Crate sizes?

[Lauren and Kona]

Hello all :)

I've been looking online for a crate to purchase for my puppy (who will be coming home in a month at 8 weeks old). I'm having a hard time deciding on the size of the crate. I once had a very small puppy (at 8 weeks he weighed about 2 pounds) and bought a "large" crate for him from a pet store, and he absolutely hated it... broke my heart every time I had to put him inside of it. I didn't feel as though he had enough room to move around and play inside of it, but I've read here that the crate should only be large enough for the puppy to stand up, sit down and lie down (when potty training). I've been considering a more play-pen type of "crate" so that my puppy will have more room to move around and play. However, I want to potty train her correctly and I don't want to give her the wrong impression.

Also, with my last puppy, (he was not a Goldendoodle) - I tried putting the crate next to my bed, but he cried and whined nonstop so I had to move the crate to a different room. And when I would wake up in the morning, he would still be whining. However, I've read here that a lot of you have put your puppy's crate next to your bed and that has calmed your puppy down.

So my questions basically are - what crate size would you recommend for a standard size Goldendoodle puppy and what location of the crate do you think would most benefit the puppy? I know all dogs are different, but I'm just looking for a general idea.

Thanks guys!!

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Hi Lauren,

I don't have a standard but a mini Goldendoodle. I got a crate that has the size of an adult Goldendoodle. He can stand up and turn around in it now at almost 7 months old. I don't expect him to grow much more. 

The crate came with a divider that can be put in any spot of the crate. We used the divider in the beginning to give him only enough room to lie down. Perfect for potty training. As he grew we kept moving the divider until we got rid of it altogether.

So if you know what your puppy's adult size will be you can do the same.

Good luck and congratulations on your new puppy!

[Karen and "Gabby"]

Hi Lauren, I'm Karen in Memphis-- Gabby is standard goldendoodle and was 8 weeks and weighed 8 lbs when I got her.  I oped to start with the crate she came in  from the breeder which was a plastic 18x24. She is 6 months old now and 40 lbs, and has been in a  24x36 plastic crate for some time-- she will grow out of that soon, so we will probably go to 36x36....I opted out of the wire crate just because I was unsure of what I really wanted and the wire crates were pricy.

 Here's a link to  recommended crate sizes for dogs https://www.apdt.com/petowners/choose/cratesize.aspx.

Couple of things I ran into while potty training:  I wanted her to be really comfortable so I bought really nice foam pads for her to sleep on, but she kept pottying in her crate-- I guess the pads just soaked up the liquid so she was not bothered by the wetness...Once I took the pads out and she slept on the bare plastic floor of the crate, potty accidents stopped. 

Also, in the beginning I put her crate in my room but we were both up for several nights as she cried and wined. So, I put her another room and got her a snuggle puppy that has the heating pad and heart beat sound.  Others have said that a blanket with mother's scent works just as well.  Since I didn't have the scented blanket, I went with the Snuggle Puppy, which worked well.  

Congrats on your new puppy.... Gabby came from Mustardseed Goldendoodles in Royston Georgia-- Wendy Laustou. Where is your puppy coming from? 

[Debbie Daniels]

If I were you and I bought a lg crate I'd make sure it had a way to adjust it and make it smaller. I bought a lg. crate and Miss Beasley would pee on one end and lay on the other. Then I bought a med.size crate and used it a month, next put a tote in the lg crate to block part of it off, I have now have taken that out and she has out grown this crate. It's amazing how fast they grow and how fast they are to housebreak, Miss Beasley is 6 months old today and we started working on her holding it when she has to potty. When she goes to the door I make her wait like 10 minutes and next day 15, etc. so that at some point I can leave her out of her crate and she wont use my house but will go when I let her out. Good luck with your puppy and one hint, I fed my pup in her crate the first week, I've always gave her a treat when going into it, and I never talk to her while in the crate, not even when I come home and get her out of the crate, it causes separation anxiety! 

[Pam Thomas]

I bought a large crate with the divider like my breeder recommended, keeping her area small. But I would like her next to my bed at night and it will be too big for there. I guess I will buy a travel kennel to put in the bed room. But then I will just have to buy a bigger one when she grows. I don't get her until April and I am overwhelmed with decisions. I am afraid I will freak when I get her. So afraid of messing up her little psychie.

[Dynamite & Doodle]

I'm not sure of the dimensions of our crate for our standard guy, but he is around 55lbs at 10 months and his crate is just right. It's the 60lb capacity foldable wire crate, 36" rings a bell. The movable wall inside it for when he was growing was great. When he was tiny we put a blanket in the bottom of it but in the summer he started waking up a lot and whining to get out so we removed the blanket thinking he was hot from it. Sure enough, he started sleeping through the night in his bare crate. He spends the evening snoozing on the couch next to me or on the wood floor  but when I go to bed I tell him to go find his night night and he goes into his crate and sleeps there until morning. Doesn't seem like it would be comfortable but that is his preference.

The foldable crate was also good in the beginning because we could flatten it and take it to the lake with us. It hardly took any room and we still had room  for our cooler and backpacks.

[Swetha & Elsa]

Hi Lauren,

Our breeder recommended we get Medium/Large crate for Elsa (she's an standard F1).  The crate measures 36 by 24 by 27 inches.  I'm hoping it will be enough but we will have to see.  It has a divider inside that you can move as the puppy grows.  And it has two doors - I think the two doors are very convenient based on how you place the crate.

We put the crate in our bedroom at night where she can see me at all times and that worked well for us.  During the day, we have the crate near the kitchen and open to an X pen.  She goes to into the crate to nap after playing without any prompting from me. 

 

Hope that helps and congrats on your new puppy!

 

Swetha

[Shanen Sadowski]

I had her crate right next to my bed.  If she wined, I'd put my fingers in so she could feel me and said "Shhhht".  She would quiet right down.  (The few times she didn't I KNEW she had to go out and that did the trick-right back to sleep when I put her back in.)  At about 3 1/2 mos. we started letting her sleep in our room out of the kennel with no problems.  (She's 5 mos now.) I think we were really lucky though-we had NO chewing issues, accidents etc. by that point. If we had, I wouldn't have let her out so young.  Now her adult teeth are all in, so I doubt we'll suddenly have a bout of chewing.  (I have toys/bones in the room just in case, but she's only slept at night.)