kennel, she can fully walk around and fully extend herself, etc. 
Since she is in it 8 hours a day, I didn't want her being in smaller kennel for the reasons stated above and because I'm a crazy dog mama. 
I reinforce the door with a chain hook and all around with zip ties. Its kept her in. She was eating through plastic crate and in 2 seconds can open the door of a MidWest wire kennel.









https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OA7UR2/ref=twister_B01M20W8FN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

car2ner said:


> here is what I use in the house. Good quality crate. Folds up when needed and the plastic tray on the bottom seems pretty decent.
> Dog Cages & Crates: Drs. Foster & Smith Great Elite Classic 3 Door


Oh nice this crate is great for "Crate Games" because of that open top part! HMMMM!


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

VTGirlT said:


> Oh nice this crate is great for "Crate Games" because of that open top part! HMMMM!


you crate your dog for 8 hours a day? are you still potty training or no trust in the house?


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## sanjo (Feb 22, 2017)

I went with the 48' ExPen and I ordered the 48" crate from midwest, the double door with divider.

We own a small business and get to work from 'home' (www.bikeengines.com) shameless plug. =p

The reason I mention that is I don't ever plan to leave the dog in the crate or expen for any longer than absolutely possible. We'll start with a few minutes and work our way up from there under supervision - Ideally we'll connect the crate to the expen for the days we have to be gone for more than a couple hours at a time.

Thanks a bunch for the feedback folks


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

I have a 48 inch crate. If no one is home, he's in it. I tried him at a year (ish) old and he rearranged the hallway. Took my husband most of the weekend to patch the hole(s), then he had to remud, texture and paint. So ... yeah ... no trust. I used a plastic crate up until I got his 48 inch crate. I still like the varikennels in the car to help contain the hair, etc.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

I prefer the wire crate and I like it extra roomy so they can move around. I had a smaller crate they use for the car until she out grew that! They do grow so fast!!!


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

Galathiel said:


> I have a 48 inch crate. If no one is home, he's in it. I tried him at a year (ish) old and he rearranged the hallway. Took my husband most of the weekend to patch the hole(s), then he had to remud, texture and paint. So ... yeah ... no trust. I used a plastic crate up until I got his 48 inch crate. I still like the varikennels in the car to help contain the hair, etc.


How about these super fashionable doggy leotards for hair control? Lol I was trying to find how to stop licking/chewing with my in-laws boston terrier, heard these work well for that and hair control while traveling


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

Yeah you can get one of those and let me know how it goes. It looks incredibly stupid...poor dogs.


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

I'm sure they don't care what they look like haha plus it's better than chewing/licking huge sores into their skin, which was what I was trying to find a solution for.


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## sanjo (Feb 22, 2017)

Galathiel said:


> Yeah you can get one of those and let me know how it goes. It looks incredibly stupid...poor dogs.


Dude -you're crazy! I'm totally buying that for a ninja dog Halloween costume...


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## Roman'sGirl1975 (Mar 11, 2016)

You know your dog is too smart when you put him in his plastic crate for car travel and run in to see your daughter and son in law for five minutes and come back out and find your German Shepherd has escaped his crate gone over it over the stuff in your back seat and into the front seat. I use a plastic crate in the car and a wire one at home for Nyx but last weekend we didnt have room in the car for his wire crate so he had to sleep in the plastic one while on vacation


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

scarfish said:


> you crate your dog for 8 hours a day? are you still potty training or no trust in the house?


I have a few reasons actually.
Primarily because when she is especially frustrated she does destructive behavior. When I leave her at my parents house loose she does fine. I have a feeling she would be fine. 
My second reason is what keeps me wanting her to remain in her kennel when i am gone is because if someone came into the apartment, it wouldn't be setting her up for failure. I dont have a key to my apartment so the door is open 24/7.  lol! Also, if she did get out, its a farm, and she could get hit or find herself being sucked in from the manure pit. (She doesn't understand that the manure pit is a death sentence for her, and she loves to roll in it when the manure trucks spill it while traveling to go spread it on the fields in the summer. Also, she doesn't understand the concept of a moving car and is not scared of it at all.. 
Thirdly, the times that people go into a house to steal things, if they find a dog and are armed they may kill the dog if the dog is acting up or even if not, or if they weren't armed could beat her. Since i dont trust people around here 100% with my most valuable thing on earth, Zelda... If i keep her in a kennel upstairs, they dont have to worry about her while they steal things. So maybe she would be safe in that case. 
Fourthly, the cats my sister have. She can break through the gaits to get to them if she really wanted to. And it is something that I would never forgive myself for or my sister would forgive me if she killed her cats. 

