Crate Sizing

[TankGrrl66]

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?

[DonP]

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.

[DJEtzel]

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.

[Liesje]

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.

[dawnandjr]

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

[TankGrrl66]

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.

[Rerun]

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

Amazon

Amazon

[Liesje]

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.

[selzer]

Originally Posted by TankGrrl66

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?

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.

[TankGrrl66]

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

Amazon

Amazon