Reviews: My Two House Crates :)

With my mommy having so many appointments outside of the house these past couple of days, I’ve been spending some time in my house. I don’t mind being in there, which got me thinking… I never told you about my houses. So here they are…my two houses — my puppy house, and my big girl house. 🙂

Today I’m reviewing two doggie crates: ASPCA’s^® Metal Crate, & MidWest^® Homes for Pets’ iCrate.

When my family first came to see me at my foster home, they probably remember to get everything they needed for me. There’s the food & water bowl choices, brand of food, bedding, leash & collar, etc. I really don’t blame them for not being totally prepared for me. After all, since Nala is 12 years old, it’s been that long since they’ve had a puppy.

I know they searched all over and decided they wanted me over my 2 sisters, and I’m really happy about that. You can see pictures of my 2 sisters at the bottom of this page.

Getting back to stuffz I needed to have as a puppy… I’m sure if my family knew how fast I was gonna grow, they probably wouldn’t have bought a small cage for me as a puppy. But I ended up growing very fast, which is how I ended up with a puppy crate and a big girl crate.

My ASPCA^® Metal Puppy Crate

Look below for the Good Stuff vs. the Bad Stuff…

I felt very safe in my 36″ tall puppy crate.

It’s not easy to open the latch from the inside,
so no worries that your doggie will escape. I couldn’t. 😉

When I was a little 3-month-old puppy, I had room to stretch out.

I could roll over and lay on my back…

or on my side. I love sleeping on pillows. 🙂

This crate was good for when I was a puppy…

The Good Stuff:

• This cage was well constructed and sturdy.
• It was easy for my mommy to put together (no tools needed).
• Easy to fold back down for transporting (we took it once to my grandma’s house).
• It was easy to clean (though I didn’t have many messes!).
• The slide-bolt latch goes through a metal loop, and curves at the end. There’s no way for a puppy to push the latch open (not that I ever did that).

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

Hmmm… there isn’t much I can list under here, but I’ll try.

• This cage had a couple of sharp edges that my mommy didn’t notice until after it was set up a while. She ended up filing those down — she was afraid I would hurt myself on them if I placed my paws up near the top.

My conclusion?

This cage served its purpose while I was small. It’s still a great cage, and we have it packed away just in case any future puppies decide to visit us (or stay!).

Now for my current house, a MidWest^® Home for Pets iCrate.

Look below for the Good Stuff vs. the Bad Stuff…

In December, 2010 I turned 6 months old, and my puppy crate was taken away.
I was given this big girl’s crate. At first I thought I had too much room.

Then I realized that I didn’t hit the top of the cage anymore.
This was good. 🙂

I could lay on my pillow and new green doggie bed (review for another time).
I had plenty of room to stretch out my legs.

I could curl up all on my pillow if I wanted to.

I could sleep up toward the pillow end…

or scooch down toward the other end.

When this crate arrived, the door was curved. Mommy isn’t sure whether
this happened during shipment, or if it was a defect.

I didn’t see anything wrong with it.

The two latches on this crate, don’t curve to lock into place.
Determined puppies may be able to push the latch over.
This probably won’t happen, but it was a concern of my mommy’s,
so she added a clip for security, but hmmm, that didn’t work.

See how the end of this metal latch is straight?

This is how it looks closed. Oh, hi Nala!

See? I can sit without my head touching the top.

I can sit without my head touching the top, while looking at Nala.

Hehehehehe.

The Good Stuff:

• This cage was well constructed and sturdy.
• It was a bit hard at one point, for my mommy to put this crate together. No tools were needed, but one of the sides of the crate was stuck inside another. Eventually, my mommy forced it to go where it needed to.
• This crate is supposed to be easy to fold down for transport, but we haven’t had to do that.
• It’s easy to clean.
• There are no sharp edges.
• It comes with a metal divider, so you could use it for a puppy without the space being too large and overwhelming. As your puppy grows, you could increase the size of the space and eventually remove the metal divider.

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

• The slide-bolt latch goes through a tiny metal circle loop, but it does not curve at the end. My mommy thought I would be able to push the loose slide-bolt over, so she added an extra clip on it to hold it in place. Unfortunately, I was too smart for my mommy, and she ended up taking it off. She hasn’t used anything on the latch since then.

My conclusion?

I love my iCrate house. It fits perfectly in our dining room, and I feel really secure in there. My mommy leaves the door open all the time when we’re all home, and I sometimes take a toy in there and lay down. As a safety rule, always make sure you remove your doggie’s collar before they go inside any crate. If you don’t, it could get caught and they could hurt themselves. I always let my mommy take my collar off before I get into my house, and I always sit and wait for her to put it back on after she opens up my door. Repetition is key. 😉

By the way, my mommy and I thank you all for your get well wishes! My mommy is feeling much better tonight! Yay!

Lotsa woofs & hugs,

~Bailey
P.S… If you’re a human who blogs about your furry, or a furry who blogs about your human… or even a furry who blogs about your own life… I invite you to follow me via Google Friend Connect (see box in the right-hand column). I would love to add you to my Friend’s page. You can also join me on Facebook, and leave a comment for me here… I love reading other blogs and making new friends. <3

I have no association with any of the companies mentioned in the above reviews. Mommy paid for each product with her own money. My puppy opinions are my own.