Wire crate

[atothek]

Hey everyone, I will be picking up my gsp pup in a few weeks and I am looking into getting a wire crate. One that has a divider, eventually I will get a ruff tuff kennel. My question is: with a wire crate do you cover all sides but the door with a towel or blanket? If you don't put any cover on, has anyone had a dog that will pee through the wire? Therefore not soiling the inside of the crate. Maybe I'm overthinking this, any advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Aaron

[mountaindogs]

Yes I have seen dogs pee through but not puppies and not keeping the inside "clean." Also I have seen dogs pull those towels and blankets through to chew. Especially puppies. I'd cover the floor with a tarp extending 6-10 " outside the crate and not cover it. Then see what pup is like. Frankly I like wire crates for experience e travelers because they fold and have good air flow, but puppies I usually start in a smaller plastic crate. A touch more secure from pulling stuff through. But some puppies have no real issue. Depends.

[ultracarry]

When they are young I would use both... One to sleep in at night and the wire one for when you are home. I haven't had a puppy pee through the wire unless there was a visitor he decided he needed to pee on. That was completely my fault but I was laughing and did not reprimanded him for doing so.

[benelli]

Where in CA do you live? We got a Ruff Tuff kennel from the beginning with our puppy, and we made a divider out of plastic-y material that we could zip-tie into different positions, moving it farther back to increase the size of the kennel. It's sized for I think the "large" kennel, but I'm sure it could be cut down smaller if you got the intermediate size kennel (although at least for our GSP, the intermediate size is a cozy fit for everyday use - we have an intermediate for the van and a large for the house).

Anyway, we're in CA so if you want to avoid buying a second kennel (having had both a wire kennel and the Ruff Tuff one, we definitely prefer the Ruff Tuff one, and we sold our wire one because we didn't like it), we could maybe get the plastic panel to you ... PM me if you're interested and let me know where you are and if it's not too much trouble maybe we can get it to you easily.

[shags]

IME it's harder to crate train a pup in a wire crate than in a plastic one. As mentioned, pups are pretty handy at pulling coverings through the wire, and without the covering it lacks the nice quiet den ambiance It always seemed to me that my pups thought more of it as being in jail, since the crate is so open yet they can't get out, and they complained A LOT. We crate train young pups in plastic crates, then when they have that down, they'll easily transfer to using wire crates.

Wire also doesn't contain the hair, dirt, dust, and crud dogs drag in.

Good luck with your new pup, don't forget to post some pictures when he comes home.

[gonehuntin']

I'm with Shags. I train them in a plastic crate, then they spend the rest of their life in a wire on. The plastic also seems to give them more of a sense of security in the house.

[41magsnub]

What I did was buy the cheapest smaller sized Chinese crate the local chain pet store had for her as a puppy. Then, bought a nice big wire crate and a ruff tuff crate in the appropriate adult size.

[aulrich]

If I did not get my wire crate free, I would not use one, it's our in the truck and travel crate, there just too noisy.

I matched the crate to the dog, and used, there is no point buying new till the final crate, and the puppy crate is now my bird carrier

[MonsterDad]

problem with the wire kennels is that 1) The quality has declined in them quite considerably and 2) they are heavy.

I would go with the ruff tough kennels, the quality is excellent

[mtlhdr]

I am in northern California and I found the plastic crate to be too hot to keep in the truck (in back with shell) during most months of the year. I also found the wire crate to be more aesthetically pleasing in the house than a plastic crate (if you or your significant other cares about that). My 2 cents.

[gonehuntin']

Buy a quality wire crate and they last. Forever.

Wire crates are cooler for the dog.
Wire crates keep the dog more relaxed because they can see around them.
It is thought that wire crates help a dog develop better depth perception (can't prove that one).
Wire crates don't stink.

I've been using them for about 30 years now and I'm sold on them.

Pet Smart has some quality ones.

[magspa]

I agree to get the cheapest small crate until dog learns to hold pee and poop. I have had dogs pull blankets or towels through and chew them, so maybe putting a piece of plywood over top would be better. I also had a dog break the wires with her snout and then she somehow she would chew the wall so i got a covered plastic cratefor her. I do like the wire kennels though because the dog can see and they fold up nicely. They usually have a door on one end and on the side which is nice for in the suv or depending on where you put it in the room of house. Some people say the covered crates are good to make your dog fell secure.

[atothek]

Thank you all for the great advice. I like the idea of a cheap small plastic crate and once full grown a ruff tough kennel. Im thinking the intermediate ruff tough will be the final size. Ive found a few sizes for cheap crates online, 20L x 13 w x 11h or 24l x 16w x 15 h. Any advice on which one to go with? Once he is crate trained I am guessing I can skip to his full size crate. We get to go see him for the first time today and once I pick him up I will definitely be posting some pics. Being a Texan, now living in CA, I think we are gonna name him Dallas. You can take the Texan out of Texas but you cant take Texas out of the Texan haha