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Start Your Free Prime TrialUpdated October 2026. The best dog crate for most dogs is a wire crate with a divider, sized to the dog in front of you, not the biggest crate that fits the room. Our top pick is the Life Stages double-door line by MidWest. The 36 inch model is the example for a dog in the brand’s 41 to 70 lb class. The same crate in 42 inch and 48 inch covers heavier dogs. Each of those three Amazon titles includes a divider panel and two doors. Interior inches were not listed on the cards we checked, so this guide does not invent them.
Metal comes first. Heavy duty metal is a second purchase for a dog who works a latch, not a puppy crate and not a cure for panic. Hard plastic is for the car, and for cargo only after you check your airline. Soft crates and furniture crates can suit a calm, finished dog. This update did not verify either well enough to rank one, so they are advice only, with no product link. US prices were not exposed. They move. Check Amazon. Star counts below are from regional Amazon pages for the exact ASIN. US cards showed 4 stars or higher for the three Life Stages sizes and no count for the other two. Re-check before you treat a number as current.
Best Dog Crate: Comparison
Exterior only, and only where the check printed it. Missing fields say not listed. A model name is not the interior. Price was not on the US cards, so it is not in this table.
| Pick | Type | Exterior | Interior | Divider | Doors | Best for | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life Stages by MidWest, 36 in double door | Wire, double door | 36 x 23 x 25 in class | not listed | Yes, divider panel in the title | 2 | Most homes, 41 to 70 lb class, puppies with the divider. | 4.5 / 8,430 regional. US count not shown. |
| Life Stages by MidWest, 42 in double door | Wire, double door | 42 x 28 x 30 in | not listed | Yes, divider panel in the title | 2 | Same crate, 71 to 90 lb class. | 4.5 / 8,432 regional. US count not shown. |
| Life Stages by MidWest, 48 in double door | Wire, double door | 48 x 30 x 32.5 in | not listed | Yes, divider panel in the title | 2 | Same crate, 90 to 110 lb class. | 4.6 / 2,608 regional. US count not shown. |
| Gardner Pet 43 in with wheels | Heavy duty metal | not listed (43 in is the model name) | not listed | No divider claim found | not listed | Latch problem. Thin sample. Not a puppy crate. | 3.9 / 49 on Amazon Canada. US rating not shown. |
| Petmate Sky Kennel, 36 in | Hard plastic travel kennel | 36 x 25 x 27 in | not listed | No | 1 steel-wire door | Car trips. Cargo only if your airline says so. 50 to 70 lb class. | 4.0 / 1,382 on Amazon Canada. US count not shown. |
The 3 Best Dog Crates
Three jobs. Pick 1 is one wire family in three verified sizes. Pick 2 is one heavy duty crate with a thin review count. Pick 3 is one hard travel kennel.
1. Life Stages by MidWest Double-Door Wire Crate (Best Overall)
Buy this first. It is a wire crate with two doors and a divider panel in the title. We verified three sizes: 36 inch (brand class 41 to 70 lb), 42 inch (71 to 90 lb), and 48 inch (90 to 110 lb). Those bands are labels, not a measurement. Two dogs at the same weight can need different lengths.
The 36 inch is the worked example. Exterior was recorded as the 36 x 23 x 25 inch class. The 42 inch exterior is 42 x 28 x 30 inches. The 48 inch exterior is 48 x 30 x 32.5 inches. Interior length and height: not listed on any of the three. If the live page shows an interior the day you buy, use that, not a guess.
The divider is why one line covers a puppy and the adult they become. Buy the adult size. Close the panel so the puppy can stand, turn, and lie down, and cannot toilet at the far end. The title includes the panel. Confirm it is in the box photo before the first night.
Two doors let one side face the room and the other face a wall or a food spot. Wire gives airflow and a view while a dog is learning the crate. It is a poor cargo crate and a poor outdoor shelter. It is the right first crate in a house.
- Sizes verified: 36 inch (41 to 70 lb), 42 inch (71 to 90 lb), 48 inch (90 to 110 lb).
- Divider panel in each title. Two doors. Confirm the panel is in the box.
- Interior: not listed. Regional stars: 4.5 / 8,430, 4.5 / 8,432, and 4.6 / 2,608. US count not shown. The 36 and 42 counts match closely, so re-check for a shared parent rating.
