Best Dog Crates 2018 – Buyer’s Guide and Reviews

Dog Crate VS Dog Kennel

Dog crate and Dog Kennels are not the same things, a crate is made of various material like plastic, nylon or wire. It is easy to carry during traveling or any other outdoor activities. But a large dog kennel is heavy and not transportable for outdoor using. Most commonly, it is placed on the outside of the house and there is enough space inside the kennel that permits your dog to play easily.

Why Does Dog Crates Essential?

As a dog owner, your first responsibility is ensuring optimum safety level for your dog. There are different types of dog crates are special for unique features. Now you should realize which dog cage is suitable for you? There are numerous benefits of using dog kennels are given below:

• Security: A small dog crate is appropriate for puppies to ensure extra care and overall well-being. It saves your dog from possible danger by providing a personal space. A well-designed dog cage helps to eliminate some bad habits of your dog and save from harmful substance when you are outside and unavailable to take care.
• Comfort: Safe dog crates offer extra comfort at silent circumstances. Best crates for dogs or puppies are much secured for the double locking system. Like Kong dog crate those are made of high-quality material are comfy, safe and able to protect your dog from aggressive animals.
• Enhance house training: Pet proprietors always aware of the crate training a puppy for having a better control. It is mandatory to keep clean and hygienic the total area of dog crate furniture. That is why you should avoid small dog cage as well as extra-large dog crate to provide your dog appropriate house training.

Things to Consider Before Choosing a Dog Crate

Be careful in choosing a right pet crate because of appropriate dog crate sizes, security and comfort ensure the basic quality of a dog crate. There are numerous dog carriers available in the market and these are different in size and shape.

Size

To keep your dog protected and comfortable it must be adequate space in the dog kennel so that the dog can turn around, lie down, sleep and move without any uneasiness.

For a bulldog, a medium dog crate is more suitable than XXL dog crate or big dog crates. You should use large pet crate for Giant dog breed, Saint Bernard, or Newfoundland dog breed. Large travel crates ensure the overall security of your dog when moves at outdoor.

Type

Large plastic dog crates are more portable than aluminum dog crates or any other metal dog crates. 42-inch dog crates are known as medium size dog crates where 54-inch dog crates are X Large dog crate.

Now, dog crate divider is also available at cheap dog crates that allow increasing or decreasing the inner space and you don’t need to buy next puppy crate when your pooches become adult.

Dog owners who feel less interest to use dog crate they can use electric collar or shock collar for your dog’s welfare.

Comfort

We tried to keep our dog in a comfortable environment and soft dog crates or quality dog crate beds can fulfill that requirement without any trouble. Using a dog crate cover can imitative the type of shelters wolves for your dog constructed in the wild. These covers can open from two sides so that you can fix the position with the crate as you like.

Dog crate end table is an ideal addition to provide your pet luxury of space and they are highly recommended to help dogs both settle in and settle down.

Cleanliness

Buying a dog crate which is easy to clean is the best idea to keep your dog healthy and hygienic. Always try to clean all dirt, urine, food plate, or other useless things. You can use dog crate pads or dog crate mats to make the cage fresh and clean. A dog crate tray also useful for the cleaning process.

Security

You may recommend for heavy duty dog crate to ensure optimum security level for your dog. These wooden dog crates are durable, long-lasting and easy to clean. Dog travel crates are easy to move from one place to another.

On the other hand, some portable dog crates have a plastic carrier with travel-friendly option though it can suffocate your dog’s body. Metal crates are enough heavy to carry to distance travel. Modern dog crates are stylish and decorative can also withstand during traveling.

3 Types of Dog Crates

There are various types of crate available in the market and the type you select depends on a number of factors including dog breeds, size, habits, climate and the place where you decide to set the crate.

Within multiple types, dog crates can be divided into three main categories and these are – Wire metal, plastic and soft dog crates. Basically, each crate has plenty of advantages with some disadvantage and the best selection depends on your specific requirements.

Wire Metal

The most popular types of dog crate great for pets living in hot summer. It offers sufficient ventilation and visibility so that the dog fell comfort and observes everything around it.

You can fold them easily to store or move from one place to another. It is also more convenient to set up without the help of an additional tool.

Usually, these crates are available in both single and double door facilities and it is most popular at dog shows, as dog proprietors keep their pooch on full display.

Metal crates are heavier than others and make sure optimum security. You can also include some blankets at the ground of the crate to make it more comfortable for your pet.

Don’t be worry to clean up the crate, a plastic removable plan lining includes at the bottom, which makes it easier to clean-up.

Plastic Dog Crates

Plastic dog crates are most popular to use in travel and day to day they work well as more permanent. These are lightweight than a metal crate and easy to carry in the car while needed to travel.

There are plenty of advantages include with plastic crates, like they are more protective and secure than wire metal. Some heavy duty plastics are chew resistant and more difficult for canines to break out of. They also come with removable food and water bowls.

Along with advantages, they have some disadvantage also. And the major one is – they cannot be folded down like metal crates and not always portable for medium or large dogs. It works best only for small dog breeds to move from one place to another. Be careful of destructive dogs, which may damage the crate by roughly chewing.

Because of only up front door opening these are not well ventilated. That’s why it works well in cooler seasons.

Soft Crates

Soft dog crates are another wonderful option to protect your dog. These are made of steel or aluminum tube frame, which makes it more comfortable. Many pet owners use this crate to carry their pet with them when going far.

