Puppy crate base or bed? Pics included

[Charlotteap]

Hi quick question, currently purchasing a crate for our new puppy but bit confused the crate combos either seem to be sold with a bumper and nice thick base but then some have just a bed in one half and the rest crate? Not sure which would be best. Thanks in advance

both examples on pics

if your crate training then really the puppy shouldn’t have enough space for anything but a bed and water. Otherwise you run the risk of it peeing at one end of the crate and then sleeping at that other.

I wouldn’t have any bumpers or bedding other than a soft cover - bumpers/covers can easily make a crate too hot, particularly for people who have a hot house, and puppies struggle to regulate their body temperature. They can overheat very easily.

L&L are great. But they are insanely expensive and, honestly, your puppy is going to pee all over anything you give it (unless it’s coming home house trained) or chew it. I’d save the money and get something dirt cheap from petsathome.

@LandSharksAnonymous thank you that’s super helpful! Will try and find some cheaper alternatives.

If you are buying a small one that puppy will grow out of, you can usually find them for sale second hand on FB market.

Crate and a piece of vet bed is fine. No need to spend loads! As @LandSharksAnonymous says they will get everything filthy. Mine didn’t toilet in his crate ever but did just generally stink it up and shredded every bed I ever put in there. Vet bed with the rubber backing is great and you can just stick it in the wash.

@YorkshireFelix thank you that is helpful. Will definitely invest in some vet bed. Glad to hear they didn’t pee in the crate, may I ask how long it took for toilet training? I read the smaller the dog the more difficult and she’s going to be small

It’s funny as I know of other pups that have gone to the toilet in their crate, but our breeder told me he wouldn’t and he never did! I didn’t believe him at first 😄

I am not the best example re toilet training as my pup took quite a long time for it to click (he was almost 5 months) despite us doing everything ‘right.’ I think the turning point for him was spending a weekend with my MIL two older dogs who sit by the door and wait to go out to the toilet, and I am sure that’s what solidified it for him. I know some dogs get it really quickly and others don’t, but as long as you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing to help them along then don’t beat yourself up if it takes longer than expected. I admit I was naive and thought it would be sorted in 2-3 weeks!

mine has a crate and I’ve put a dog bed in there , one that I can throw into the washing machine… your going to need to be able to wash it

Toilet training was never a big issue for us as we have a large breed and he was fairly reliable from the word go. He has always had a large crate with a bed at one side and then just the hard base (nothing soft) and a water bowl on one side. I read before we got him that dogs like to move between surfaces when sleeping. A friend with a dog the same age had all soft bedding and said dog was wakeful, when I told her about our approach she changed it up and pup settled better. 🤷‍♀️