Crate for large dog

[Anonymous]

I have a 75 pound 1 year old and we bought the largest Gunner crate available (per the recommendation of our trainer). However I just read the following article from WaPo and it states: :dogs should be able to stand up, turn around, lie down, and stretch out their limbs completely in their crate": https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2024/03/20/should-you-crate-your-dog/

How do you get a big enough crate for a dog to do that if you have a large dog? My dog is still growing and while she can lay comfortably she definitely can't stretch out her limbs completely. She is close to 5' tall when she does that!

[Anonymous]

Was that type of crate recommended for travel or because your dog could potentially escape from a simple wire crate? For my greyhound, I have the MidWest Homes XL crate, which is 48L x 30W x 33H inches. It’s just a wire crate, but it allows him to stand, turn around, stretch, and lay however he wants. Our rescue required us to have a 48” crate before we could bring him home. We don’t use it for travel, though.

[Anonymous]

We were told to get the Gunner for travel - wire crates will collapse and hurt the dog if you are in an accident. Since we didn't want to buy two separate crates we just use the same crate for daily use as well. Dimensions are: INTERIOR: 33.25" (L - Floor) x 21" (W - Floor) x 29" (H) / 23" (W) at kennel's widest interior point.

So it looks like your wire one is bigger than our crate. We tried to put her in a wire crate at my sisters house and she hated it and barked a ton. I think she is used to her crate, its very den like.

[Anonymous]

I have a 75lb Lab and she’s fine in a 42 inch wire crate from Walmart.

[Anonymous]

Pp here. We got a Primo pad for the crate that’s very hard to chew and the crate is covered so she loves it.

[Anonymous]

You can cover a crate with a blanket to make it more den-like, although a puppy will chew on the blanket. It’s hard to judge how your pup might do in a wire crate based on her experience in one at your sister’s house. It probably smelled like another dog and she knew it wasn’t “her” space, plus she probably wanted to explore at someone else’s house and be with the humans she doesn’t see every day.

[Anonymous]

So would you recommend having one travel crate and one huge wire crate? I am remiss to get rid of the large hard case since it was $750! Plus she cannot be out in the car safely. She has to be crated. We take lots of long trips 12+ hours and she needs to be safe and comfortable.

The unfortunate thing about the large hard case is that it doesn't fold down, so that is another reason we use it as her main day to day crate.

[Anonymous]

If the dog is housebroken and gets enough exercise you shouldn’t need a crate. Not trying to be a jerk but you’re not being fair.
I’ve had 3 large dogs, all rescues, and didn’t crate any of them more than a week.
Is there a room or rooms you can confine the dog too instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So would you recommend having one travel crate and one huge wire crate? I am remiss to get rid of the large hard case since it was $750! Plus she cannot be out in the car safely. She has to be crated. We take lots of long trips 12+ hours and she needs to be safe and comfortable.

The unfortunate thing about the large hard case is that it doesn't fold down, so that is another reason we use it as her main day to day crate.

Is she in the cargo area? You can get nets to block her jumping over the seat. Or train her properly to stay in that area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So would you recommend having one travel crate and one huge wire crate? I am remiss to get rid of the large hard case since it was $750! Plus she cannot be out in the car safely. She has to be crated. We take lots of long trips 12+ hours and she needs to be safe and comfortable.

The unfortunate thing about the large hard case is that it doesn't fold down, so that is another reason we use it as her main day to day crate.

Is she in the cargo area? You can get nets to block her jumping over the seat. Or train her properly to stay in that area.

Or just a crash tested seatbelt with a short tether and you don't even need the net.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the dog is housebroken and gets enough exercise you shouldn’t need a crate. Not trying to be a jerk but you’re not being fair.
I’ve had 3 large dogs, all rescues, and didn’t crate any of them more than a week.
Is there a room or rooms you can confine the dog too instead?

OP here - she isn't in her crate all the time. Only if we are out of the house and when she sleeps. She is gets a lot of exercise but is still a puppy and cannot be trusted by herself outside of a crate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So would you recommend having one travel crate and one huge wire crate? I am remiss to get rid of the large hard case since it was $750! Plus she cannot be out in the car safely. She has to be crated. We take lots of long trips 12+ hours and she needs to be safe and comfortable.

The unfortunate thing about the large hard case is that it doesn't fold down, so that is another reason we use it as her main day to day crate.

Is she in the cargo area? You can get nets to block her jumping over the seat. Or train her properly to stay in that area.

OP here - she is in the cargo area but in the crate. We have 3 kids in carseats/boosters and then all the rest of the luggage (when we are traveling) goes around the crate and/or in a Yakama on top of the car. I am afraid if we got a net she would chew or scratch her way through it. She is also very very fast and I am worried if we were ever in a car crash she would bolt.

[Anonymous]

Just buy this for $100 for home use and be done with it. Your dog doesnt need to be able to walk around in the car crate.

https://www.amazon.com/MidWest-Folding-Divider-Protecting-Leak-Proof/dp/B000QFWCLY/ref=sr_1_10?crid=QZMHK2OW4NN1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yYZA9k7gNdT5LGctQavCzrjAAj5BHM_S-13hmIvgg_2YRkPYAilbexioOiMrr5J0Gk7j7L9fcsK_v8mO9tyYLGxfGmaOatpOhQG5qWyAe8WzfFySCQpVwgi7oX92dW0rJtumbgx1FLn9C9mIonWnR4HppeWe9HsmWmQFQB3PpyPIpJYZ2UDuwiqXRBI0rPOYqn0F0DgsjJ-H5YAX3ymUowBNZ6VpcKg3w4uA26PGBxvfmJ0rZEWB-d2DeWzFNmNlMWrDgawJLkqlcr9mGpj2mOTviQezpI-_gVh6WAFnRWw.nTWp4g2MLPS3R80eKxEE3vnFNv9jh9KnyU1ajUkLf4g&dib_tag=se&keywords=midwest%2B48%27&qid=1710964263&s=pet-supplies&sprefix=midwest%2B48%27%2Cpets%2C94&sr=1-10&th=1

[Anonymous]

If your dog can stand and turn around in their crate, you're good. They don't need to extend their legs fully the way you are imagining.

You're smart to have your dog crated in the car. Especially a young, huge dog. It's the safer option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the dog is housebroken and gets enough exercise you shouldn’t need a crate. Not trying to be a jerk but you’re not being fair.
I’ve had 3 large dogs, all rescues, and didn’t crate any of them more than a week.
Is there a room or rooms you can confine the dog too instead?

The OP's dog is a puppy. Puppies, like human babies/toddlers, are impulsive and will often eat anything, including electrical wires, plants, furniture, drywall, etc.

Having the puppy crated in a safe place when it can't be directly supervised is a good option, at least until the dog is more trustworthy and has outgrown its "puppiness."