Best Crates For Golden Retriever Puppy

What To Use For Dog Crate Bedding

The first instinct people have is to put some nice, soft, fluffy bedding in the crate to keep a puppy warm and comfortable. But this is a bad idea until your dog has truly proven they will not chew their bedding.

Towels, blankets and soft stuffed bedding are easily chewed, torn apart and ingested by young, mouthy puppies, especially Labrador Retriever puppies!

The danger here is they could choke or cause an internal blockage that can have serious health consequencesand high vet bills!

Although not completely destruction-proof, countless vets, breeders and kennels the world over use and recommend VetBed to use for bedding.

Vetbed is strong and durable, very long-lasting, machine washable, non-irritant and hypoallergenic, insulating, allows air and moisture to permeate through in case of any accidents and despite all this, still has a soft and luxurious feel.

It can still be chewed by determined puppies, but its much stronger and durable than any dog beds, blankets or towels you might otherwise use.

Id recommend starting with VetBed, keeping an eye on them to make sure they arent chewing their bedding and if they do, initially leave the floor of the crate bare when theyre unsupervised until youve trained them to not chew bedding and concentrate their chewing on toys. Then re-introduce the VetBed.

Once they are completely trusted not to chew their bedding, by all means you can replace the VetBed with any kind of bedding you like.

Final Tips To Leave A Golden Retriever Puppy In A Crate When You Are Out Of Home

• If youve mastered the exercises expounded above, it wont be difficult for you to get a puppy to stay in the crate when you leave home.
• When you leave your puppy alone, make sure that you have already finished physical activities such as walking and letting him relieve himself outdoors, this will make it easier for him to endure loneliness and mobility restrictions.
• Please take off your dogs collar and encourage him into the crate. Again do not use force.
• Close the crate door, double-check everything for safety before going out. We recommend that if you have to crate a dog for more than 2 hours, they should have a crate mounted water bowl or bottle. So its better to buy one in preparation.
• Try not to talk to your dog about anything and head off.
• In the first phase, your dog might make noise, so make sure your neighbors know and understand so you can avoid any further trouble.
• Remember to gradually do this, In the first instance be away for one to two hours, so on and so forth. If you are stuck in a desperate situation and need to go somewhere, its wise to ask someone to check up on your dog every once in a while around your absence.

Note: Puppies cannot be crated for even 4 or 5 hours, because they dont have the physical maturity to hold their bladders for this length of time.

Its believed that the time your puppy can spend in a crate without going out can be calculated by the formula:

Age in months + one month = number of hours

Best Bundle: Midwest Dog Crate Dog Crate Cover 2 Dog Bowls & Pet Bed

The key difference with the Midwest dog crate to New World is that it comes with a whole lot more for what you pay.

As the title says it comes with a large crate, crate cover, 2 dog bowls, and a pet bed too. And no, you dont get any hidden prices that you pay after, you get all of the above mentioned in the set price on Amazon.

What makes this crate good is the fact that it comes with a large double door that makes it super easy to get your dog in and out of it. Not to mention that this would be a great bonus when crate training your dog as getting them in and out can be a hassle.

The cover that comes with the crate is good for helping your dog to sleep at night and the bed will provide a little comfort inside too.

Its a strong wire crate that has a simple but effective design and comes with everything you need in one.

Size: 42 L x 30 W x 28 H

Weight: 36 lbs

• A few sharp edges can be found in some places

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Collapsible Crates Are Great For Travelers

Most crates can be disassembled to some degree, but some are easier to flatten and carry with you than others. These types of portable dog crates are great for pet owners on the go, as it makes it easy to bring your pets crate with you on the road.

Its also easier to store these types of crates if you only use them sporadically. Large crates can take up a lot of room in your house, so this isnt an insignificant consideration.

Types Of Crate For Golden Retriever Puppy And Grown

Pet stores offer a wide range of choices to provide the best crate for your Golden Retriever. It varies from plastic kennels and metal crates to soft fabric carriers in different sizes and designs. However there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The choice has to be made based on the reasons that prompted the owner to purchase it.

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Soft-Sided Carrier

Made of durable, lightweight and waterproof material. These soft-sided carriers will be a great solution for safe and comfortable travel. However, these carriers should not be left unattended for a long time due to the likelihood of it being torn apart by our dogs. The main advantage with this type of carriers is its versatility with possibility to fold with ease when not in use.

