I've bought a puppy crate second hand for bringing my boy home (6 weeks and counting), but I'm wondering what size of adult crates you all have? I read the article on the site that says either 36" or 42", but how will I know which size? We're planning on jumping from puppy crate to adult with a divider. He's off show lines so will be a big lad I think going off mum and dad. Should we just get the 42"?
I started Juno in the 24" crate when we brought her home at 10.5 weeks. As she out grew that we had the 36" delivered and sold the 24". I also ordered the 42" as her "grown up" crate. As soon as I had the 42" I swapped out the 36" to use in the car. So she was in the 42" crate from around 4.5 months which was fine as she had plenty of room to spread out and sleep and I then sold the 36" crate when she was 6 months old. Juno was de-crated at 8 months after a bout of vomiting and she wouldn't go into the crate. Juno is from a mix of show and field lines and is around the top end of sizes for bitches, just like her mum and her dad is probably the biggest Labrador I have ever seen
I bought an adult sized crate from the get-go and just used a divider. I'd say, if you have the space for the 42", get the 42". When he's out of the toilet training stage, there's no problem with a crate being "too big".
I will never heed the advice to make the crate just big enough to lie down, stand up and turn around again. There are no studies to confirm but my Vet is of the opinion that crates sized that small impede joint development. If they were only used for a very short time probably not but so many puppies and even adults are crated for hours upon hours, all night, while the owner is at work too. If we saw animals in the zoo caged like that there would be an uproar. The same Vet also believes crating, admittedly too long, is responsible for the upsurge in neuroses and UTI in pet dogs but that's not quite what you asked. For myself there's another reason. Puppies cannot physically control their bowels and bladders till they are months old, about six I've read, till complete control. So if puppy is in such a small crate and has an upset, bowels, vomit, or you can't make it home in time, ( that'll happen, you're human not perfect), poor little puppy is stuck in a pile of poop or vomit or pee.
Yeah, we have space for the 42" so will go for that. Can anyone recommend a sturdy pen for indoor use? And has anyone had an escape artist from pens?
I use Margo the Dog pens - they are extremely robust, I've been happy with them - not sure they are the best or cheapest, but I like them. I bought a puppy size, and then a full size, which I still use now. He doesn't jump out, but has figured out how to open the latch so I have to tie the gate closed.
If you are going to use a pen maybe you would like to consider what we did? Home made pen for one, very sturdy. Gated in the kitchen for another with the caveat that puppies can do tremendous damage to themselves and your kitchen and we were lucky, ours did not. Crate in the pen with the door open. Yes, it was closed for short periods but I vowed my puppy would not be crated more than three hours a day. Puppies did sometimes have to be left for longer than I would have wished and then, with the crate door open, they chose a place away from it to bathroom.
I was thinking about this last night while browsing for pens, and thought that this was a good idea. I had saw some pens that you could attach to the crate as well, once we'd transition to the big crate. Our last two dogs were in the kitchen behind a gate, and caused minimal damage, a slightly chewed corner on a cabinet, and some scratch marks at the door frame. We're wanting to go down the crate and pen route this time around as Labradors have such a reputation for chewing.