The trade-off: Wire is easy to see out of. A cover on three sides, front open, helps some anxious dogs. A dog who noses latches may want the Gardner crate below, and even that is not a promise they will stay in. Dogs under the 36 inch class, and dogs longer than the 48 inch exterior allows, are not covered here. Do not send a giant breed to a 43 inch title.
Use a thin crate pad the dog cannot shred and swallow. This page does not rank pads.
36 inch double door, the best overall example:
42 inch double door, same line:
48 inch double door, same line:
2. Gardner Pet 43 Inch Heavy Duty Crate with Wheels (Best Heavy Duty)
Buy this when the problem is the hardware, not fear. Some dogs nose a latch until a light door pops. The Gardner model we checked is a 43 inch crate with wheels. Exact length, width, and height were not on the US card, so “43 inch” stays a model name. Interior and door count: not listed. No divider claim, so it is not the puppy crate.
The sample is thin. An Amazon Canada listing for this ASIN showed 3.9 stars from 49 ratings, and the US card showed no rating. That does not prove the crate will hold a determined dog. Price and stock were not exposed. Check Amazon.
- 43 inch is the model name. Exterior and interior: not listed.
- Sold with wheels. A lock was not listed. If it rolls, stop it before you close the door. A crate that slides feels unstable.
- No divider claim. 3.9 stars from 49 ratings on a Canada listing. US rating not shown.
The trade-off: One length, unknown interior, no divider we could confirm, and a small review sample. It is the wrong answer for panic. Panting, drooling, chewed bars, or broken nails means stop. A thicker frame will not fix that.
A smaller heavy duty crate, the Pawaboo 38 inch, is not a numbered pick. Exterior was 37.6 x 24.4 x 26.4 inches. A snippet described iron tubes and a 0.5 inch gap. Interior, doors, and a divider were not listed. Amazon Canada showed 3.8 stars from 13 ratings, too small to rank. The US offer was not exposed. A heavier frame is not a guarantee the dog cannot get out.
3. Petmate Sky Kennel 36 Inch (Best Hard Travel Kennel)
This is the hard shell, not the house crate. The Petmate Sky Kennel we checked is the 36 inch model in the brand’s 50 to 70 lb class. Exterior is 36 x 25 x 27 inches. Interior: not listed. It has one steel-wire door and no divider. That is a hard travel kennel, and it is awkward for puppy training. You cannot shrink it with a panel the way you can shrink the Life Stages crate. Home training stays on pick 1.
Use it for car trips, and for a flight only after the airline says what it accepts that week. This check did not show that airlines accept this kennel, and this page will not claim they do. Check your airline before you buy a size. A 36 inch exterior kennel is not an in-cabin carrier.
A Canada listing showed 4.0 stars from 1,382 ratings. The US card did not show the count. A price-tracker figure was not the live US offer, so no price is printed here. Check Amazon.
- Exterior 36 x 25 x 27 inches. Interior: not listed. Brand class 50 to 70 lb.
- One steel-wire door. No divider. Not the training crate.
- Airline acceptance was not established. 4.0 stars from 1,382 ratings on a Canada listing. US count not shown.
The trade-off: Plastic feels more like a den and moves less air than wire. It has no puppy divider, and 36 inches outside is not 36 inches of floor. If the live listing still hides the interior, do not guess. A loose wire crate is not crash protection, and this guide does not rank a crash-tested kennel, because none was verified with our affiliate tag. This check also did not confirm that the Sky Kennel folds. Do not expect a flat pack.
Wire, Plastic, Soft, or Furniture
Wire
Default for training. You can see the dog, air moves, and a divider lets one crate last from puppy to adult. The Life Stages line is this category. Many wire crates include a slide-out tray. This check did not confirm a tray on these three ASINs, so look at the photo. Wire is the wrong tool for airline cargo and a bad outdoor shelter.
Plastic
A hard shell with less to look at. People reach for it when they mean cargo, and it is still not a guarantee any airline will take the model you bought. This check did not show a fold-flat feature or a puppy panel on the Sky Kennel. If you can own only one crate and the dog is still learning, buy the wire crate.
Soft
A second crate, for a dog who already settles and does not chew. Mesh packs flat for a hotel. It will not hold a dog who digs at seams, and it is the wrong object for crate training or a cargo hold. We did not verify a soft crate well enough to number one or add a button. Never leave a chewer in fabric unsupervised.