Plastic Kennel

This type of carrier is perfect for transporting, and is made of plastic durable, easy to clean and reliable when it comes to your dogs safety. However, before purchasing one, assure yourself that it is sturdy enough to support the weight of the dog inside the carrier and provides a well-built wire mesh door and ventilation just sufficient to keep the air circulating.

Metal Crate

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So What Is The Best Dog Crate For A Golden Retriever And Why

A collapsible wire dog crate is the best choice for most people and is the type I most recommend.

For puppys going through teething, or chewy adolescents, theyre pretty much indestructible. And for use during house training theyre the most easily cleaned after the inevitable accidents.

They can be folded flat for transportation and theyre extremely durable and long-lasting. Theyre quite inexpensive to buy in the first place too.

For these reasons, overall they are the most practical and cost-effective crate and the type I recommend for day-to-day use inside of your home. So in my opinion, a folding wire crate is the best crate for a Golden Retriever.

This is the most popular model of crate from the most popular brand of crate manufacturer in the US, Midwest Homes for Pets.

Its a hard-wearing, easy-clean crate available in various sizes but the 42 being perfect for an adult Golden Retriever.

However, it comes complete with a divider free of charge, so this crate can be bought and resized for a puppy, and by moving the divider, resizing the space available for the crate to grow with your puppy until finally it fits them without the divider as an adult dog.

So it offers incredible value, suiting your Golden during every stage of life and removing the need to buy new crates as a puppy grows.

Proselect Empire Dog Cage

The ProSelect Empire Dog cage is arguably one of the best dog crates in its price range for large dogs.

Constructed with 20-gauge steel and ½ diameter steel tubes, the Empire dog crate is sturdy and will last a long time.

Crate cleaning is easy with the removable floor grate and steel tray that holds any dirt and shedding fur for simple clean-up.

The Empire cage is easy to move around with its for caster wheels, which can be locked to prevent it moving, or removed completely if you want the cage to stand on the floor.

The strong steel bars combined with solid welds and dual door latches will hep ensure your dog doesnt escape when youre not looking.

The Empire dog cage features durable high-grade hammertone that is scratch and chip resistant, and prevents rusting.

Many dog owners have commented that this cage is very easy to assemble, and it comes with a tool for this purpose.

The ProSelect Empire cage is available in two sizes: 37 and 42 inches. For a full-grown Golden Retriever the 42-inch crate would be the ideal size.

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What Type Of Crate Is Best For A Puppy

The best type of crate for your puppy is one that works for his size, first and foremost. He should be able to stand, sit, and turn around comfortably while inside. A crate using a movable divider to grow with him or suiting his projected adult size is ideal. This keeps him from getting cramped and protects your wallet from needing to buy larger kennels in the future.

Next up, you also need to determine if youre looking for a travel crate or a home hideaway. Travel crates need to meet strict parameters for airline travel, while home crates require more focus on the overall aesthetic to avoid an eyesore.

Once you have the crates size and use locked down, you can move on to puppy must-haves, like an easy-to-clean material like plastic and a pull-out tray for convenience. In most cases, puppies do best with plastic or wire crates, as soft-sided ones are easy to gnaw or dig through.

What Dog Crate Are We Using With Our Puppies

We are currently using two different Carlson Dog Crates with our puppies and dogs.

• The Carlson Single Door Dog Crate this crate is a bit less expensive, but does not include the divider and hasyou guessed it a single door.
• The Carlson Double Door Dog Crate w/ Divider if I were purchasing only one dog crate then this is the one Id buy for my puppy.

We still have, but do not really use the plastic molded crates. Our travel crate is somewhere in the garage collecting dust and I think the popup crate met its demise during our move back in 2014.

If I was planning on only purchasing one crate for my puppy then Id far and away choose a metal wire dog crate like the Carlson Double Door Dog Crate w/ Divider.

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Removable Pan At The Bottom

Similarly, like the new world folding crate, this crate also has a plastic pan that can be attached at the bottom and you can remove it anytime you need to do the washing of the pan for cleaning purposes. In this way, you can clean up your dogs crate easily without any need of washing the pan within the crate.

The Best Dog Crates For Car Travel

Categories Dog Gear, Gear Guide, Travel with a Dog

Like many unknowing dog owners, I used to allow my dogs to ride in the back seat or hitch of the car without worrying about their safety. They lay down and were calm, so I never saw a need to use a dog crate for car travel.

When I got Sitka, however, there was no sitting calmly in the car while I drove.

Sitka is anxious in the car, and after the first ride involved him lunging at trucks and motorcycles, pacing back and forth, and whining the entire time, I knew I needed a solution to keep us safe and sane.

