[tangerineman]

Hi, I've just had my toy poodle puppy for a week now and it's time to pick up some kind of crate/carrier for him for riding in the van and as a sleeping spot around home.

Canadian Tire has a wonderful selection, but nothing for something as little as a toy. Walmart? Online? I'd love to know what your experiences have been.

Soft-sided looks like it has some advantages, but will it just break down if it's used daily or weekly?

I appreciate any comments. Many thanks. Heeeeeeere's SAMMY!

 

[Pamela]

Hi, I've just had my toy poodle puppy for a week now and it's time to pick up some kind of crate/carrier for him for riding in the van and as a sleeping spot around home.

Canadian Tire has a wonderful selection, but nothing for something as little as a toy. Walmart? Online? I'd love to know what your experiences have been.

Soft-sided looks like it has some advantages, but will it just break down if it's used daily or weekly?

I appreciate any comments. Many thanks. Heeeeeeere's SAMMY!

oh he is soooo cute! I got my crates from dog catalogs

 

[Pamela]

oh he is soooo cute! I got my crates from dog catalogs

like petsmart, pet edge, jb wholeslae

 

[mercymoon]

I have a large black dog crate/kennel that we purchased from Walmart
at one time, I love it and couldn't be more satisfied.

BTW, Sammy is just TOO cute! So precious!

 

[highhorse]

When Inca was very small, I used a cat carrier. I could take her to training and put her in a quiet place, so she could see what was going on and feel safe in her carrier. Later when we she grew out out of the cat carrier, I used a crate, secured by a seat belt. When we had just one dog, she travelled with a large toy bunny, something to snuggle into. Now we have Coco, they travel together in the cage. Here in England, you can get the crates at dog shows, on line, from local pet stores. I have heard that the soft ones are not as robust as the metal ones.

 

[WonderPup]

I found reccently that walmart has some pretty reasonably priced crates for both dogs and cats. We found a huge 36 inch one for Jazz for only 50 dollars. The same one at petsmart was almost twice as much. It cant hurt to look.
The bulk of my crates I order online. Dog.com has some decent prices

 

[WonderPup]

I have also seen soft sided crates at walmart. I forgot about it until just now. I don't care for them myself except for temporary use at like shows and such. For travel my guys are always in hard airline crates. A soft sided crate would provide no protection in the evenT of a car accident. Another issue I have with softies is the zipper and the light weight nature of the crate itself. Howie can roll his easy crate brand soft kennel and it is never where I left him in a large dog happens by and he feels the need to bark and lunge and such. As for the zipper, we have had several dogs learn how to unzip the crates. Another dog didn't unzip them but she did figure out how to break the zipper aparts from the other side of the crate to make a hole large enough for her to get out, thankfuly she was in a hotel room at the time. I had two puppies who worked together and chewed a hole throught the side of one as well. I used the soft crates pretty infrequently because of all that.

 

[SECRETO]

I highly recommend getting one from Walmart. If you go to a pet store they are almost always WAY OVER PRICED unless its a feed store. I paid 70.00 for mine at Walmart like 8 months ago and its huge(standard Poodle huge). You'd pay hardly nothing for a small crate from walmart.

I also recommend staying away from a mesh or soft crate until your dog is an adult. They can eat right through the soft crates and if they have a mess, YOU HAVE A BIG CLEAN UP! Walmart carries both wire and plastic crates in store. Good luck!

 

[tangerineman]

It's looking like WallyWorld comes out on top...many thanks, I really appreciate all the suggestions.

I've owned or lived with dogs for a good part of my life, but this is the first pup I've had in many years - back then you just got a dog and did whatever. There's a whole lot more information and knowledge out there now....not that we were completely clueless, we got a black Lab to the fine age of 19, eager for her 4 km walk/run just 2 days before her end

Many thanks

 

[Blue Fox]

tangerineman Sammy is just too cute. I said on another forum I have always been a big dog person but all these photos of toys and minis is making me rethink a small poo :smile:

 

[Maplestars]

Tangerineman ~ I LOVE your baby.. All dressed up for the season, in his red and whites ~ Santa's helper!
I love the post, about the soft crate never where you left it.. HAHA, so funny! I too had that experience happen to me, at a dog show - had the poo in one, never had him in one before, and while I was in the ring, with another dog, the stewart came to me, and told me my dog was rolling down the hall..LOLOL My breeder just happened to be there, so she said she would keep an eye on him for me. When I was done the class, she came to me, and said NEVER use that crate again ~ He rolled it around so many times, she said she was tired of pushing him back to his own space ~ hehehe!
I think wal-mart is the cheapest place to pick up a little carrier, unless you try something like craigslist, which always has a free section, or even in the pet section. There is often someone on there giving away a free crate.

Have a great day!

 

[tangerineman]

I purchased a hard-sided carrier and couldn't be more pleased at how quickly Sammy, who's 8 1/2 weeks, has adapted to it. He seems to quite enjoy having his own protected spot, and even let me close the door while he's in there sleeping, so I'll know when he wakes up and will be able to get him outside for business. This will be perfect for car rides. I hadn't realized how handy one would be until a friend suggested the reason he was going behind the couch to sleep was that he was looking for a protected spot. Ding! Lightbulb went on, and she couldn't have been more right.