We will be bringing our new little male golden puppy home in about 4 weeks. We want to be prepared for when he gets here and was looking to crate train him. Our 4 year old yorkie is crate trained and of course has a small travel type crate that she sleeps in. I was wondering what kind of crate you would recommend for the golden and what size? I have seen those collapsable soft ones as well as the travel kind and the black wire kind. I was wondering what kind works the best for you?

No recommendations??

We have always used the hard sided plastic crates because we used to fly with the dogs. I find that these are more den like and the dogs seem to like the privacy that they provide.
I do like the soft sided collapsable ones when we travel in the boat.
What ever you decide to use make sure you like the look of it because it will become part of the household for a long time to come.
Sorry I can't be more helpful...

The soft ones are great for travel, but they're quite easily destroyed. I wouldn't use one as a crate for crate training.

All of my guys have wire crates we use in the house. I used a small plastic kennel when my puppy was small -- up until about 25 pounds, for car travel and to sleep in. But that's the only time I've used one.

I'd get a crate for an adult size golden with a divider panel to use while the puppy is growing. Maybe someone who has used the plastic crates can weigh in.

Have fun with your new puppy!

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I used the black wire type with my guys with no problems. I was able to put in a divider panel to keep it small when Oakly was a pup. I liked that it had plenty of ventilation. You do have to remember to take off their collar when they go in so they don't get tags caught in the wires. I have read other threads where lots of people prefer the plastic sided crates. Get a crate that is sized for a full grown golden but be sure to keep it divided so it is just big enough for them to turn around when they are young.

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Our pup is 13 weeks or so and we went wire crate with a divider.

What he said!!

I use the plastic ones that double as an airline approved travel crate. We move an awful lot and it is WAAAAAY more practical! The dogs seem to like the cozy den with a comfy ortho bed inside and a quilt over the top.

I get the XLarge measures in at 39 x26 x 30. I clip on the water bottles (like for a hampster, but horse sized ) after the puppy is secure in the crate and won't potty in it. (It was a few days for Maximus, and a week for Leonidas)

Here are my boys modeling their snazzy crates for you. Just to get a better idea of the size, Leonidas is almost 6 months old and about 45 pounds and Maximus is almost 3 years old and about 85 pounds. I keep the crates on the landings on the stairs, so they are out of the way and make a nice little hidey hole for the dogs. =)

Hope this was helpful! I can't wait to see pictures of your new puppy!! How can you stand the wait!?

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Aimee (me) Heath(Dh) and Gummy Bear (baby on the way!)
Lots of hugs and sloppy doggy kisses from us!

This was very helpful, gave me a good idea about the size. Maximus looks very "happy" lol.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I was thinking that the collapsable ones might not be very sturdy or easily destroyed. I was leaning more toward the wire ones. I think one with the divider will be what I go with. Would the 42" be sufficient or would you go to the 48"?

I used the same for Jake, and put a box in the back until he grew into it. My son used the same style for his golden and Duke loves it. He stores his toys on top of the crate.

We'll be using the same crate for our new puppy that we are picking up ...today!!!

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Jake...we miss you!!!
3/29/1998 - 12/7/2008