Crate Sizing

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northwoodshunter
Rank: Senior Hunter
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Location: Northern Wisconsin

Crate Sizing

Post by northwoodshunter » Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:05 pm

I’m going to buy 2 new ruff tough(land) kennels for traveling with my dogs. First one is a 40lb English Setter. I was thinking intermediate for him, thought maybe medium would be safer but that size can’t stack with bigger sizes. Then I didn’t know if I should go for intermediate or large for my gsp. I was told if they had to guess they think he’d be around 65-70lbs. He was one of the bigger pups in the litter and his sire was around 68lbs in hunting season and dam I believe they said somewhere between 50-55lbs. He was 15.5 lbs at 9 weeks old. I’ve seen some other threads on this people saying intermediate and some saying large for a dog that side but none matched the scenario where it could be only for travel. This would only be for traveling and they’d have big large and xl for home. I was thinking maybe getting a 3 hole dog box built for me but I thought to get these instead because I could stack them in the back of the cab inside the truck by flipping the seat up.
Thanks

shags
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Re: Crate Sizing

Post by shags » Thu Mar 14, 2019 4:08 am

First define "travel" then think long term.

Travel can mean a quick trip to the vet or a long haul to and from hunting camp. What can be cozy for a young spry dog might not be so comfortable when the dog is older and stiffens up from a day of working.

My older setter is around 47# and is good in an airline crate about 22X30. My younger dog weighs about 70# and is more comfortable in the next larger size which is about 24X36 - although I stuff him into the smaller size crate for quick trips and he seems to be ok with it. But he can't stand up very well in there, and can barely turn around.

How old is your gsp? When I was looking at the litter my young dog came from, I really liked the biggest pup but decided to go with one of the medium sized puppies. Turns out that huge pup topped out at 40# and my little guy turned out to be massive.
He was average size until about a year old then had a growth spurt that turned him into Dogzilla

I'd go with just a bit larger crate than you think you'll need, but which would fit into the truck. Those RT crates seem awesome and I sure wish I had known about them years ago. Good luck with your shopping.

benelli
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Re: Crate Sizing

Post by benelli » Thu Mar 14, 2019 6:55 am

My GSP is on the bigger side - about 65 lbs - and he seems plenty comfortable in an intermediate size RT kennel. We'd initially gotten an intermediate for travel and a large for at home, but we eventually sold the large and just kept the intermediate. It's cozy in there for him, but he sleeps curled up anyway.

On the other hand, my GSP is approaching 7 years old, so not "really" old, and he doesn't really have big hard working days, so it could be that with an older dog or one that had gone on a big hunting trip, a larger kennel might be better. But he's happy being in his kennel for 5-6 hours during the day at the house, and we've done long road trips where he has basically spent several long days in his kennel and he managed just fine.

birddogger2
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Re: Crate Sizing

Post by birddogger2 » Thu Mar 14, 2019 7:56 am

+1 on the intermediate Ruff Tuff. It is all you should need, unless your GSP becomes a giant. I have had 60+ lb. pointers that fits in intermediates just fine. You don't want dogs moving around in travel crates when you are transporting. that is how they get hurt. You want them laying down and quiet.

Have you ever seen the travel crates that pro trainers have in their field trial rigs? Most are intermediate sized in width and height. Some might be longer. Some might have less in height. Bottom line is those dogs travel in those accomodations, for hours at a time and live in them when the pro is on the road. They only get out to do their business and eat, and then they are on a chain gang. They do just fine.

RayG

northwoodshunter
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Re: Crate Sizing

Post by northwoodshunter » Thu Mar 14, 2019 8:06 am

The traveling would be usually 1hour+. Quite a few 5 hour trips and 1 maybe 2 that are around 10 hours. I was thinking intermediate should work okay. Say he gets the size of his sire, Tell, and get to 68-70 lbs would that size still work?

birddogger2
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Re: Crate Sizing

Post by birddogger2 » Thu Mar 14, 2019 5:33 pm

northwoodshunter wrote:
Thu Mar 14, 2019 8:06 am
The traveling would be usually 1hour+. Quite a few 5 hour trips and 1 maybe 2 that are around 10 hours. I was thinking intermediate should work okay. Say he gets the size of his sire, Tell, and get to 68-70 lbs would that size still work?
Might be a little tight if he tips the scales at 70#. Still OK for a couple hours or so,IMO, but I would let the dog stretch out and work out the kinks before letting him rip, especially as he gets older.

HOWEVER...by then he should be able to be settled in the crate with the door open if need be. You said earlier that you would prefer to flip the seat up and put the crates in there. I assume there will be a little extra space the dog could stretch out into.

Years ago I had dogs and a passenger car...no crate, just a blanket to keep the seat somewhat clean. The dog learned very quickly to lay down in the back seat, and stay down. If it got up, I tapped the brakes and knocked it back down into the seat. They got the memo.
No muss no fuss.

RayG

Hawaii
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Re: Crate Sizing

Post by Hawaii » Wed Aug 18, 2021 11:55 am

Just so you know Ruff Tuff Kennels ARE NOT AIRLINE APPROVED and may not be accepted at the airport cargo drop off. Long story short i've just been through a dreadful morning of trying to ship a dog from KC. Ruff Tuff is aware of this issue and they have removed any "airline approved" language from their website. I tried their customer service and the person I spoke with was nothing short of a ..... I was a big fan of the Ruff Tuff Kennels but considering they can't get on a flight and the company doesn't stand behind their previous advertisements, may have to change teams.

PoorMansWrangler
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Re: Crate Sizing

Post by PoorMansWrangler » Wed Aug 18, 2021 2:00 pm

I have larges, but my shorthair is closer to 75-80 and is leggy like a horse. I think you would be fine with a medium/intermediate. If you have a cabelas/bass pro nearby, they often have kennels in the store and are dog friendly, or maybe stop by a trial or a NAVHDA training day, I imagine someone there will have some.

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