Adult Dog Size Versus Crate Size

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

When Tara came to live with us we bought a 24 inch crate with divider thinking this would be more than adequate for her expected size as a mini.  Now that she is nearing 2 years old she still sleeps in her crate at night with the door closed in our bedroom.  Although she is only 19 pounds she is really a "long body" style doodle and I am concerned that she does not have enough space in the crate at night.  Here are the measurements:

 

Tara- 26 inches from nose to rear laying flat

 

Crate-24 inches

 

Pan in bottom of crate-22 inches

 

Crate measured diagonally -29 inches

 

So you can see she can't really stretch her legs out. Sometimes I look in there and she is laying on her back with her legs up in the air which is probably the only way she can stretch them out. It looks really uncomfortable to me!!

 

We tried experimenting with leaving the crate door open but she just goes back in the crate by morning. We started closing the door again after while (long story) so she is back to being closed in the crate all night again.

 

For those of you who have adult doodles still in crates for extended periods during the day or night...what is your crate size vs dog size?? Do I need to upgrade to the next bigger size or do dogs prefer a tight fit?  Will dogs who are accustomed to a crate return to it because of habit or a feeling of safety even though it is uncomfortable?

 

[Charlie and Me (and JoJo, too!)]

This is from Pet Edge: Measure dog's height to shoulder, then length from chest to rear of leg. Add 4"- 6" to each measurement. This will give you the height and length of the crate.

When you are using a crate for puppies, I think a tighter "fit" is desirable, as this helps with house training. But once the puppy is house trained, I think more room makes sense for older dogs. I know many people do away with the crate once their dogs are house trained. But if you do continue to use the crate (and there are perfectly good reasons to do so), you probably want their "home" to be a comfortable place.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

That was what I was thinking too. A larger one for an older dog. I would really like to just get her out of it completely. That was our intent when we started leaving the door open at night. We thought she would be overjoyed. Instead she return to it on her own. We don't know if it is just habit for her or if she feels safer in there so we didn't want to just make it disappear suddenly. Maybe I should start another discussion about how to wean your dog from the crate!! When she is tired at night she will go lay in front of the crate and cry to be let in it!! Ugh!

I would MOST love to have her on the bed but I have bad allergies. Although I am NOT allergic to Tara, the little rascal likes to run through, dig into and decorate herself with all kinds of things from outside that I AM allergic to. I would have to give her a bath every night before bed!!

It is interesting that Pet Edge doesn't factor the head into the length measurement. Where is that supposed to go...I wonder... LOL! Thanks for the info!

[Charlie and Me (and JoJo, too!)]

Dogs are den animals, I suppose. So, it's probably natural for them to seek enclosed spaces like a crate: under table or bed, for example. If your dog wants the crate at night, I wouldn't worry about it--probably just instinct.

[L.M.]

We just had this issue and spent over $150 buying a new larger crate for our 1 year old pup, Seamus. Our guy is big, so we got the largest crate we could find. Well, when we swapped, all of a sudden Seamus stopped liking his crate. He never gave us issues going in his old one, but when we switched, he would run away from it, cry, and ultimately would break out. (Needless to say he now has run of the house,which wound up working out for the best.) But, I would be careful of switching, especially if your girl willingly goes in her original crate. Maybe try leaving the door open again and see if she goes out. To me, if she is uncomfortable and squished she would not willingly stay in there.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Once Darwin got older, I didn't see any reason that he should be cramped. Not that he was cramped before, but we had the crate only big enough for him to turn around in... for potty training purposes. Darwin is 27" at the shoulder and his crate is... 32" tall? and 48" long. It's the giant breed sized crate. It is GIGANTIC. We definitely didn't need to go so big, but he really loves being able to stretch out in his crate, and spends a lot of his time in there.

I included a picture... it kind of shows how much space vs. dog there is...

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

This is great! It looks more like a doggy suite than a crate!

[shelly]

Awe, Darwin! You're such a cutie and one LUCKY dood! If Tori's crate was this plush - she'd tear apart the blankets! You're a good man, Darwin!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have two very large crates downstairs that give the dogs enough room to stretch out, turn around and almost do back flips. The dogs are in the crates when I'm out or doing something like mowing the lawn. At night, Calla often spends time, sometimes a couple of hours, in her old crate upstairs, which is really too small for her. She can't really stretch out or even stand up comfortably. But she goes in only because she wants too and leaves when she wants too also. Sometimes if I'm doing things in the bedroom I get the idea she goes int to her crate to be "away" from it all. I think she likes having it there so I haven't taken it away although I think about it from time to time. It is Calla's crate from when she was younger and Luca never goes in there.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Thanks for all your input! After reading your suggestions and comments I am going to start with leaving the crate door open at night for a while again and monitor what she does. This will give her some options and hopefully give us an idea of how to keep her comfy. Plus if I see her laying on her back with her legs up in the air again I will know it is because she WANTS to be in that position and not because she is being squished!!

[Mustard Seed Ranch]

You might also want to try the "pop" up fabric ones. They sell them very cheap at Walmart and it would be easy to move, take down, not too expensive. I have them as they are easy to travel with, dont take up room in the cars (when they are folded) for when we go somewhere for a night or two.

[shelly]

Ricki - this is funny that you post this... I say constantly that I always feel so bad when I let Tori out of her crate in the morning... the first thing she does is give one looooong stretch! I always say I'm afraid she's going to get bad hips... We tried having her sleep loose at night, but all she does is roam, and doesn't sleep the whole night. I know 'they' say it should just be big enough for them to turn around inside without hitting their head... BUT... most of the time she sleeps curled up in a ball in the back corner of her crate, or upside down right up against the side. I wish she would not sleep in it anymore for these reasons, but mostly... I want that "cage" out of my den... but she LOVES it and if she's happy - we're happy.... my youngest son wanted to buy her one of those igloo looking crates - it has no door so she's free to move in and out, but don't know if I want THAT in my den either - LOL Good luck! I'll be watching to see what suggestions you get!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Shelly, Tara does the same thing in the mornings-a big long stretch!! I'll have to watch to see if she still does it using our new method. Maybe it is just something all dogs do because it feels soooooo good! Igloo???? Hmmm..I don't think so...an igloo would be pretty tough to disguise. At least you can put a cover on a crate and blend it in a bit...that is unless you have Artic decor..