Furniture
A look, for a calm adult who has stopped gnawing, in a room guests see. Wood is chewable. A double unit works only when each bay, not the whole console, is long enough to stand, turn, and stretch out. No furniture crate is numbered here. The listings we looked at did not expose enough live detail to rank without guessing.
How to Choose the Best Dog Crate
The number on the box is usually the outside. The American Kennel Club rule: with your dog standing, measure from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet for height, and from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail for length, then add 3 to 4 inches to each. The dog has to stand up, turn around, and stretch out lying down. Those sums are minimum interior height and interior length. Some charts stop at the base of the tail because a tail can stick out. This page keeps the AKC tip-of-tail rule. Do not blend the two into a third number.
Also measure sitting height if the head stays high, and add 3 to 4 inches. A dog who has to duck will stop choosing the crate. For a puppy, buy the adult size and use the divider. Too much floor lets a puppy soil one end and sleep in the other, which is the AKC warning this page keeps. If a listing prints only the model name, interior is not listed. Do not invent it.
| Your dog, nose to tail tip | Crate length to shop | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Up to about 20 inches | 24 inch class | No verified pick on this list. Do not stretch this dog into the 36 inch Life Stages unless the divider truly closes the extra floor. |
| Up to about 26 inches | 30 inch class | No verified pick on this list. A 36 inch crate with the divider left open is too much floor for a lot of these dogs. |
| Up to about 32 inches | 36 inch class | Life Stages 36 inch. Brand class 41 to 70 lb. Exterior 36 x 23 x 25 in class. Interior not listed. Sky Kennel only for travel, if the dog fits the shell. |
| Up to about 38 inches | 42 inch class | Life Stages 42 inch. Brand class 71 to 90 lb. Exterior 42 x 28 x 30 in. Interior not listed. Do not substitute the Gardner 43 inch title. |
| Up to about 44 inches | 48 inch class | Life Stages 48 inch. Brand class 90 to 110 lb. Exterior 48 x 30 x 32.5 in. Interior not listed. If the dog still does not fit, the Gardner 43 inch is not the fix. |
Weight bands are a hint. A dog who measures 33 inches nose to tail tip needs the 42 inch Life Stages here, not a title that says 36. Use our dog weight chart for body weight, not for crate size. Put the crate in a quiet corner you use in the evening, off a heater and out of a damp garage. At night, keep a puppy close enough to hear.
Divider, Puppies, and Crate Training
The best dog crate for a puppy is the adult size of the Life Stages line, with the divider in. Not a soft crate, and not the Sky Kennel. Pick 36, 42, or 48 for the adult the puppy is likely to become, then close the panel so today’s puppy can stand, turn, and lie down, and cannot use the far end as a bathroom.
If the puppy sleeps in one end and eliminates in the other, the space is too big or the time is too long. VCA Animal Hospitals recommends a divider to keep the puppy in a smaller area in that case, provided you are not leaving them crated for long stretches. The panel is not permission to add hours. The title says the panel is included. Confirm it is in the carton before the first night.
Feed meals in the crate. Leave the door open at first. Take the collar off when you leave the room. Do not send the dog in because you are angry. The crate borrows a den instinct. Punishment spends it.
VCA’s crate-training guidance says a two-month-old puppy needs to go outside at least every two hours, and a three-month-old at least every three hours, overnight included. About one hour per month of age is only a memory aid for those two examples, not a reason to stretch an older puppy through a whole morning. The day-by-day schedule is in how long potty training takes. A newly adopted adult can need the same slow start. First-week setup is in bringing home a rescue dog.
More Than One Dog
Two dogs means two crates, unless each bay of a double passes the tape for that dog. Two dogs in one open crate is how you get a fight or a mess. You do not need a corner cabinet. Two Life Stages crates in the same room are fine if the dogs already get along. A furniture double is optional later, for two calm adults, and it is not on this numbered list.
Travel, the Car, and Flying
A hotel trip with a trained dog who does not chew is the soft-crate job. It is not a pick on this page. For a rigid box in the car, use the Sky Kennel, secured so it cannot become a projectile. A household wire crate that is not tied down is not crash protection. We did not verify a crash-tested kennel with our affiliate tag, so this page does not rank one.
