10 Best Dog Crates 2021 – Buyer’s Guide

Dog Crate VS Dog Kennel

Normally crates are designed to duplicate your dog’s natural den at home or when travelling to new surroundings. These are constructed with metal, wire, fabric or plastic enclosure with a door where your dog may be kept for the security or transportation.

On the other hand, a dog kennel is constructed to shelter your dog made out of various materials like wood or canvas. Actually, the term kennels mean any building or property in which dogs or cats are housed.

Usually, dog kennels are heavy and not transportable for outdoor use. 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 crates are available in the market and special for their 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 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 or unavailable to take care.

• Comfort: Safe crates offer extra comfort at silent circumstances. These are much secured for puppies due to the double locking system. Like Kong crate, these are made of high-quality material and offer a safe and comfy place to protect your dog from aggressive animals.

• Enhance house training: Pet proprietors always aware of the crate training of their puppies for having better control. It is mandatory to keep clean and hygienic the total area of the crate furniture. That is why you should avoid small dog cages as well as extra-large to provide your dog with appropriate house training.

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Things to Consider Before Choosing a Dog Crate

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

Size

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

For a bulldog, a medium-sized crate is more suitable than XXL. You should use large crates for the Giant dog breed, Saint Bernard, or Newfoundland dog breed because large size ensures the overall security of your dog when moves at outdoor.

Type

Large plastic crates are more portable than aluminum or any other metal crates. A 42-inch crate is known as medium-sized where 54-inches are considered as X Large.

Now, crate divider is also available at cheap dog crates and facilitates to increase or decrease the inner space. That’s why you don’t need to buy another puppy crate when the pooches become an adult.

Comfort

We always try to keep our dog in a comfortable environment and a quality crate bed can fulfill that requirement without any trouble. Using a crate cover can imitate the type of shelters wolves for your dog constructed in the wilderness. These covers can open from two sides so that you can fix the position with the crate as you like.

The crate end table is a great addition to provide your pet a luxury space and these are highly recommended to help dogs both settle in and settle down.

Cleanliness

Buying a crate 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 crate pads or mats to make the cage fresh and clean. A crate tray is also useful for the cleaning process.

Security

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

There are also some portable crates have a plastic carrier with travel-friendly option to suffocate your dog’s body. Metal crates are heavy enough to carry for a distant journey. Moreover, modern crates are stylish and decorative also can withstand during travelling.

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, crates can be divided into three main categories and these are – Wire metal, plastic and soft 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 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 most popular as dog shows, and proprietors feel free to keep their pooch on full display in it.

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

Along with the 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 the only upfront door opening, these are not well ventilated. That’s why it works well in cooler seasons.

Soft Crates

These are other wonderful options to protect your dog. They 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 crates are too much lightweight and fully foldable, easy to carry on 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 less 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 inside it.

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Some Common Benefits

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

• Ensures security: It is the most significant benefit of a crate which ensures the total safety as long the dog stay in it. When you leave in the workplace and keep the dog alone at home, the dog may fall into any danger. In this case, getting a crate assists you to feel more confident about the dog’s safeguard and security. Provide soft bedding and some favourite toys in the crate, so that the dog becomes 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 of Destructive Behavior: An appropriate crate helps 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 any surgical procedure that requires taking rest for a certain time period. That time a crate can save him or her from jumping or other aggressive activities.

• Confine your dog when you aren’t at 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 a secure crate. For these dogs, you can offer some treat or some toys that it allowed to chew on.

Some Important Tips

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 the 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 dogs.

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 travelling and it provides a suitable space for your dog to get relax and feel safe. Overusing of a crate may cause of both mental and physical destruction of your dog. So, be careful with your dog that spends a limited time in the crate in a day and feels free.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a dog crate?
It is a normally 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.

What is the best dog crate?
The precondition of choosing the right dog crate is to make sure you are getting the right size according to your pooch. Our team of experts suggest the Midwest Life Stages Metal Dog Crate which is outstanding among the rest. It offers a safe, secure and comfortable environment for your dog. This metal crate is portable and well-ventilated offers variety of sizes with a durable design.

What is the perfect size of dog crates?
There are various sizes of crates and you have to choose the most suitable one according to your dog breed and size. It’s a general idea for small dogs that weighs about 24 lbs to 30 lbs need a crate which measures 18″x18″ or 18″x24″. For medium-sized dogs weighs about 30 lbs to 40 lbs need the crate 24″x30″ or 24″x36″ in size. The crate size 60″x36″ or 72″x36″ is for large dogs like Leonberger, Mastiff, or Newfoundland.

How do you measure the perfect crate size for your dog?
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 to turn around. Finally, select the place with more space where you do want to set the crate.

Where does the case need to be kept?
Does your dog bite up toys and destroy your home furnishings? If the answer is yes, then you should manage a crate keep it safe. A dog cage can be placed in your room where your loving pet becomes more safe absence of you. Discover why crates are the great option for dogs of all ages and to know more details read our review of different sorts of available crates.

How long should you keep your dog in a crate?
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 it. 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.

How do I keep my dog calm in the crate?
At first, ensure your dog’s crate is large enough to stand up and turn around in. Take the door off and let your pooch use the crate at its leisure. If the dog becomes anxious in the crate, call him by name and encourage by providing a treat in your hand. Always talk to him in a happy tone of voice to keep calm in the crate and apply basic commands if he tries to come out of the crate.

What are the benefits of crate training?
Crate training has been acknowledged by proficient trainers as one of the quickest ways to shape necessary behaviors in dogs. A crate helps your dog to approach correctly inside your home. At the training time, provide your pup a protected place to take 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 then you must arrange a crate training system to get rescue from its abusive behavior.

Are wire or plastic dog crates better?
Whatever the option, wire or plastic dog crate, at first you should make sure it’s not too small or too large for your dog. The area should be much comfortable for your pooch to stand up, lie down and turn around in the crate.

Moreover, wire crates allow air flow for dogs which especially helpful for them who live in hotter climates. It also allows dogs to see everything around him. On the other hand, plastic crates are lighter than metal crates and useful for dog training and usually airline-approved.

Are wire crates dangerous?
A crate is a perfect solution for dog owners to enjoy a peace of mind when leaving their pooches home alone. But, in some cases, it may dangerous and cause physical harm to your pooches like emotional distress and frustration. Abuse of dog crates can increase the feeling of isolation from which dogs become depressed, nervous, and unhappy.

What age do you stop crating a dog?
Actually, it depends on the particular reason for which you are using a crate for him. For housetraining, you are suggested to set a deadline of two months of crate training. From when your dog will start to willingly use his crate, stop enforcing him. Since then, you can explore the door unlocked so that the dog can use the crate as he pleases.