Soft dog crates are too much lightweight and fully foldable, easy to carry in bags due to simple and compact storage. They give a cozy interior with ample ventilation and enough visibility facilities. These contain additional pockets on the side for storing necessary things your dog like most.

These have also some drawbacks, like it perhaps least durable and not long-lasting as metal crates. It is extremely tough to clean up, but most comfortable to use and your dog keeps calm, quiet and well behaved to stay in it.

Some Common Benefits of Dog Crates

Though, there are some pet owners don’t like to keep their pets in the cage even though on a temporary basis. But there are some extreme benefits of using a dog crate and some of them are listed below.

• Ensures security

It is the most significant benefit of a dog crate which ensures the total safety as long the dog stay in it. When you leave at the workplace to keep the dog alone at home, the dog may fall into any danger. In this case, getting a crate to assists you to feel more confident about the dog’s safeguard and security. Provide a soft bedding and some favorite toys in the crate, so that the dog becomes more happy, calm and relaxed to stay in it.

• Reduces anxiety

All pet dogs do not like to travel anywhere and some of them have motion sickness and fear like the human. Moreover, they become anxious to accept new unknown area when do not match easily. In this case, a crate, where he used to live can provide a feeling of the safe den, a sense of comfort, and peace. Then, it doesn’t an issue where he is going or how long the journey is!

• Control Destructive Behavior

Dog crates help to prevent your dog from destructive chewing on furniture, clothes, and other household elements that shouldn’t be chewed. It also saves him from eating harmful toxic substances from the kitchen room.

Sometimes, your dog may injure or had some surgical procedure that requires taking rest for a certain time period. That time dog crate saves him or her from jumping or other aggressive activity.

• Confine your dog when you aren’t home

Like other pets, puppies also enjoy a confined space to live alone. They feel secure and happy to stay in this small area. There are also some dogs become destructive when staying at home alone. They get more excited to stay in the secure crate. For these dogs, you can offer some treat or some toys that it allowed chewing on.

Some Important Tips Dog Crate

There are some vital tips we have included to enhance your idea when going to choose a crate for your dog. Obviously, you can consult with the vet to pick the best one but the following tricks will help you to ensure the optimum quality.

• Close the door securely: You must close the door securely to make sure the pet cannot come out from the crate in absence of you. Some dogs know how to open the door themselves, so choose the crate with high-quality latches.
• Avoid sharp edges: There are some poor quality crates come with sharp edges and hurt your dog. So, you should entirely avoid these hazards to save your dog.
• Prefer double doors: Double door crates are more convenient than the single door. They offer more flexibility through two ways to get in or out. Your dog feels free to use the crate and you can place anywhere in the room without blocking the only entrance.
• Check out Wheels: Wheels are also important for large crates because these are enough bulky in shape and too much heavier than normal. So, it is difficult to move from one place to another even in the room. In this case, you should choose the crate with strong wheels to slide around the house when necessary.
• Select collapsible crates: Sometimes, it is needed to carry out the crate for outdoor using or storing for further use. A collapsible crate is more convenient to meet these purposes. A foldable crate is easy to minimize in shape and reduce the area where need to be stored.
• Ensure dividers: A crate with divider is more suitable for your dog’s entire life. A puppy becomes larger increasingly and the divider can fix the appropriate space according to its growth. And you can remove the divider if feel to provide access entirely.

Final Verdict:

Crates are the great tools for house training or traveling and it provides a suitable space for your dog to get relax and feel safe. Overusing of dog crate may cause of both mental and physical destruction of your dog. So, be careful with your dog that it spends a limited time inside the crate in a day and feel free.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What is a dog crate?
Answer: A dog crate is normally a plastic or portable metal fenced cage that is sufficiently sustainable for a dog to stand up and move around. The cage is a place to keep the dog when nobody is nearby to oversee it. It is the sanctuary for a dog to provide safety, security, preclusion of deleterious behavior, house training or travel.

Question: How do you measure the perfect crate size for your dog?
Answer: To get the perfect measurement, at first take your dog’s size. Then, choose a crate which is 2-3 inches higher than the dog. The length should be 5-6 inches more and enough space for turn around. Finally, select the place with more space where you want to set the crate.

Question: Where does the case need to be kept?
Answer: Does your dog bite up toys and destroy your home furnishings? You should manage a crate if your dog is not so little pup anymore. A dog crate can be placed in your room where your loving pet becomes more safe absence from you. Discover why dog crates are the great option for dogs of all ages and to know more details read our review of different sorts of available dog crates.

Question: How long should you keep your dog in a dog crate?
Answer: On average 8-10 hours in a day is maximum recommended time for a dog to be sheltered in the crate. But, you have to make sure the dog doesn’t feel discomfort by being inside the crate. You should also be sincere about your dog’s regular physical exercise to maintain proper health. For a special case, you can keep open the crate door so that it can move freely.

Question: What are the benefits of crate training?
Answer: Crate training has been acknowledged by proficient trainers as one of the quickest ways to shape necessary behaviors in dogs. A dog crate helps to approach correctly inside your home. At training time provide your pup a protected place to rest, surprising treat to motivate, and available time. Now many dog owners reject the process of using the crate because they think it is punishing and prejudicial to the puppy. But if you have not enough time to spend with your dog and then you can arrange crate training system to get rescue form its abusive behavior.