Dutch Shepherd Forum

I need a soft crate for Odin at my new job so that he can stay under my table. He won't be left unattended in it, but it does need to be durable for him to be zipped in. He's completely crate trained and loves being in his crate, so he's not going to eat the sides. I'm looking for a soft crate that I can fold it up when I need to since he'll only be coming a day or two a week and I'd like to have the space the other days. I tried the Target red ones with the wire sides and he kept rolling the cage when he shifted his weight to grab a toy.

I have an xpen and wire and vari kennels, but I'd like something specifically for work that can be thrown in the car easily. I have a few wholesale distributor's for my business, so cost isn't too big of a deal. Any suggestions?

These are what I've been looking at so far...
http://www.wayfair.com/ABO-Gear-Dog-Dig ... O1024.html
http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Gear-Generati ... B00134JGC0
http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Gear-Travel-L ... soft+crate
http://www.petco.com/product/117624/Pet ... n-Red.aspx

Noz2Noz crates are the most reliable and sturdiest across the board. I've seen many soft crates doing agility trials and N2N seems to hold up the best. I have one and no complaints.

Thanks for the info! That was the type everyone talked about on the GSD forums too. What size do you think would be better? The 36" or 42"? I'd like to take up as little space as possible, but I want enough room for Odin and his ears.

LyonsFamily wrote:but I want enough room for Odin and his ears.

Another perk of Sugar has being a mix and all

What size crate does he normally stay in? A 42" fits my two 55lb dogs comfortably together. They each would go in a 36" individually.

Lyons Family wrote:http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Gear-Travel-L ... soft+crate

I would buy the one that already has a brindle dog in it

(Sorry, no help here)

Maggie Fan wrote:What size crate does he normally stay in? A 42" fits my two 55lb dogs comfortably together. They each would go in a 36" individually.

He has a 36" vari kennel and a 42" wire crate. The wire crate is very large, but it fits his ears with him standing. Hes around 68 lbs last I checked.

Depending on how long he has to stay in the soft crate and how much convenience matters to you for packing your car, a 36" would probably be fine. If you want to upsize for him, the 42" makes little difference or impact in my car when I pack for agility trials.

The N2N crates can also be unzipped on the top (with two doors, one on the side, one in the front), so if you are hanging out with him, you can always unzip the top to let his ears hang out

I have a Cabana Crate that I love. Sounds like you've found what you're looking for tho...

leih merigian wrote:I have a Cabana Crate that I love. Sounds like you've found what you're looking for tho...

Well, maybe not...Tell me about this Cabana Crate!

LyonsFamily wrote:

leih merigian wrote:I have a Cabana Crate that I love. Sounds like you've found what you're looking for tho...

Well, maybe not...Tell me about this Cabana Crate!

Oh, man, I'm sorry! I opened another window and googled Cabana Crate, to find a link for you, and as often happens, they no longer make the model I have and LOVE.

Now, they're making one that's ultra light, which only weighs 5lbs, but you have to stake it down. Not my idea of a travel crate .

The older one has a lightweight frame that goes inside of it, but it's very sturdy and no staking necessary (tho you can if you want). Lots of mesh screening for air flow, canvas carry bag.

Hang on...I've got a pic on photobucket that I can put here...



Well, it's not the greatest pic of the crate, but you can kind of see it...

I'm not familiar with the other one that's been mentioned, but I haven't been trialing in agility for a while and changes happen so quickly now with equipment and etc.

leih merigian wrote: Now, they're making one that's ultra light, which only weighs 5lbs, but you have to stake it down. Not my idea of a travel crate .

Well, the crate would travel, but it would be travelling across the floor with a brindle beast rolling in it like a hamster wheel.

Thanks for the help anyway. I may need a bigger option now though since it might not just be Odin coming to work with me soon.

LyonsFamily wrote:
Thanks for the help anyway. I may need a bigger option now though since it might not just be Odin coming to work with me soon.

Oh??

LyonsFamily wrote:
Well, the crate would travel, but it would be travelling across the floor with a brindle beast rolling in it like a hamster wheel.

Is this a new job in your new location? someplace in MI, right?

Not sure how much room you'll have at work, but would an Xpen be an option?

leih merigian wrote:

LyonsFamily wrote:
Well, the crate would travel, but it would be travelling across the floor with a brindle beast rolling in it like a hamster wheel.

Is this a new job in your new location? someplace in MI, right?

Yep, it's in Michigan. I'm grooming a few days a week and hopefully adding a training class or two soon in the store until I get my facility up. We've lost 2 homes we bid on to cash buyers so the house/property search is going really slowly.

I don't think an xpen would fit. I could try to bring mine in and play with it, but it's kind of an odd shaped area with a fridge and sink that I have to work around. I also wanted a lid to keep some of the hair down.

And Sue, I don't want to jinx it, but I should have pics to post in a week or so.

So, where in MI are you? I'm originally from Highland Park, MI...which is a tiny city surrounded by Detroit (or use we used to say, De-twa )

Oh I know where highland park is. My dad was working down near there for a while growing up. We are moving to the Millington area. Right now I'm in Columbiaville which is an itty bitty town next to Lapeer which is next to Flint. I work down in Oakland County where all the fancy people live though.

LyonsFamily wrote:Oh I know where highland park is. My dad was working down near there for a while growing up. We are moving to the Millington area. Right now I'm in Columbiaville which is an itty bitty town next to Lapeer which is next to Flint. I work down in Oakland County where all the fancy people live though.

Is Millington near Flint, too? Not very familiar with the Flint neighborhood...Lapeer was about as far in that direction as I used to go (lakes around there, right?)

leih merigian wrote:

LyonsFamily wrote:Oh I know where highland park is. My dad was working down near there for a while growing up. We are moving to the Millington area. Right now I'm in Columbiaville which is an itty bitty town next to Lapeer which is next to Flint. I work down in Oakland County where all the fancy people live though.

Is Millington near Flint, too? Not very familiar with the Flint neighborhood...Lapeer was about as far in that direction as I used to go (lakes around there, right?)

It's about an hour away from Flint. The closest place you'd probably know is Frankenmuth, the German/Christmas town. Millington is 15 minutes from Frankenmuth.

Yes, there are a lot of lakes in Lapeer/Lapeer County. It's a good thing too because Odin loves swimming. We're only about a 1/2 mile from a beach here that I can take him to.