crate questions - advice

1stSheltie said:
Thank you everyone!

Yes, don't worry we will of course get her well used to which ever crate we get, well before we use it at an unknown place.

WISH the soft sided crates weren't so much (being in Canada everything is even more) Spending $100+ to have her POSSIBLY destroy it in under an hour - would definitely suck!

Better to just give her a $100 bill, she'd probably have more fun trying to rip it up!!! :lol:

She isn't much of a chewer (well she like paper products as discussed in another thread) But hasn't eaten shoes, baseboards, furniture etc.

BUT she is a scratcher! As in, will paw at the inner screen door (but metal on bottom half - she can't reach the screen part). She'll dig/paw at that - say if her Dad just went out to cut the grass, & I wanna keep her in, so she doesn't get too close to the lawn mower etc. (which she has no fear of - she's right by it!) She's pretty convinced she must HELP her Dad cut the grass.

So I'm assuming, us away - her in soft sided crate - scratching = crate ruined!

I tend to think staying with the plastic, as she's used to that, like's the den feel is the route to go. But the foldabilty of the wire crate is appealing & I love that lift up & over & away door on that one I posted a link to. The Ovation style one.

We'll visit lots of pet stores & sort this out!
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Please don't assume that all Shelties will destroy a soft-sided crate in a hour.

I've used them extensively to transport my dogs from house to car to boat to cottage. A $100 investment in a single crate has seen 4 years of abuse and its still standing.

I also used a soft-side crate for training Bacca when he was a pup. No issues there. He never chewed it and he never opened the zipper.

Plus I found the portability of the soft-sided crate an added bonus. I could easily move it up and down the stairs so that he could be in my room at bed time and then move it downstairs during the day.

Once he was house trained (but not "chew-trained") I moved his crate into an X-pen during the day with the crate door opened. Gave him a little extra space, but still contained.
 
I have been using Vari Kennel crates since I started showing long haired dogs. I find they are less likely to damage the coat and they don't rust.
I also discovered that you can make them cooler in the heat of the summer because they are enclosed. I put 2" blocks with a piece of pegboard cut to fit into the crate with freezer packs underneath. A crate fan on the front and light bedding over the pegboard and the dog is quite comfy. They are safer for car travel than a soft sided one, can't be rolled and no worry about teeth getting caught.
They are also easy to clean and disinfect.
I have the original westie crate that I bought for Meaghan back in the early 80's which has travelled extensively taking bitches for breeding or going to shows and it still looks quite good.
 
Well, we got a crate last night! After lots of looking locally (I'm not one to order much on line - I like too see / feel /operate things before I buy them.) :winkgrin:

So with what was available to us here, that has lots of air vents (even some on top) and a door that I can operate (some are quite difficult for me) this is the one we bought

http://ca-en.hagen.com/Dog/Home-and-Transport/Carriers/76730
In the size shown 32.5" x 22.5" x 23".

Julip was of course with us and she has a good amount of room in it. Actually we tried it on Wed. night (came home & researched it) & went back to get it last night. It fits in the back seat of our small car, so that's a bonus! We bought the non display one, so it was packaged in halves - in each other. So Julip was riding in the halved part, she thought it made a lovely booster seat.:smile2:

Its quite light weight actually. I can lift it & move it around assembled no problem.
We went with the plastic as we know she does like the den feel. Figured it would be good for outdoor life, camping etc., could withstand more then a soft crate (I'm pretty sure she'd scratch her way out of one of those). And the extra bonus its airline approved, (well yes I know each airline is different yada yada - but hopefully if we need to fly with her, it will be good!

And the most important part - how does she like it?! We put it in our bedroom closet, door off, facing us, pillow in. Note, she also has her own large pet bed in our room & she too can jump ON the bed anytime if she wants to. But when I woke up this morning, I look over & here Julip is in the crate, on her back - paws up in the air, totally asleep in that beyond comfortable /feel safe position! I SOOOOO wish I slept with a camera beside me! It was the cutest site!

Yes I know now we have to try her left in it, with the door closed! But her enjoying it all on her own, is a good 1st step! It is hard because its not something she needs to be in, in our house. She's fine baby gated off in a room, has been since we got her! (Puppy proofed of course). She gets to watch life out the front bay window & is content I think, when we are away - because she can move around, with in the room, on & off the couch etc.

But for going to cottages we rent, hotels etc. she'll need to understand what a crate is.

Anyway so that's my update! So far so good! Thanks for all your advice & tips. I think the best one is to just know your dog, as to what will work.
 
That looks like an awesome crate!

Congratulations on your new purchase.

Please let us know how it works out for you.
 
