House Crates: My personal recommendations

​Hi, dear friend!
A while ago, I wrote a blog post about car crates and why they are so important. Now it’s time to talk about house crates. House crates are important for many different reasons: a house crate gives your dog a safe place to retreat to when they feel overwhelmed; it’s like a room for your dog in your house, hence, it provides structure. It provides stability when traveling “Home is where my house goes.” It keeps your dog safe from itself, especially when you cannot supervise your dog while you are at work. Your dog won’t be able to destroy anything without your knowledge and potentially get hurt. 
A house crate should be a place for calmness and relaxation, so it is best to put the crate in a rather calm area of your house but without completely excluding your dog. But you can also dedicate an entire room, like a guest room to be where your dog’s crate is located. 
Let’s talk about which crates are best suited to be house crates. The ones that I use for my personal dogs are wire crates; they come in many different sizes and usually have the most space for the dog and allow for the most airflow. Wire crates are great as long as your dog understands and respects the boundaries of the crate because these crates are not the most sturdy ones. Don’t be fooled; any dog can break out of a wire crate with enough determination. I would also not advise using a wire crate for raising a puppy since potty training is still in progress, and accidents in a wire crate can turn into huge disasters. Also, puppies often like to bite on things, and when they try to bite the wires of the crate, they might get their jaw stuck (Ouch!). I recommend wire crates only for adult dogs that respect the boundaries of the crate. 
Another option is plastic crates. Plastic airline crates are great because they are a bit more sturdy than wire crates. They also keep any kind of messes contained. Unfortunately, they don’t come with a divider, meaning when raising a puppy, you will have to buy a new crate every so often according to your puppy’s growth. Airline crates are more secure but, therefore, provide less airflow. 
Metal crates like Impact, Rock Creek and TNC are also great but very expensive and maybe only necessary if your dog has severe separation anxiety and will try to break out of any other crate. Crates like Ruffland and Gunner are really more for transportation than use at home in my opinion. Here are some rather less orthodox crate options: a complete kennel with panels from stores like Lowe’s or Tractor Supply, giving your dog a footprint 4x4 or even bigger. Make a mud room your dog’s “crate.” A playpen if your dog is small enough. 
Whatever option you choose, you should definitely make sure that your dog is safe in the crate and can comfortably turn around, stand up and lie down. Once potty training is accomplished, the size of the crate can be anything that gives your dog the most comfort. 
Happy shopping!