What kind of crates do you prefer and why?

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Just out of curiosity as this topic came up on another board and most people seem to like the wire ones best, and think the plastic ones are cruel.


Personally, I can't stand the wire ones. Tango wrecked the tray that lays in the bottom, she was stressed in it, it wasn't at all portable (unless taken apart), etc. it could have just been the brand (I can't remember what it was though) but I much prefer the plastic ones (but I only like the Vari brand...Furrari is pretty good too but doesn't seem as sturdy - I have both) and so do the dogs. Tango feels much more secure in it than she did the wire one and I also love that I can easily take it anywhere without having to take it apart and put it back together again (though with a bigger one, I'm sure it wouldn't be so easy), etc. The soft crates are good too, but I'd never leave a dog in one for long periods of time while unsupervised. I only like them for dog events such as a show, agility, etc.

So, what are your preferences?

[cloverfdx]

I only like wire crates, the dogs are the same. The first time Elvis went in a plastic crate he screamed and howled till he was let out (Was only 10 weeks old at the time), as soon as i put him into Clovers wire crate he curled up and went to sleep.

I have also gone through about $200 of soft crates in the past 9 months (Since Tinny has been here lol), she has torn holes in multiple soft crates both her own and ones she has climbed on top of to get a better view of the world.

[GreyhoundGirl]

I would never get a plastic crate again. But that is my fault . I put Pheobe in one when I got her, and then I realised that her previous owner had lied and that she WASN'T crate-trained.

When I first got Jenny my dad went to Canadien Tire and chose the crate ( he probably chose metal because it is the cheapest. ) Jenny, luckily, was/is very well crate trained and she loves both her crates.

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=110679 Until about a week ago, she only had one crate. Than we got a new, soft crate for agility trials. Jenny likes that crate, too, so no-problem there.

I didn't know what to vote, so I voted wire ( assuming that it is the same as metal ) because that's the crate I had for the longest. I would buy another crate like that, it's a very nice crate. ( it's heavy-duty and water-proof )

[sanford8916]

Lou Lou has a wire one. We only used it for the first few month. The only time she goes in it now, is when in the car, especially after going to the creek to go swimming. I work at home so no need to crate them and they sleep with me at night!

[IRescue452]

I don't consider Autumn's wire, it is solid metal bars. Its airy and she can't break out of it. She always broke the plastic ones, she'd rip the screws through the holes just from jumping inside the crate. No dog should be able to do that. If something fell on the crate I don't think a cheapo wire or plastic crate would hold up.

[wolfsoul]

Visa has all three, a wire, plastic, and soft. She much prefers the wire, Visa hates being in plastic crates. We find, at work, that 90% of the dogs will scream for hours on end when left in a Vari or Furarri. They like to be able to see what's going on. Visa is the same way, so she likes the wire.

I prefer the soft, obviously, it's easy for me to transport. Otherwise between the plastic and the wire, I prefer the plastic, even though Visa hates it. It's safer, sturdier, you can use it on an airplane, etc. At work, dogs are constantly getting their feet caught in the wire when stepping out of the crate, some dogs have actually managed to chew some of the wire off enough to get their head out and then their head gets stuck. They are a pain in the butt when they get older because they get impossible to open and close.

[k9krazee]

We have three plastic crates - one for Micki, Mini and Kyra. They all (especially Micki) love their crate. I think I prefer the foldable wire ones though, but Jack doesn't. He hated his wire crate and always chose the plastic ones over it

In Mini's

In Kyra's (it's amazing that he fits!)


Jack totally destroyed his last wire crate, he learned how to make the front fold inward and he'd squeeze out of the gap After we put ties on each side so he could no longer do that he started bending the wires on top of the crate! He'd also fling himself against the crate and when I'd get home it would be in the whole opposite corner of the room. So we finally got the hint and got rid of it, and I just ended up buying a larger foldable wire crate from a yard sale for agility trials because it was all I could afford at the time. And amazingly enough, he really likes his new crate!

I guess I like the wire ones the best because you can fold them up and take them places...they are a bit heavy though. I would love a soft one just for agility trials, but if Jack can ruin a metal one, I don't know if how long a soft one would last!