I think I've used just about every type of crate there is out there, and seen the rest of them at shows & trials.

The wire crates are what I used most of the time at show sites and at home. I tried several brands - General Cage, Midwest, and Kennelaire. It was a must to have one that folds, suitcase-style! General Cage used to be my fave, as it folded up in no time, but they don't make my particular crate anymore, so when I got Gracie, I bought a similar one from Midwest, and it's a good comparison. I would not have a Kennelaire in my house - they are escape-proof, yes (closing with a little twist lock which is nice) but in anything other than the very smallest size, the top and walls begin to sag fairly early in - not as high a quality as you'd expect for the price.

I've also used Vari-Kennels at various times for travel and at home. They are good protection for the dogs in the car, but they are exceedingly bulky (and I had a very small 2-door Nissan Sentra at the time) and hard to lug through motel/hotel lobbies without creating a scene. They can pop apart during an accident, though. I always used cable ties to strengthen the seam using my dad's (a cable system engineer) heavy-duty (think those zip-ties that police use for handcuffs) ones. I moved away from those after my accident, and could not lift either the wire crates or the plastic ones.

Once I had one dog again (my Border Collie went with ex by court order), it was my very small 10 year old Sheltie (12 pounds). He'd never been much of a chewer, and crated almost all his life, as he had been trained and shown in obedience, agility, and herding from about eight months on. We went to live with my parents and space was at a minimum. So I went out to Target, and found a very thin nylon pop-up tent style crate. It was perfect for him, and would fold flat and store behind a door. I soon quit using it, though, as when I had surgery and was recovering in a hospital bed in my parents' living room, he developed a love for being next to me on the bed. So the crate only came out for road trips, which my parents do a great deal of, whether they have to take gimpy only daughter and her tiny little growly dog or not. This thin nylon crate was EXCELLENT for travel, as it would fold flat. Neechee was never a big chewer, and when the crate came out, he was ready to get in it as soon as his green dog blanket was chucked inside.

Shuffle a few years forward, and I am living with 2nd hubby in our own home. We rescue Bela, a 20 pound Sheltie after a year of doglessness. So I drag my selection of three crates down from the attic, and see which Bela likes best. She does best in Neechee's battered old General Cage suitcase crate, which I keep in the bedroom (bad hubby doesn't "believe" in dogs on the bed :confused2:) When running out to the store for a few minutes, I'd put her in the living room in the old pop-up crate. Invariably, I'd come home with the crate sitting on it's back wall and a very piteous-looking Sheltie at the bottom. And that was no matter how I had it anchored! So I put it back in the attic. Bela was flat-out scared of the Vari-Kennel (plastic) - I suspect that she was kept in one at the puppy mill. So that went back into storage as well.

When we rescued Gracie a few months later, it was on the spur of the moment, and we had no time to prepare. But then I have a large collection of equipment, so I was sure I could make her comfortable for a couple of days until things could get sorted out. I put her in the pop-up crate, as she wasn't a big chewer. That is, until I came home one day to find the pop-up crate in the middle of the living room, upside down and standing on edge. Since I left it in the upstairs bedroom fully weighted down, I was alarmed. I look down into the crate to see a very small, very scared Gracie who had had a MAJOR potty accident all over the crate and was covered in it herself. After making sure she was OK, I took the crate, dog and all, outside and rinsed them both with a garden hose. Nothing hurt but Gracie's pride.

The next day, I got a package from Amazon. It contained a brand-spanking new Midwest wire crate including a sectioning wall for crate training. I have retired the old pop-up, but keep it for emergencies.
 
Very interesting thread. We don't crate Sally when not home b/c there is no need. She isn't a chewer or destructive, so she has run of the house. I do have a Midwest wire crate we used when she was a pup and right now there is a tiny black kitten rolling around in it:yes: We don't travel overnights very much so haven't had her in the crate for a looooooooooong time. Wonder how that would go...
 
mellie said:
Very interesting thread. We don't crate Sally when not home b/c there is no need. She isn't a chewer or destructive, so she has run of the house. I do have a Midwest wire crate we used when she was a pup and right now there is a tiny black kitten rolling around in it:yes: We don't travel overnights very much so haven't had her in the crate for a looooooooooong time. Wonder how that would go...
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if you want to compete/ take any performance classes in the future you might want to reconsider not crating.
 
SheltieChe said:
if you want to compete/ take any performance classes in the future you might want to reconsider not crating.
Click to expand...

It is also good to keep the dogs used to going into crates in case they have to stay overnight at a vet's office. In my opinion, having a crate trained dog make them more relaxed if they were ever in the position of having to stay inside a vet box.
 
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