Which Type of Crate?

[x19er]

Soft crates are great for crate trained dogs who don't chew and desperately want to get out. They really aren't appropriate for puppies.

Are you getting a puppy? Did I miss something?

Thank you, my instinct was to go for a wire one, just nervous about little paws catching on it as we've done this before.

No you've not missed anything.........well I just haven't mentioned it here as she's not a boxer, she is a 15 week old rescue lurcher puppy who is a 'Tripod/Tripad' with 3 legs

 

[LoveMyDoggie]

CONGRATS and also TY for taking in a puppy who may need a little extra loving care.

 

[LoveMyDoggie]

x19er I had never heard of a lurcher so I went to a few sites and found it to be a very interesting breed. The 2 things that caught my eye was no 2 are alike temperament wise. They said they can be couch potatoes or really hyper ( Boxer ) and that they have very few health issues and some have lived past 20 years old. I can not wait to see some pictures!

 

[gulfcoastguy]

Top Paw foldable wire crate with a Kong pad to line the bottom. It breaks down in seconds and I can carry it in one arm when it is folded flat into a package. Waldo did escape once but that was when my Dad shut the door, Dad's eyesight isn't what it once was. Waldo did sleep in my bed for the first 2 weeks but he didn't get the idea that bed was for sleeping not a convenient place to chew off his owner's body parts.

 

[RockTheBoxer]

Kong also makes a pretty heavy duty wire crate if you're concerned about escaping, chewing through the wire ect. I think it is also collapsible like the Top Paw brand.

 

[TwoDogs]

I don't have much faith in how well a soft travel one would hold up.

Some of the soft crates do hold up really well. I had a Petco brand soft crate (which is really a Precision crate branded for Petco) that held up for years. That thing went with me to monthly tournaments, hotel stays, was my "back of the car" crate for a long time, and the crate I used when we went to classes. The frame stayed nice and rigid, no sagging, and the zippers held up. I still have it though it is "retired". I just got 2 new soft crates and would have gotten the Petco ones again but wanted a taller size that fit better in my new van so this time around I got the Noz2Noz crates. So far they're holding up well. The frame is hinged at the top though so I hope they don't start to sag over time.

I'm handy with a sewing machine and have repaired many a soft crate for friends whose dogs have put their nails through the mesh. When a fellow competitor got her new pup, she gave me her unopened soft crate before she even tried to use it and asked me to reinforce the panels with "pet resistant" screen bought at Home Depot. I zig-zag stitched the screen right to the existing mesh--it withstood her pup's attempts to escape. But she never left him for long periods unattended--he'd still have been able to shred it if he went at it long enough.

They are a great alternative to lugging around a heavy wire crate as long as your pup already settles in the crate and you don't plan on leaving them unattended. Once they learn they can chew or claw their way out, they will.

 

[Roge]

Soft crates are great for crate trained dogs who don't chew and desperately want to get out. They really aren't appropriate for puppies.

Are you getting a puppy? Did I miss something?

Haha was just about to ask the same question!!!!

 

[johann]

We used wire for when Johann was younger. We did one size up and put lots of soft stuff to lay on for him. He was happy and still gets happy when he finds a crate to go into (his is long gone)
Once he was older and established as being a (somewhat) good doggie citizen, we used a fabric crate for events/training classes and when company came over. It was fine for an adult, but I wouldn't trust it with a puppy or adolescent