# Cage size??



## Neve38 (Dec 26, 2009)

Hi, I am fairly new to this and won't be getting a chi for a couple of months or so but I would like to get prepared and buy what I can now. What cage size do you suggest for a chi? Do you get it big enough just for its bed so that it feels safe at night or do you get bigger? Sorry if this sounds silly but this would be my first dog and I want to get it whatever it needs.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Joy xx


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## Chi foreva (Dec 3, 2009)

I have a small dog carrier for Bruiser and he snuggles up in there at night and if I go out to the shops etc. It is abit like a cat carrier but a dog one and he is nearly a year old and fits in just fine.


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## Neve38 (Dec 26, 2009)

Thanks for your reply, that is very helpful to know

Joy xx


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## *Chloe* (Feb 6, 2006)

yeah i just have the smallest for Bentley he sleeps in it at night and i use it for car travel etc i think its 20" length


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## Neve38 (Dec 26, 2009)

Thanks Chloe, at least now I know what size to look for.

Joy xx


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## *Chloe* (Feb 6, 2006)

well i did have a huge 36" one that i had a bed and space for food bowls etc for Twiglet which she loved to use in the day as the door was alway open and she'd go in and out .. but they didnt really settle in it at night the smaller one they tend to go in and go to sleep


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## Tink (Oct 14, 2009)

I have the smallest dog carrier that I use to transport the chis when I take one or the other of them to the vet etc. They also each have a wire crate, the smallest one made~~18" I think~~and they're permanently set up with a very soft, cushy bed inside, blankies for them to burrow in, and another blanket over the top of the cage, so its covered and they feel safe. It's a snap to crate them when I want them out of harm's way, or MY way if I need to mop the floors etc. Of course they also have beds in every room lol! They LOVE their crates, and will jump into them whenever they feel a bit insecure, or when they want quiet time from each other because going into the crate apparently means "leave me alone" and the one won't ever follow the other into the crate, like they do if one of them is in one of dog beds. 

Tango is trained to get into his crate on command~~"In your crate!" I'm still working on it with Jazz, though she does it about half the time now. 

The crate or carrier shouldn't be big, or your chi will think it's OK to eliminate in one end and use the other end as his bed.


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## Neve38 (Dec 26, 2009)

Thank you Tink, that is really really helpful, now I know not to get too big. Great that I can buy lots of beds because I have seen some beauties and can't decide which lol. Thanks again.

Joy xx


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## Tink (Oct 14, 2009)

Neve38 said:


> Thank you Tink, that is really really helpful, now I know not to get too big. Great that I can buy lots of beds because I have seen some beauties and can't decide which lol. Thanks again.
> 
> Joy xx


You're welcome  

If you're like most of us here, you'll become obsessed with buying everything ever made, everything known to man, for your chi.  And often in multiples.  More than one bed is typical for our tiny dogs, because they want to be with us all the time, and follow us everywhere. Consequently there is even a dog bed in my bathroom because one or both of mine will sit outside the shower patiently waiting for me to be done, whereupon they will lick the water off my legs to "help" me dry off lol! 

Because the breed is so little, the beds can be little too, so they're pretty unobtrusive. And most chis are burrowers, so they prefer a very small bed with raised sides and a blanket thrown in. I often buy cat beds because they're typically the cushiest and the smallest, and human infant blankets because they're so very soft, and the right size.


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## rhaubejoi (Dec 10, 2008)

I have read that if you are first starting you only want enough space in your crate for them to stand up and turn around. Because, if they have too much space they *may* be tempted to use the potty in there. Zoe loves her bed. We take the smaller one with us on trips, but she has a fairly large one that I bought when I had 2 chis that she uses at home. When we are on trips she goes to her crate if things overwhelm her too much, or if she wants a nap. At home she will just nap anywere she feels like, we don't mind, but she has her space if she wants it, and she will go if i tell her to 'Go get in your bed' if I am needing her out of the floorspace for a minute. I taught her that command by saying it every time i needed to put her in it when she was tiny and giving her a little piece of a treat. Within a couple of days if she heard the word bed at all she rushed in there and stood waiting for her treat, lol when she had it firmly, i started easing off of the treats and doing praises/kisses for getting in her bed.


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## rhaubejoi (Dec 10, 2008)

Tink said:


> Consequently there is even a dog bed in my bathroom because one or both of mine will sit outside the shower patiently waiting for me to be done, whereupon they will lick the water off my legs to "help" me dry off lol!
> QUOTE]
> 
> lol Tink! Zoe thinks I need help showering and remembering to dry off too! she gets my legs up to the calves every time! lol


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## mi_smiley2000 (Dec 12, 2009)

I'm too thinking about getting a crate for Peanut so we already have one when we get him in a few weeks. I can't wait. My hubby looked at me strange when I asked him if we could go and do some puppy shopping this weekend. lol


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## dmccaughan (Sep 26, 2009)

Jake uses our old dogs crate, but its just big enough for him to be comfortable in on his blanket, and turn around in and whatnot. He's trained to go in there whenever I say "Jake, go to bed!", even when my husband says "BED!" he goes in there, and he doesnt listen to my husband at ALL! LOL


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## Neve38 (Dec 26, 2009)

OK so I am going to get a crate just big enough for the bed and not for potty and room to swing a cat ha ha. What beds do you all use for pups, some people say get the plastic ones because they are likely to chew the softer beds and if you put a blanket in aren't they going to chew that too, I wouldn't want the pup to choke. What are your experiences?

Joy xx


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Well, I will buck the general opinions here and say that I use a HUGE crate for Brody. Like ex-pen sized. It would fit a very large dog, like a Doberman or Shepherd. It has his comfy bed and sleeping bag in one end and then the rest of the floor is covered with a washable pee pad (a thick quilted pad). I just feel better knowing if I'm gone for a long time and can't get home, he doesn't have to soil his bed. 

There have been a couple times he's had diarrhea in the night and in the morning I see him all snuggled in his bed with a diarrhea stool on the pad, clear at the end of the crate, as far away from his bed as he could get. I would be horrified if he had to have diarrhea and had to go in his bed and then lie in it all night. YUCK.

If you do buy an itty bitty crate, one just big enough for him to turn around in, please don't leave him in it for extended periods. I just think that's cruel. 

Ex-pens are a great alternative if you don't want to buy a large crate and you could put a little crate in it for him to burrow into as a bed. 

Some people use a child's playpen. That works well too and gives them space to move around and a place to potty if they have to go and you aren't home to let them out. 

Just my opinion.


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## Kristin (Nov 12, 2004)

I had a pet taxi that I used on trips. 

As far as for home, I have the smallest of the wire crates I think. They hold a pillow covered with a blanket and their food bowls. That's it. They can stand up, turn around, and move a little bit. That's it.


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## Neve38 (Dec 26, 2009)

Thanks for your advice and I completely respect and see where you are coming from. I will have to think about this very carefully, like you say I wouldn't want him to soil his bed should he need to go desperately or have diarrhoea in the night. Will definitely get a puppy pen too anyway and when I do get a pup he won't be in the crate for long periods, overnight will be the longest and then just during the day whenever he wants to rest.

I'm new to all of this so all of your advice is really really helpful, thanks very much.

Joy xx


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