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Alternative to Tray for Wire Crate


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Any ideas for an alternative to the tray in the wire crates? Kato ripped his apart today as well as the carpet underneath. Just great. Before the fight between him and Odin he never tried to escape from his crate. He got out twice so we zip tied the corners and he couldn't get out today but in an hour he destroyed the tray and some carpet. No stores carry the trays. Online shipping prices are expensive due to size (48"). Plexiglass is about $50 at Lowe's. It needs to be something that isn't easily destroyed. I can switch Odin to that crate but if he can get to the carpet he will continue to rip it up.

 

I'm ready to scream.

 

Thanks for any ideas.

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Is he tearing it up because he wants out? he's afraid? why?

 

You could put a sheet of metal underneath the crate, but he would be lying on wire. How does he respond to a varikennel (plastic)?

 

They sell stainless steel kennels that are stronger than Fort Knox for hunting dogs - pricey, but worth it for safety if needed. Also I've seen an extra strong metal cage in PetEdge or Foster and Smith's catalogs.

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I'm not sure why he is tearing it apart or trying to escape. If you read the thread about the dogfight that ended in stitches you will have a background on Kato. Before the fight he was fine in the crate. He didn't try to get out, he didn't tear things apart or act anxious. We have had no problems with him in the crate since buying the crate in June when my husband and I moved in together. My husband didn't crate his two dogs but Kato adjusted well to the crate. His house had chewed couches, torn rugs, dug up linoleum, etc, so I don't trust his two dogs to be loose in the house. Therefore, Kato has to be in a crate.

 

Now when he goes into the crate he gets anxious. He starts to salivate and he shakes. He cries and whines. He escaped once. Then I clipped the door in about 5 places and he got out through the side. So we zip tied the sides and clipped the door shut to the crate and he ripped up the tray. I don't understand why the crate is now causing such a reaction from him. We did put him in the crate right after he hurt Odin because we needed to head to the emergency vet. We didn't yell at him though.

 

We have a vet visit tomorrow and meet with a behaviorist this weekend.

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Does the wire crate have a wire bottom? Mine does not, the plastic tray slides in on bare floor. We use a Kuranda bed that sits on top of the plastic tray. This makes it impossible for her to reach three sides of the tray, and she would have to contort herself to reach down to the door side of the tray. But she's always been more of a digger/scratcher than a chewer, and only at night.

 

These are pricey and worth every penny, Polly dug and chewed everything else, but this has proven to give her the comfort we want her to have and discourage this behavior. She still digs a bit at night sometimes, but almost like a final self-soothing 'til she falls asleep. If your ultimate goal is to keep him crated, this might serve as the long-term answer to the crate destruction problem, but..

 

His behavior might continue if his anxiety is high, so even if you make the crate bullet-proof, he might up the ante and chew on bars and hurt his mouth, etc. so I think it's great that you are seeing folks to try to figure this out.

 

Short-term, if you could secure the plexi-glass to the crate edges, it might be a cheaper alternative.

 

Poor Kato, he is having a time of it, isn't he... I hope the vet and behaviorist can give some insight.

 

Charlene

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If you don't think he'll chew, there's tough rubber that is made to go down in stalls - I use these to cover the floors of my crates on trips:

 

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/st...rue&cFlag=1

 

It's about as tough as one of the softer kongs (the red ones), so if he's really desperate he could get some bits off and that would be an impaction/choking hazard. But none of even my most determined chewers have made any headway on this in just a few hours.

 

The whole mat is really awkward, but once it's cut down it's easy to wash, flea free, cool in the summer but soft on joints, and keeps them out of any mess that might occur accidentally, from spilled food to oopsies on the road. In the latter case, it's so much nicer to pull into a rest stop and hose this down, rather than trying to do something with cloth bedding.

 

ETA: Here's that crazy strong crate from Pet Edge: http://homeandkennel.petedge.com/ProSelect...bCategoryId=502

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One last question - is there some reason you can't switch to a plastic airline type crate? Even a good strong one is cheaper than replacing the tray portion of his wire crate, and it sounds like he'd benefit from the peace and quiet it would afford.

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There isn't a reason we can't switch. Most people I know that have dogs who want out of the crate have been able to bend the plastic to open the door and escape. Kato is about 60 pounds and strong. I'm worried that we would spend the money and he'd ruin it. Bailey and Willow have the airline type but they are too small to switch Kato to. Do you think these type would be harder to break out of?

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