Initially, I secured him using a harness system from Kurgo that is crash-tested and kept him from pacing, but hed spin and tangle himself in the straps resulting in needing to pull over to untangle his legs periodically.

From there, I decided to look into a kennel and began intense research to find the best dog crates for car travel. I asked friends, polled my Instagram audience, read reviews, and emailed brands to create a list of potential candidates.

In this post, I feature the dog crates that I considered purchasing, which means they met the criteria I will explain below. I explain why I chose the one that I did and provide suggestions for why other brands might work best for your car situation and dog.

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Fashionable Dog Crate Or Furniture

Disclaimer: Ive never used a fashionable dog crate/furniture, but I wanted to include this category to have a complete list of crates available to you, the reader. The crate I listed is highly rated on Amazon.com. However, please always perform your own due diligence.

We have yet to buy a dog crate that is also a piece of furniture unless using our wire crates as nightstand counts? Ugliest nightstands ever!

I cant say whether or not the below crate is a great product. However, I did want to list the option here so you could see there are some more stylish crates on the market.

Crown Pet Products Wood Pet Crate End Table

If interior design is on the top of your list then you might want to try one of these crates.

My biggest problem with crates that look like pieces of furniture?

They can be a bit pricey!

Oh, and when one of my puppies puts tiny teeth puncture marks in my stylish new dog crate/furnitureyeah, no longer stylish

Merry Products Dog Crate

This Merry Products Dog Crate is an extremely beautiful dog crate that will make a superb feature for your home.

Its designed to be comfortable for your retriever. This crate is composed of wood veneer, but its reinforced with durable powder coated black steel. As a result, this crate is extremely durable.

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How To Choose The Right Sized Crate

Probably the most important step to buying your dog a new crate is going to be making sure that youre buying the right size. There are tons of crates available on the market and to say the least, it gets a little confusing when you dont know what you should be looking out for.

To give you a better idea Ive got a few tips that will help you to understand what the right size crate will be for your dog.

TIP: A crate should be tall enough that your dog can sit up without bumping their heads on the roof of the crate. On the flip side, a crate should also be wide enough that your dog can lay down with their legs stretched out and still have at least 4 inches of space away from the sidewalls.

A full-grown adult golden retriever will grow up to heights of 22 to 2 inches with a potential weight of 75lbs.

Heres a table that goes through crate sizes for golden retrievers of all ages.

Mimsafe Variocage Double: Best Dog Crate For Your Car

Price: £640 | Buy it now from Mimsafe

Using dog crates in the car is a great way of keeping your pet secure and safe while abiding by the motoring regulations around travelling with pets. The Mimsafe dog crates are the best option for car travel with your dog because of their robust safety testing and the variety of options available.

There are compact crates for hatchback cars, but the sophisticated VarioCage Double is the best dog crate by Mimsafe. It fits into the boot of the car and allows space for one large breed dog or two medium/small dogs, and it has adjustable dividers to separate two animals. Its fully adjustable for different vehicles , but the really neat part is how safe it is: its crash tested and shock absorbent, so not only keeps your dog safe but it also prevents the passengers from being impacted by the crate if you have a collision at the back of the car.

Key features Material: metal Other sizes available: Yes Alternative Colours: No Adjustable: Yes Portable: No

Price: £40 |

This classic wire crate is simple but effective and is great for use with puppies which will grow into much larger adults. It has a divider so you can start with a smaller area when theyre young, and theres a removable tray in the bottom to make it easier to clean if theres any mess made. The Pawology dog crate comes in two sizes and its fully collapsible for easy transportation.

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Toughest Crate: Luckup Heavy Duty Dog Crate

In most cases, you are not going to need a crate like this, but if you find yourself needing something thats almost invisible, then heres your answer.

The LUCKUP Heavy Duty Dog Crate is built for commercial use or a dog that just seems to escape from every other crate that youve tried. Its made with strengthened steel and powder coated to prevent sharp edges.

Theres a removable steel pan underneath and the whole crate comes on wheels for easy transportation. Whilst you may be able to get this into the next room, it certainly not the type of crate that you would need if you plan on moving around.

Instead, its a set it and forget it type crate that will do the job for most probably the rest of the time you have on this planet.

Whilst its a heavy-duty crate, I must say it still has a pretty nice finish. After reading the reviews on amazon I was able to find a few customers that shared some images of this crate in their home and it actually doesnt look too bad.

Size: 41 H x 30 W x 42 L

Weight: 92 lbs

• Lockable wheels to stop movement

Cons

• Customers have reported a long wait on shipping