[Sephly]

So, teddy has a crate but it isnt one of those wire crates that collapse its like a big travel crate and I wanted to get him a collapsable one so that the travel one would be ONLY used for travel, and i was wondering what everyone's experience with them is. Are they easy to clean? I usually just hose down the travel crate if he takes any weird stuff from outside into it or it gets alittle muddy from his paws, do the wires make it harder to clean? How secure are they? Do they come with different types of latches, i've only seen one type of latch on them and this video made me worry about how secure they are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpLsc1mOoGk&feature=related

has anyone had any similar escapes? is that common?...Teddy's pretty good at opening doors and such...Also random question, do you think he'd pee and poo in it at first at all? because it was new? He's never done it but a family member mentioned that his will pee and poo on all new things at first which worries me since we've had 100 percent good potty behavior for i think 2 months now, i can't remember the last time he piddled inside.Sorry for the long post.

 

[beagletails]

I love our wire crates. We keep them under the kitchen table (they just barely fit) and the dogs seem to prefer those over the plastic crates because they feel secure yet can still see everything going on. Most wire crates have a plastic tray on the bottom that can be pulled out and cleaned if necessary, but other than a quick spray with the hose I have never had to clean the wires. I love the fact that we can fold them down when traveling also.

As for peeing or pooping in new things....I doubt seriously Teddy would do it. Mine sure never did.

Oh and the latch...they are pretty tight, but if it became an issue you could always hang a padlock through it (locked or unlocked) and it would keep Teddy from successfully opening it. I have never had my Beagles escape, but then I have never had one that has severe separation anxiety either, which is the reason that I think any Beagle would even try.

Our wire crates are actually large enough that they hold 2 dogs each comfortably.

 

[deedeebee]

Wire crates are probably the best way to go. You want to make it their little home that they feel the most comfortable in... which is easiest to do in a wire crate since they can see everything around them and know that they are safe. Load it with a ton of old blankets you do not need anymore... or get a dog pillow that will fit in there. I'd say when you put him in there for the first time, load it with some toys he is familuar with and maybe give him a tasty treat when he goes in so he knows that its a good place to be.

 

[jassy]

One of my crates is wire. I put a Kuranda bed inside along with a couple of blankets she likes to wrap herself in. When she was a pup the wire crate wasn't so good because she chewed on the bars and got her teeth caught a couple of times and we had a hard time getting her loose.

 

[cheezyridr]

the most interesting wire crate escape i have seen had nothing to do with the latch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3YR_DfnYpE
the type we have for sophie eliminates that possibility:

http://www.ourbeagleworld.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showgallery&Number=86519

however, she hates being crated. all i have to do is open the door and she gets the most heartbroken look on her face. i even give her treats when i put her in there and she rarely eats them until i open the door. she pees in there every single time. i think she is punishing me for putting her in there.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Chloe loves her wire crate... when I'm home of course

But I do find that it's easier for them to feel part of the crowd when in a wire crate rather than the plastic cages.

 

[ChucksMama]

Chuck has a wire crate. He is really good in it. We have a towl folded up in there that he curls up and sleeps on. He never tries to do any ofthat.

 

[Smeagle]

I've used wire crates and soft crates - soft crates may be another option for you to look into too? They are easier to transport as they aren't as heavy, and look a bit nicer than the wire crates - although the wire crates are easier to clean.

These are in Australia where I live, but I would LOVE one of these, how cool do they look!

http://www.k9softdogcrates.com.au/

 

[Brien]

We bought a wire one on craigslist for $20 when we got Bodie. All it needed was to be washed with soap and water. It has a removable plastic pan at the bottom which you can get a little pad for at any pet store.

It's nice because your dog can look all around inside. Where as the plastic ones are limited to the vents and door.

At 6 months old Bodie rarely goes in there anymore. We'll put him in if we're going out for the evening or if I need to take him to the vet in my truck.

 

[randyc]

Josie and Charlie both have wire crates. They sleep in them when we are not home. I think of it this way ... if I was a little guy I would not want to be sealed up in a dark box with some air holes.

