[Laz]

Hi, we have an 8 month old boxer, and currently her plastic crate is right near our bed.
We're all happy, but recently she has started moving hard while dreaming and her kicks make a big noise and wake us up!

Would a soft sided crate for night time sleeping be a good idea? Or are they more for travel and wouldn't hold up to nightly use?

Thanks,

Laz

p.s. I was thinking of making my own soft one if a commercial one isn't appropriate...

 

[storyist]

It depends on the dog. I use soft crates at dog shows for my adult crate-trained dogs, but I wouldn't overnight with a young dog. At 8 months there's a good chance of a puppy awake before you are and bored chewing through a soft crate. They can rip through one just pawing at the fabric - and of course if they swallow a bit it can be a big problem.

 

[Knute]

Suggest to get an appropriate sized wire crate with a floor grid and a crate cover.

Many styles are available, single door, double door, lift up door....... Many manufacturers also. Amazon is a reasonable source.

The floor grid will allow an air space above the plastic floor tray. This will allow any accidents to pass through the floor to be collected in the tray. The dog will not be rolling around in their waste accident.

The cover will provide a sense of a den or a secure space for the dog.

A boxer is a fairly active dog. I think a cloth carrier will be shredded in short order. Waste accidents in a cloth carrier will be messy at best. The plastic crate does not provide a place for waste accidents. The dog will get into their own waste just by laying down.

I have a 31" Midwest Ovation wire crate for my dog. This crate has a single door that lifts and folds on the top of the crate when open. The door does not swing open. I have a floor grid with my dog's sleep mat at the back of the crate. The tray under the floor grid is lined with a couple of potty pads.....just in case. I also have a cover on all sides except the door side. This gives my dog a den-like place of solitude. It took a bit of training, but my dog is happy to go into the crate on his own or on command.

The wire crate will fold to collapse into a package about 31" x 24" x 2" inch with a carry handle for travel.