Best dog crate for escape artist!

[nellieellie]

My young dog is having an op in a few weeks. He will need to be in the house resting with just toilet breaks for 6 weeks. I can stay at home, apart from the school run. Other parents will be helping out, but I am thinking of getting a crate to make sure he will be safe if I leave him.

Here's the thing. He was perfectly happy to be in his crate before Xmas, but then guarding instinct kicked in and he was able to escape a few times by somehow getting the door open. Then, after I had secured the door with the catches of 2 dog leads, he still managed to get out by brute force. To be honest, it wasn't entirely clear how he had managed it as the dog lead catches were still in place, but there was a bent wire and a bloodshot eye, so that was the last time I used the crate.

So, I need a very strong crate. I will not be leaving him for more than 20 mins, and he will have chews/ stuffed kongs etc. the one he broke was an easipet. As he will need a 54 inch one, I am looking at the Showman range, the MidWest 54, and an extra high one from Amazon, no brand name, but from Doghealth. The showman is £266, and the Amazon is £100, with Midwest in between. It's a big amount I know but the birthday and Xmas money from my parents will cover it!

Does anyone have any experience of these, or know of any other 54 inch crates that are really strong?
Thank v much for any information!

Unfortunately if a dog is breaking out of a crate by brute force it indicates that he's seriously unhappy in the crate. You need to get a crate and counter-condition him to see it as a safe space that he's happy to stay in. I've seen dogs almost strangle themselves breaking out of of crates - it's highly stressful and likely to cause injury. You don't need a stronger crate as he's likely to injure himself if he's trying to break out

Do you not have a small alcove / downstairs loo or somewhere that you could fence him in with a baby gate ,that way he may not feel so 'caged'.

Do you drive on the school run, if car is suitable, can you take him in the car with you? (or is the 54" crate because he's the size of a small pony and you can't lift him after op in safely)

Thanks for these replies. Yes, I do need to try to get him happy in a crate, but realistically I don't think he ever will be. He has a strong guardian instinct and needs to know what's going on around him. He doesn't have a favourite sleeping place even, because he moves around to check all is well. I can't risk using a safety gate to fence him in as he would try to jump this, and that would damage him post op. I'm thinking of a crate as if strong it would keep him safe for 20 mins or so. This is only a temporary thing while he recovered. Sunshine, the reason I stopped using the crate was that it seemed clear he would either escape from it or damage himself in the attempt, but that was when he was left for longer periods. He is raw fed, so I could give him a bone to occupy him for short period in a crate whereas could not have him going around the house with a raw bone. 'Wings' yes, the problem with a big dog! He uses a ramp to get in and out of the car, but this will be too hard for him in early days after op and I can't lift him. I have arranged a rota for the 1st two weeks for school runs, with kind help of other parents and a dog sitter, so crate will only be used for odd occasion to actually leave him in with door shut.

If he's not happy in a crate do you have a downstairs loo or something like that you can shut him in? Although that may not restrict his movement enough?

Crikey, he would go absolutely berserk if shut in a small room. Our downstairs loo has no window either. No, if shut in a room, he would just spend all his time jumping up and scratching at door, so definite no no.

Ah, not very restful for him then! What do you normally do with him when you leave him alone?

He has the run of downstairs, on the basis that when confined to lounge, he ripped all the wood panelling from the glass paned door before mastering the door handle. I shut the playroom and loo doors, but he always opens these, plus he slides open the secondary glazing panes. I am only leaving him for 20 mins or so at a time, and, touch wood, there has been no destruction now he has full run, although generally he stands on stairs and watches out of the window until I come back. But, he clearly charges about in the first few mins, there will be lines of dribble everywhere (he doesn't normally dribble) and he is always panting heavily.

Galvanised garden dog panels?

I have an escape artist dog from crates, we don't put him in one anymore but none could hold him he managed to literally rip the metal bars off and that was as a puppy... His now a year old 50kg dog.

Eek, I don't have any other ideas I'm afraid. Just out of nosiness, what kind of dog is he?