 

[Sephly]

Those soft crates look great but i have a feeling my dog would tear through it in a moment. We would only use the crate for nap time, or if we had a family party etc. He decided around 4months of age that he could sleep in the family room with no problems so i let him and we never had an issue but lately during the day he's been ripping things etc. and he actually chewed a wire UNDER the porch that cut the electricity to a portion of the house........it was an ORDEAL. my parents were not happy, luckily my dad's a contractor and electrician so it wasn't particularly expensive to fix the problem and board up the hole he made under the porch. I think we're going to go ahead and pick up a wire crate today, i'll post pictures and let you all know how it goes , thanks you all for the insight.

 

[don&ernie]

Bailey retreats to his wire crates (one upstairs and one down) often as a safe haven/escape. Examples are if the house is too noisy, vacuum is out, Ruby (our other beagle) is bullying him or wants to play too much, or just because he feels like it.

He also doesn't mind being locked in for hours, as long as we're in his line of sight. I work from home, and lock him in the crate, which is in my office. I still can't trust him completely on his own while I work, like I can with Ruby, which is why he gets crated while I work. If I go downstairs and leave him locked in for more than a few minutes he starts to whine and then bark/bay.

He also gets crated at night. I move the crate from the office to the hallway right outside my room, so he can see me in bed. He's quiet all night until I stir the slightest in the morning, then the barking starts, and he wants OUT.

He gets crated in the downstairs crate in the kitchen when no one is home. Ruby gets the run of the kitchen. If we don't crate him when he's home alone, he'll pee or poop on the kitchen floor. We think it's anxiety. He seems to feel more secure in the crate when alone. That said, we had a BAD evening with him last night. I left to pick up Ernie from work, and took Ruby with me to show off her new winter outfit to his coworkers. An hour or so later, we cam home to a MESS. Bailey peed and pooped in the crate. The poop was all matted into him and the crate pad. He had also managed to pull in and chew on Ruby's blanket that we place next to his crate (which she naps on when home alone, since Bailey has her crate now). The whole house stunk, and it took up 2 hours to clean everything up and give him a bath. I was puzzled, as I took him out an hour before I left. I can only think that he went nuts being completely alone without Ru. HIm trying to cling to her blanket seemed to be a sign. If we ever leave him at home without Ru again, we may not lock him in, and just give him the whole kitchen. I think the cleanup will be easier, with lesser chance of him trampling and rolling around in poop. It just stuns me how much he loves his crates when we are home, but he will still go into an anxiety frenzy in there when alone sometimes.

 

[Murphys Dad]

I'm in the minority here. Jersey has a plastic travel crate and loves it. She likes the den feeling I think. She's almost always under the bed, under a blanket or in her crate. Whenever she gets spooked by something the first thing she does is run to the security of her crate. When we were leaving her home alone she never made a mess in her crate. She was great about that. We don't leave her home alone anymore though (separation anxiety + Beagle howl + apartment = unhappy neighbors!).

 

[Pack Leader]

Henry too, loves his plastic crate. He loves to sleep in cozy places, so I think it's most appealing to him. We took him to Petsmart right after we adopted him and he walked right into the crate...it was funny! So it came home with us that day.

 

[Sephly]

yeah i know what you guys mean about the plastic cages being more den like, when he was younger i'd say like 3 months when he was sleepy and people were upstairs watching soaps in the family room and his crate was there he'd move away from his beds near the couches and slink into his crate to sleep all by himself. Well i got him a wire one today, its HUGE , i mean seriously i fit in there, and teddy and probably 2 or 3 more beagles lol. I think its great dane size...i had a guilt attack at the store, u know reducing him from the freedom of the entire living room to a small crate so i got the big one. We usually dont have an issue with him sleeping up there, like i said its mainly during the day when someone leaves him alone for an hour or more he starts chewing things up, but i figure i can't make it conditional, till he's older, so for now its complete crate training not just partial. But to also ease my concience i bought him the AWESOMEST kennel pad, its a dog mattress that has memory foam AND heats and massages. isn't that crazy??!! my bed doesn't even do that. lol hehehe he's spoiled. but yeah he seemed to like it. i probably wont leave it on unsupervised tho but their cool features for a doggy mattress. Pictures soon, thanks everyone for your insight.