Hi! Today is the first day my almost 6 month old Rosie is now spending more time in her 36" crate in kitchen due to changes in work/life circumstances. I have a dog walker coming in mid morning for half hour and then my parents coming by in early afternoon for same. I don't know if its good or bad that I have a doggie camera so I can check in on her, and I have been doing so. She's already pulled her water bowl off the holder and managed to shove the bottom crate pan out...the dog walker fixed that for me.. I'm thinking because she is spending more time in the crate, should I switch her to a bigger 42" crate? She is currently about 40 lbs in weight and when she stretches out she's touching end to end. She does sleep in a 42" crate at night so she's used to that size. It will just take up that much more room in my tiny kitchen....but whatever is best for her. Is it better for them to have a small space or would she be more comfortable with more room to move? What size crate do you use for your dog?
Maggie is just over 5 months and 40lbs she is in a 36 also. Your so right the next size is so big I have been waffling myself. I was thinking she would be out of the crate most of the time, and by the time this was too small she would be done with it. She still seems quite comfy though. Will be watching to see what others say.
The size depends on the height of your dog, not the weight. The dog should be able to fully stand up and turn around. If you are not sure take your dog down to the store and try it out.
Since I had a spare 42" crate in my basement I hauled it out last night and brought it upstairs to my kitchen and put the 36" downstairs. While my kitchen is that much smaller now with this bigger crate in it, Rosie seems quite happy (so far) in the bigger crate. I feel better she has a bit more room and I can put more crate safe toys in there with her as well. The 42" is much taller than the 36" so it is not as "den like" but I put a towel on the top so that helps. Once she's more trustworthy in my living room area, I'll move it in there where there's bit more room.
I always use the biggest crate I can fit in the space available, especially once the dog is toilet trained and not going to toilet in there if it is slightly large. During adolescence I'm using the largest crate size available...