Need help with crates...

[Sarahk]

The current dog crate I have now is not very strong... But my bird dog doesn't ever try to get out so it does it's job. When we get our DS I feel I need to get a sturdier one for the new pup. What do you all think? Any durable crates you have used that held up against a DS trying to escape?

Or... Do you think I should get a normal wire crate first and see if they manage to get through it?

[icvanstra]

During the very early puppy stages Cino was in a hard plastic crate. Later I moved him to a wire crate and I'm paying for it now.

He wore grooves into his canines from gnawing on the wire.

[Stacy_R]

I used a sturdy plastic crate first and then moved to a wire crate. I am fortunate and haven't had any issues with him chewing on the crate. Destroying beds..yes, crate chewing...no...thank goodness.

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

I used the plastic crate the breeder sent for a while before switching to a wire crate. No chewing issues yet…

I do think the kind of better crates are the Vari-kennels… There's been talk about the better crates all over this forum, so I would do a search and see what you can find. I know there's been a lot who recommend what crates not to buy.

[Sarahk]

Thank you... I tried a search but there were pages upon pages referring to crates, but I could not find anything that said which brands were better than others.

[icvanstra]

I think that if you go with Vari-kennel you are going to do well. I have Pet-Mate crates and I'm happy with them.

If you have a Dutch Shepherd that is going to break out of a Vari-Kennel then you likely have some issues with dot that needs to be dealt with.

Proper crate training is critical no matter what kind of crate you get.