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I prefer plastic crates. I doubt I'll ever buy a wire crate, I don't like them at all. I feel that the plastic ones are more safe and secure. I like that the plastic ones are more private, I think that they offer more security for my dogs. Nova is afraid of thunderstorms. When we have a thunderstorm she will run one of two places- she will either run and sit between my feet or she will run to her crate. Those are the places she feels most safe and secure. I don't think she would feel that safety in an open wire crate.

I also think plastic crates are much safer. There is a much better chance of dog (a well crate trained dog) being hurt in a wire crate than in a plastic one.

When we found Jake we didn't think we'd be keeping him so we didn't want to buy a big crate that we'd never use after he was gone. I borrowed a wire crate from a friend who has a border collie, the only time she used it was in the car so she could do without it for a few days. Jake hated it and never wanted to go in it. We wanted him to like it and we would bribe him into it with food and reward him once he was in it. He'd go in it but he wasn't too happy, He's cry and bark at first but would eventually settle down. I had however seen him smush himself into Nova's plastic crate (I'm still baffled as to how he did it). When we bought him his own plastic crate everything was better.

Our other dogs have never been in a wire crate (at least not while we've had them). I keep the doors to their crates open and often find them sleeping in them throughout the day. They eat in their crates everyday and sleep in them every night. When I tell them it's supper time they all go running to their crates and they do the same when I tell them it's bed time. None of them are ever upset to go in their crates.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Roxy chews through plastic ones, and I don't crate train myself, because I don't like it.. but that's just me.

[sammy101]

We have plastic ones because my RB girls traveled with us where ever we moved to.
I would prefer soft crates if the crate(s) are going to be in my house.

[wolf_Q]

I have 2 wire crates and one plastic crate. I prefer the wire crates (but I have to make them Nebo proof by adding metal snaps). Although Nebo managed to ruin the plastic bottom of the bigger (great dane size) crate...no matter how many times I tried to fix it he killed it. He is happier in the smaller crate and he doesn't try to destroy it. He goes and lays in it on his own all the time, it's his "den." He prefers tight places like that. It folds up easily I don't find it hard to travel with, it's been on a few road trips in the trunk of a car.

The plastic crate I have in my room and Sydney sleeps in it. I like having it because I can use it if I need to fly him. I'll probably always have both. I would get a soft crate but I wouldn't dare leave him in it (while I'm gone) and I don't really crate him when I take him with me places so it seems a bit pointless at the moment. If I were taking him to agility trials or something I'm sure I'd get one.

[Kfamr]

I have a wire crate and a plastic crate.

The wire crate was my first choice. I feel it's a lot more durable than the plastic and safer. The plastic was purchased for travel/plane rides.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I have plastic crates. Adele has escaped from a wire crate and gotten a deep gash on her leg which required stitches, but she has never been able to escape or get hurt on the plastic one. Needless to say, I don't use wire anymore because I think it's too much of a saftely risk for Adele, so we have 2 large plastic crates (for Vallis & Adele- Marta is gated) and they have slots for ventilation, plus since they are confined we make sure to always have a fan on them in warmer weather.

[Alysser]

Sassy has been using a plastic one for the last 8 years. We have never had a problem with the plastic kind, we did have a problem with the wire kind. Sassy cried when we took her plastic crate away and gave her a wire one. She was terrified in the wire one, for some odd reason. So now she just uses her plastic crate and LOVES it alot. She uses it in the summer more because it's cooler then her bed.

[Iilo]

I use wire for home, soft for travel.

I prefer the wire for their home crate because it is well ventilated, I can see him and he can see me, and it's so cute to see those tootsies sticking out the side of the crate when he has room enough in there for 5 more dogs his size lol. He's very husky like, and prefers the small sizes as well. We have two #400s (vari kennel sizing) wire crates at my dad's that both dogs stay in, and Rien "settles" faster in that one, rather than digging about a bit.

The soft crate is great for travel. It folds up easy and folds down easier. He stays in it when we're on road trips. Learned this summer in Portland that he can stay in it while we're NOT in the hotel room without freaking out and tearing it apart.

I'm going to have to get a plastic one for air travel, as I have come to the conclusion that I am NOT driving him out with me to Portland if Reed accepts me. I think I'll spend either a semester or a year in the dorms first, which has been recommended at me left and right for years. He's going to have to fly "cargo" on a flight or back with me after a holiday. How do you people who fly do that? The regulations look pretty intense -- what do they mean about the food/water dishes? How is it going to be accessable without them opening the door???