HELP! Crate sizing is harder than I thought.

DanteBella85 said:
Paeoniaa--Have you measured your dog while he's laying down from end to end? The website I want to buy from only offers 30 or 36 so I guess I'll just suck it up and get the 36..it's only $45...petco wanted $89 for that crate--and it didn't even have a metal tray or divider! Mine comes with both, and with 2 doors. Wish they made a 32...but my dog's not even done growing yet so I guess I oughta play it safe. But let me know if you get a measurement of your dog laying down...I'm just curious. And congrats on having such a large sheltie! I bought Claussen because they said he was the biggest in the litter...I wanted a larger one, but he seems to have slowed down growing now :(
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I measured Marlowe last night when he was lying down on his side. From nose tip to butt end, he is 36" and from his back to his toes, he is 23". Based on the other thread I posted, the 32" crate should be fine for him but, to be honest, if I had known he was going to be this big, I would have gotten the 36" crate (or even the 39" if I really wanted to him to be able to stretch out!).

For what it's worth, at 5 months (or more precisely, 22 weeks), Marlowe was 20.5 lbs.

At 5 months, he should be mostly housetrained so a larger crate shouldn't create issues in that department. We used an X-pen for Marlowe as a puppy during the day (he was only in the crate at night); it was 6' by 3' and we did not have any housetraining issues with him.

As for oversize, it wasn't what I had originally wanted :lol: but I selected for temperament and he has turned out to be the perfect doggie for me.
 
I have never been into "small dogs" so I wanted a dog that was a little bigger than 15 or 16". Temperment wise he is great, so it was a win win. I made a split second decision last night-as I measured him again and he is 15.5 inches back to toes and 30"stretched out length wise and I tried to change my order to a 30" crate. Fortunately though, they shipped the 36" without checking their email...I'm relieved because Claussen is housetrained and having the bigger crate will make it possible to put 2 dogs in the same crate for travelling.
 
I cant' wait to see how big this dog is going to be. LOL.

Definitely go to a store and test them out, then buy online. That's what I did. Koji is only 19lbs but he's LONG! And when he lies down on his tummy, his legs are uber long and stick out another 6" past his nose. Imagine when he's hot and spread out.

For driving, he's stuck in his little crate (prolly the typical size for a Sheltie). He will usually curl up in a ball and sleep. At trials, we have a big 36" crate (length, not height/width). He looks tiny when he curls up, but when he lies out, he makes that thing look small.

Good luck.

IMHO, I think it depends on what you use the crate for. At home, when Koji was crated, we got him a big wire crate (big enough that he could lie on his side comfortably). For driving, he has the smaller one, so he won't go flailing about when I hit the brakes or take off. At agility trials, again, a big one so he can spread out and relax.

Here's a funny photo. His crate is big, but it's not actually oversized (maybe just very tall). Check it out here.

I tried out a 30" crate and Koji's feet were sticking out the front. I ended up with a 36" crate. Oh, him lying on his side from nose to butt, he's about 33" long. Even longer when he's lying on his tummy w/his legs sticking out forward.
 
He looks real comfy in that crate. I need a bigger crate for my huge pup too. 16 weeks, now 17" ... No signs od stopping the growth! Eeek! I loves him, and hes staying, he is just going to take up more space than had planned... And he can almost counter surf!
 
What a nice crate you have! I got this one here...http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-PET-TREX-36...241?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aac5498f9 I was convinced Claussen needed a 30 and that was that. I told ebay to cancel my order and send me a 30 instead. They said I would have to redo the order myself so I took that opportunity to put Claussen in a crate at Petco....they had to get a ladder and carry it down from the shelf which made me feel bad for the woman that had to do it but it was well worth it! Claussen's feet touched the cage door with his butt allll the way up against the back. I got him the 36 and I'm sure that will be perfect for him. I was so excited about Claussen because the breeder said he was the giant in his litter. He grew like crazy between 12 and 18 weeks, but now he's kinda evened out. He went from 14.5 lbs May 18th to 16.8lbs June 28th. He was gaining a lb or 2 a week before...and he's only 15.5 inches right now. I'm excited about getting his new crate...his old one is so small I'm keeping him barricaded in the kitchen so he doesn't have to be cramped in his old one. I want to get the sides of the new crate padded so it's comfy. Your crate looks like a little house for him...I probably should have gotten one of those. :o
 
Our crate was the first thing we got for Buffy. It had a Sheltie on the cover and on the website so we knew it was the right size. I got it from petedge.com, which gives you free shipping, and it was really cheap - like $20. I got an adjustable one so it could be made smaller when she was teeny. It's a little large for her since she's a small Sheltie, but we rarely use it anymore; it was mostly for potty training. Buffy has now earned the privilege of having the run of our house when we're gone. But it took about a year to gradually train her toward that.
 
Y'know, I did the same thing. I purchased a 36", but it seemed HUGE!!! I returned that crate and decided to go check out the 30" at PetSmart. Laughed at Koji's feet hanging out and repurchased a 36" from a different vendor. It is VERY tall for him, but when he lies on his side, it's perfect. Especially for agility.

Like I said, it depends on what are doing with the crate, I squish poor Koji into a 200 sized Vari-kennel which is 28" long. Poor thing.
 
I ended up getting the 36" and it's very comfortable for him. I purchased 2 36" crates and they both came with dividers so my 14 week old won't have the option of relieving himself in the other end.
 
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