Crate Question

[Sandy]

Toby, who was 2 in August, sleeps quite happily in a crate in our room.  Lately he seems a little fidgetty, for lack of a better word.  I spread a little blanket in the bottom (the crate has a plastic tray), but he always moved around so much that it's in a little ball by the morning.  I haven't put anything more permanent in there because he gets hot.  When he fidgets and moves around, the sound of his nails and collar on the plastic tray wake me up and keep me awake, even when I wear earplugs.  Does anyone out there have something they put in the bottom of the crate that dulls that noise?

 

If I let him out of his crate, he will be on our bed pretty quickly.  Two adults and an 80 pound dog make the bed WAY too crowded for comfortable sleeping.... :)

[Sandy]

That's what I'm doing tonight. Fingers are crossed.

[Donna M Lowry]

I had the same issue with Riley and these 2 things helped. Choice 1 - I took a larger blanket and tucket it around the bottom of the plastic tray to keep it from sliding around and balling up. Problem was that Riley kept "digging" it up and pushing it into a ball to use as a pillow. Choice two - they make sherpa-covered crate pads that fit securely on the bottom of the crate as they are the same size as the tray. They are harder to move around and ball-up due to the padding inside. They sell them at PetSmart. I haven't tried option 2 yet, but since Riley dug up option 1, I think I'm heading to PetSmart. Now that the weather is cooler, the plastic is even harder and noisier!!! And, it can't be that comfy!!!

[Christine & Camus]

I have the sherpa crate pad, which Nietzsche loved. It is not very thick so I put it on top of a rubber-backed rug, then it was comfy. Camus may like it once it gets cooler.

[Sandy]

I used a bigger blanket, folder up to fit the crate last night. It was MUCH better. He still like to push it around, but it doesn't leave as much exposed plastic, and therefore there was less noise. Yay for a good night's sleep. :)

[Camilla and Darwin]

I'm so glad it worked pretty well, a good night's sleep is so important!

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

We bought a foam pad at the local sewing store and I made a cover for it out of a washable cotton duck fabric. Mitzi
loved it. It was quiet and about two inches thick for comfort. She had been living in a crate for the first six months of her
life, and when we got her we had to get a crate for her. We got a crate large enough for a great dane! When we went
to dismantle it she actually fought with us and tried climbing on top of it to stop us from taking it away.
It was her security place and she still tries to get into the crate we have for our daughter's visiting kitten. She was always getting into the crate when anyone came to the door; on her own, or sometimes when we would tell her to "go to her room". She really enjoyed it and we still feel guilty for putting it away, but she never slept in it overnight. She has always preferred to be in the hallway outside the bedroom doors or sometimes visiting with each member of the family, as if sharing her time with everyone.