If my circumstances change... and with added security.. a key for starters! And an alarm on the house, etc. more deterrence. I would consider letting her out. However, she has a big kennel, and will sleep anyways while im gone, might as well be contained in a space.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

I prefer plastic. Walmart sells them pretty cheap. I have two different sizes. The smaller one for the vehicle and the larger for at home. 
I find the wire ones noisy. Plus there are numerous parts for the dogs to get caught on. Bud was pretty good at destroying crates but with the wire one it was stupidly easy for him. Plus the plastic ones are easy to clean and keep the hair contained during dog building season.


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## oldun (Feb 20, 2017)

When we got our two year old rescue, he came with a wire crate. Not in the best shape in the world, but it seemed OK. We crated him for a couple of hours while we were out and about, and came home to a destroyed carpet. He apparently pushed his paws between the door and clawed all the way down to the wooden subfloor. We got a Varikennel ( all plastic, with a 4 point latching system) and have had no further issues. BTW, we picked up the XL Varikennel via Craigslist for under $100. Amazon has the same kennel for $250.


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## sanjo (Feb 22, 2017)

I ended up going wire for the house.

I have bought 3 different size crates because when I tried to use the 48" crate when we brought her home she was like... wtf is this?! nope! Just too big and daunting I think for the little pup.

So I have since moved to the 30" - now she's in a 36" and I have the 48" for when she gets older. The crates from midwest are awesome quality and come with the dividers and double doors - very reasonable priced too.

The play pen (xPen) was a bust - she's either in the crate or supervised and played with/ cuddled with. (when she wants some love) she did not like the x pen even after a few days, even after sitting in there with her. I the crate - she's fine - but it's either crate or under my feet, lol...

For my truck I'll use the wire crates in the back bed with the camper cover (Michigan never gets all that hot)

I'd like a plastic one down the road when she's full grown (because I don't want to buy more than 1 size) just to keep the hair flying around to a minimum in the car - but in the house wire is working well so far.

She sleeps in the living room with no issues, with a light on low and my stinky shirt of the week in her crate. (and fingers crossed she continues too!) first few days were hard - she's awesome now, even settles with no complaints during the night after potty breaks.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I prefer plastic. My nuts have had too many issues with wire crates and caught paws. I will NEVER transport in a wire crate either. not unless it has 1" x 1" mesh. This is due to a paw going through when car had to pull up a slope and having to have 3 people feeding his leg back into the crate all the time being grateful that he knew we were helping him and was not freaking out. The other option (best option JMO) is welded aluminum.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Dracovich said:


> I'm sure they don't care what they look like haha plus it's better than chewing/licking huge sores into their skin, which was what I was trying to find a solution for.


Actually they may not care what they look like but I had one for an allergic dog and his ears were back and he was very subdued the whole time he wore it. .IT did keep him calm as a side effect but not necessarily what we wanted.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

I just sprung for an aluminum crate for my dog because he has let himself out of a wire crate twice. He did not damage it at all, but somehow unlatched the door. Apparently by skill, not force. He will willingly stay in the crate most of the time, but those two times he decided he was getting out.

I often want to leave my tailgate open at dog events and it's too big of a risk if he decides to let himself out of his crate. I've had it clipped in the interim, but still. Plus I really want him locked to protect him from humans. 

So that's what we did.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

If I were buying a new car crate this is what I would invest in. It is a lot less than fixing one broken leg. I have owens dog boxes for now so won't be swapping them out (welded aluminum) but might if I had years of dog ownership ahead.



https://www.gunnerkennels.com/


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

NancyJ said:


> Actually they may not care what they look like but I had one for an allergic dog and his ears were back and he was very subdued the whole time he wore it. .IT did keep him calm as a side effect but not necessarily what we wanted.


This can be just a matter of conditioning them to it. Either way, pick your poison, I'd rather see my dog 'subdued' than aggressively itching and biting itself to the point of having sores. This can often be due to stress in a dog, and wearing something often reduces dog stress. It's dependent on the dog and the issue at hand, every 'tool' can be useful, but they definitely don't work for everyone.


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