Dog crates are often used to assist in traveling with pets, as well as housebreaking them and giving them a place to stay when you are away from home. They come in wire and plastic varieties and can also include special features such as food and water trays, multiple doors and slide-out bottoms. While companies such as Kennel-Aire, Life Stages (by Midwest) and Petmate each carry the different kinds of dog crates, they include their own unique features to make their items different than the others.
Wire Styles
Wire dog crates are used less for travel and more for in-home use, as house breaking tools or secure areas to keep a puppy or dog overnight or while no one is home. The Life Stages wire crates are so called because they are specifically built to include a divider that allows you to determine how much space your dog has available to them. You can start with less space while they are a puppy, and as they grow, allow them more. Petmate wire crates also include what they call a "Grow-with-Me" panel to be used for a similar purpose. Each manufacturer has multiple sizes and models available, all of which can be collapsed or folded up for storage, and all of which come with a slide-out plastic pan on the bottom and a front, side-bolt or double-latching door.
Plastic Styles
Most plastic dog crates are intended to use for travel purposes and are built small enough that they can be easily carried or pulled. They all include ventilation holes in the sides, as well as doors and the ability to take them apart for cleaning or storing. Petmate has the most options available in plastic crates, with a variety of models, as well as colors. While Kennel-Aire has options in burgundy, gray, and blue, the Petmate offers dual color options such as light pink on dark pink, red on brown and light blue on dark blue. Life Stages do not include a line of plastic crates, focusing entirely on wire versions.
Sizes
Petmate has the largest selection of sizes available throughout their lines of both plastic and wire crates. Their smallest offering is made specifically to fit under the seats on an airplane and comes in 17" by 12" by 8." Their largest crate, known as the "giant" size, is one of the wire models and measures 48.5" by 30" by 33." While Kennel-Air has fewer size options, they carry an "extra large" size wire crate that is actually bigger than the "giant" size from Petmate. The "extra large" Petmate crate is 54" by 37" by 45." Life Stages has multiple sizes of crates but none are smaller or larger than what you could find at Petmate or Kennel-Aire.
Retailers
Crates from all three manufacturers can be purchased from online retailers, but many can be found at physical stores as well. Petco carries models of crates from Life Stages and Petmate, while Wal-Mart carries models of Kennel-Aire and Petmate. Petsmart retails crates from Kennel-Aire and Life Stages, while Lowe's home improvement store carries some Petmate crates and Walgreens carries Life Stages from time to time.
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