Crates/kennels


  • Just wondering what kind of crates/kennels everyone uses? or what you have found to work the best. I am thinking about geting a plastic vari kennel for my B. and i was wanting to see if anyone else uses these or what you would recommend.


  • I started Dallas off in a wire crate. He was okay at first but then learned how to pop off the side & escape from it. I used zip tyes to keep the panels together but he started chewing on them. I decided it was time to change crates after that.

    I switched to a large Vari Kennel. This was after he was housetrained & crate trained. Therefore, I got the bigger one for him to be able to stretch out in. Anyway, he was done significantly better with this type of kennel. With his wire I would have to put him in his crate. No treats would lure him into it. Now I just say "Dallas crate!" & he goes in, sits down & waits for his treat. He also now goes into it sometimes for no reason. It's become more like his bedroom.

    I know many people on here use & have success with the wire crates. Dallas just does better with the plastic :) Good luck!


  • my b simba is the same way with his wire crate. he can also pop the sides loose and excape. He also chews the wire and has bent all the wires together, and i know that this cannot be good on his teeth. He also hate to be in it i practicly have to force him into it. and its not like he is in it alot, i am a stay at home mom. so he is rarely in his kennel, and if he is its for short periods.:)


  • I would like some advice on what kind of dog cate to get for two dogs. Preferably one with a divider in it for when they don't get along.


  • @simba's_mom:

    my b simba is the same way with his wire crate. he can also pop the sides loose and excape. He also chews the wire and has bent all the wires together, and i know that this cannot be good on his teeth. He also hate to be in it i practicly have to force him into it. and its not like he is in it alot, i am a stay at home mom. so he is rarely in his kennel, and if he is its for short periods.:)

    I would recommend the DVD Crate Games to help Simba start thinking of the crate as a place he wants to be rather than a place he has to be. I used Crate Games with Nicky and thoug he will never love his crate as long as I keep up the practice with Crate Games he will go in willingly and seems more relaxed about it. If I slack off on his training though you can tell.


  • @etzbseder:

    I would like some advice on what kind of dog cate to get for two dogs. Preferably one with a divider in it for when they don't get along.

    I would not recommend using a single crate for two dogs that are unattended. If you are worried about separation anxiety then try two wire crates side by side.


  • @lvoss:

    I would not recommend using a single crate for two dogs that are unattended. If you are worried about separation anxiety then try two wire crates side by side.

    I totally agree, two crates side by side… or you could think about an xpen instead for the two of them. A bit larger then a crate and they can get out of each others way with a bit more room...


  • @lvoss:

    I would not recommend using a single crate for two dogs that are unattended. If you are worried about separation anxiety then try two wire crates side by side.

    +2. I would be seriously concerned if they got on each other's nerves in a confined space…crate or xpen...that it could escalate in a very bad way. It is one thing for them to be left out together in a room in a house...it is another to be confined together...especially unsupervised.


  • Thanks for the advice. I'm sure I'll get an Xpen when I buy my own house here in a couple years, but for now, I will have to settle with crates, my bedroom, and the backyard for when I'm not around.


  • Nicky and Rally had large crates side by side when we were renting. They would get a Kong in their crate with them every morning and they did fine. Now that we own a home they are out loose in the house with restricted access.


  • I do have one dog that will not stay in a crate if she doesn't want to be there. She has learned how to get out of vari kennels and mid west wire crates. We can keep her in a MidWest crate if we use extra clips on the doors. She is not destructive, but she has been escaping confinement since she was a week old and couldn't even see where she was escaping to.


  • @lvoss:

    I would not recommend using a single crate for two dogs that are unattended. If you are worried about separation anxiety then try two wire crates side by side.

    While I understand the concern and that our situation may well be atypical because Keoki had such extreme separation anxiety, Our dogs did not do well in separate crates. Rather, KEOKI did not do well in a crate separate from Jazz, even side by side and wire. Jazz is fine alone anywhere any time. But He had the most horrid crate anxiety until we got one large wire crate and put them together in it. Now he loves the crate….just don't latch it with him on one side and her on the other. He has to know he can touch her.

    In the beginning they did have the occasional brief spat, but now when he crawls on her, she just mutters swear words under her breath and lets him curl up with her.
    They do each have their own bed in the crate and usually sleep each in a bed, but sometimes they sleep crammed into one.


  • I think I'll still probably just get a second crate, it'll be needed at some point or another anyway. I've got plenty of time to figure things out.

Suggested Topics

  • crate/potty training and biting

    Basenji Training
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    4k Views
    tanzaT
    @jilliansquires Housetraining, you need to go back to potty training 101.... start all over again.... take her out "all" the time, after eating, sleeping playing, etc..... The biting as you describe it is NOT normal behavior. Have you done any Obedience training with her? Work her mind? And most important have you talked to her breeder?
  • Crate vs. expen "kennel" vs both?

    Basenji Training
    11
    0 Votes
    11 Posts
    10k Views
    Chealsie508C
    Crazysenji- same with Oakley, had to be a wire crate; oak never got used to his Vari-Kennel for the car…totally freaked!
  • Peeing in the crate

    Basenji Training
    76
    0 Votes
    76 Posts
    26k Views
    Shaye's MomS
    @Janneke: Sorry.. but she hates her crate… and she has to be in it for 8 hours a day... And you don't walk her in the morning...? I would start with making sure your dog is tired in the morning before you put her in her crate. And maybe you can try to leave her loose in the house so she can move around? This is not only to you, but I read it so often on this forum that dogs spend entire days in their crates... I just don't understand that people can put their dogs in crates 8+ hours a day (I'm not including nights..) I agree with Janneke here - if she hates her crate, she may pee in it because she gets extremely unhappy there. Not all dogs need to be crated - I've never had a dog who was crated, and the two I have now are loose when we're gone because Shaye, who was 10 weeks when we got her, always hated it, never changed, and started breaking baby teeth on it. When we leave we leave them with a treat to get their immediate attention, and they usually sleep or keep themselves busy, with no damage or upset. Of course, we aren't usually gone more than 6 hours when we leave them.
  • Just wondering/thinking/probably not acting…

    Basenji Training
    18
    0 Votes
    18 Posts
    5k Views
    Shaye's MomS
    An Akita was the first dog we noticed that about. It was only a 10 month old, but it ran right next to Shaye, touching her all the way and looking down at her, and kept turning her to the right - I don't really know whether it was trying to get Shaye back to the place we were sitting or whether it was an aggressive move, but the result was the same. There is a Shepard here in the neighborhood we live in. When the man who walks it passes by us, he has to practically get down and physically hold the dog, because it tries to charge Shaye, ears back, hackles up, barking its head off. I don't know if it's like that with other dogs. At the park, there was a young Shepard who initially started playing with Shaye, but when Shaye went up like she does and came down around the dog's neck area, it lowered to the ground, bared its teeth, growled and scared me to death, I thought I was about to see Shaye get picked up and shaken to death in those jaws. It was not in a playing mood any more. So, I figure better safe than sorry. The man who owns the Akita who was herding Shaye told me Akitas are bred to be guard dogs and are naturally aggressive in initial meetings - so why he had that dog at a public park is beyond me.
  • EBC weekend Specialty/maturity/obedience Wa

    Basenji Training
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    2k Views
    No one has replied
  • Pooping in the crate

    Basenji Training
    10
    0 Votes
    10 Posts
    6k Views
    tanzaT
    You might also try a small crate… if the crate is too large, then they can poop or pee in one part and still have a clean area in another...