We have a mini schnauzer puppy, about 14 weeks old. Right now he is in a metal bar dog crate designed for toy dogs. He is only in it at night when he sleeps, or when he is in a moving vehicle. i'm guessing he will outgrow it in a couple of weeks. So, I'm looking to buy a bigger crate.We will be wnowbirding this winter, and I want a crate that is light weight. I am curious if anyone has tried a soft-sided crate with mesh screen windows for their dogs. It would work well in the MH from my point of view, but I wonder how durable they are. Mercury is not a destructive chewer. He has a sweet temperament, and focuses his chewing to his toys and bully sticks. The toys are all undamaged, but he really works over the chewies! he always has toys and chewies in his crate with him.Has anyone had a dog chew through a soft sided crate? Do dogs tend to like them as much as the metal ones? Am I better off biting the bullet and getting a bigger, heavier metal crate? In the motorhome, he would be in it overnight, when we are driving, and when we leave the dogs alone to run errands.

How long have you had him? I've always warned folks that dogs (and cats) are usually on their best behavior for the first month in a new home. They tend to follow the "if I'm really good and cute, they'll keep me" logic. Then after a month or two (dogs usually can't hold on to good behavior more than 2 months, cats can go up to about 6 months), they decide you're hooked and start showing their true personalities. Because of this and that he's young, his current behavior is subject to change at any time.You mention "dogs" - are the others in crates also? Or will you be weaning this one off a crate as he grows up? If he will be the only one in a crate, then you should consider the potential for the other dog(s) to mess with the softsided crate (pawing, leaning against so it gets scrunched, etc.).Another consideration is temperature. Softsided crates can retain heat more than a traditional metal crate. Depending on where you go and how you travel, that could be an advantage or disadvantage.The last difference I'd mention is that a softsided crate will have less "openness" than a traditional metal crate. Again, that could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on your situation. Having less openness means that the puppy won't be able to see as much of what's going on around him - will that put him more at ease or create stress (how does he feel if you cover his current crate?).After years of rescue and fostering, I've always used the metal or hard plastic carriers/crates because I know it will be used by more than one animal, so I have to buy for the worst scenario.

We don't use soft sided crates. We have two Westies one figured out to unzip the crate after 5 minutes in it and showed the other one how to unzip his crate. So for us they do not work.

We have a bichon mix, who loves being in a crate. We bought a soft-sided crate to save weight and be easily stowable. She would have nothing to do with it...wouldn't even go in it. YMMV

We have had Mercury about five weeks. He has a very sweet personality. I don't think he will change, we've had him in some kind of stressful situations (7 hour car trip with stops at truck stops for potty breaks; a picnic with about 70 people who all wanted to play with him; and a long RV trip to a weekend of auto racing with the RV parked very close to the track), and he's come through with flying colors. Our other dog is a 13 year-old toy poodle. The puppy is a little too high energy for Oscar, so he generally tries to stay out of the way. Oscar has full run of the house and RV. The puppy probably will too, probably when he's about a year old or so. So i'm expecting the crate will be used daily for about 9 months or so.I honestly don't know how he would feel about the more limited visibility. That is a good point! I'll have to try covering the top of the crate he's in now.Copland, I love the story about the dogs figuring out the zipper!

We had the Samsonite nylon crates for our chihuahua mixes. We put those fake sheepskin pads with the rolled edges in them and our dogs were quite cozy. We first left the crates around the house so they could get used to going in and out at will. They actually had a good amount of visibility and liked that they could see each other. When traveling, we secured the crates with seatbelts on a couch in the rear of the RV. I felt they would be safer in the nylon crates if we were in an accident or panic stop than if they got thrown against the hard inside of a metal crate. Neither dog ever tried to chew their way out. If we left them for a few minutes, we left them inside the crates with our generator running. The black nylon crates do hold heat so we always had AC or generator going in summer, whether driving or parked. Those crates folded up and took minimal space in the RV when we were not using them. We donated them when Poquita and Rosie went to the Rainbow Bridge.

Soft sided pet carriers | Good Sam Community

copeland343
Explorer
Sep 27, 2015
We don't use soft sided crates. We have two Westies one figured out to unzip the crate after 5 minutes in it and showed the other one how to unzip his crate. So for us they do not work.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Sep 27, 2015
How long have you had him? I've always warned folks that dogs (and cats) are usually on their best behavior for the first month in a new home. They tend to follow the "if I'm really good and cute, they'll keep me" logic. Then after a month or two (dogs usually can't hold on to good behavior more than 2 months, cats can go up to about 6 months), they decide you're hooked and start showing their true personalities. Because of this and that he's young, his current behavior is subject to change at any time.

You mention "dogs" - are the others in crates also? Or will you be weaning this one off a crate as he grows up? If he will be the only one in a crate, then you should consider the potential for the other dog(s) to mess with the softsided crate (pawing, leaning against so it gets scrunched, etc.).

Another consideration is temperature. Softsided crates can retain heat more than a traditional metal crate. Depending on where you go and how you travel, that could be an advantage or disadvantage.

The last difference I'd mention is that a softsided crate will have less "openness" than a traditional metal crate. Again, that could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on your situation. Having less openness means that the puppy won't be able to see as much of what's going on around him - will that put him more at ease or create stress (how does he feel if you cover his current crate?).

After years of rescue and fostering, I've always used the metal or hard plastic carriers/crates because I know it will be used by more than one animal, so I have to buy for the worst scenario.

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