Cargo is a hard kennel the airline accepts that day. Wire and soft are the wrong objects. The Sky Kennel is a candidate to show the airline, not a promise they will take it. In-cabin space is a much smaller carrier. Do not buy the 36 inch Sky Kennel for a lap. At home, go back to the wire crate. The plastic kennel has no divider and only one door.
Anxiety and a Crate Cover
Some dogs settle when wire feels like a den. Use a fitted cover on the back and sides, front open for air. Skip a loose blanket, and skip any cover the dog can pull through the bars. This page does not rank covers.
If the dog is panting hard, drooling, chewing the bars, or injuring teeth or nails, stop. That is panic. The Gardner crate is for a dog who fiddles with a latch, not for a dog in distress. A heavier frame will not teach a terrified dog to like the door. Shorten the session, go back to door-open meals, and ask a vet or a trainer if panic is the pattern. If the dog destroys toys rather than the crate, see best dog toys for aggressive chewers. A toy is not a crate.
When Not to Crate
Do not crate as punishment. Do not crate longer than the dog can hold it. Do not plan a full workday in the crate. Adults can go longer than puppies, but a crate is for sleep and settling, not a shift. If the regular plan is more than a few hours at a stretch, the fix is a walker, a midday visit, or daycare, not a bigger box.
Do not leave a collar or harness on when you are out. Do not shut a panicked dog in “until they get used to it” on the first afternoon. Do not skip the divider with a puppy in an adult-size crate. Do not buy outdoor housing from this page. Weather, floor, and insulation are a different product: outdoor dog houses. A gate only blocks a doorway. A crate is the closed den. There is no gate guide here yet, so this page does not link one.
Dog Crate Safety
Take the collar off. VCA Animal Hospitals warns that serious injury can occur if a dog’s collar becomes entangled and twisted tightly, and a crate is one place that happens. Collar and harness come off for unsupervised crate time.
Clock, punishment, panic. Use the VCA intervals above. Never shut the door as punishment. Blood at the mouth, broken nails, or a dog throwing themselves at the bars ends the session. Do not answer panic with a heavier latch. Keep the divider in until nose-to-tail length plus 3 to 4 inches fills the crate.
Frequently Asked Questions
A wire crate with a divider, sized to the dog: the Life Stages line by MidWest, in 36, 42, or 48 inch. Interior inches were not listed. Gardner is only for a latch problem. The Sky Kennel is for hard travel after you check the airline. Soft and furniture are not numbered picks.
Standing, measure head to floor and nose tip to tail tip, then add 3 to 4 inches. That is the AKC rule for minimum interior height and length. The title number is often the outside. Up to about 32 inches nose to tail: Life Stages 36. Up to about 38: the 42. Up to about 44: the 48. This list has no verified 24 or 30 inch crate.
The adult Life Stages size, with the divider in. Not the Sky Kennel, and not a soft crate. The open section still has to let the puppy stand, turn, and lie down. Move the panel as they grow. VCA’s clock still applies: out at least every two hours at two months and every three hours at three months.
Wire for training, airflow, two doors, and a divider: the Life Stages crate. Plastic for a hard travel shell: the Sky Kennel, and you still check the airline. Soft only after the dog is reliable and not a chewer. No soft crate is ranked in this update.
Only for a calm adult who no longer chews, and only after you measure the bay, not the whole console. They are the wrong first crate. None is numbered here, because interior size and a solid review sample were not verified. Wood is chewable. A furniture crate is not outdoor housing.
Only in a hard kennel the airline accepts that day. Wire and soft are the wrong tools for cargo. The Sky Kennel is the hard kennel on this list. This page does not claim every airline accepts it. Do not assume in-cabin. A 36 inch exterior kennel is not a lap carrier.
Yes for a puppy in an adult-size crate, or any time the dog soils one end and sleeps in the other. VCA recommends a divider then, if you are not also leaving them shut in for long stretches. No if the crate already fits the adult. Life Stages titles include a panel. Gardner had no divider claim. The Sky Kennel has none.
Not when the dog can stand, turn, and stretch out, the door is introduced slowly, and the crate is never a punishment. It becomes cruel when the crate is too small, the hours run past what the dog can hold, or the door is how you express anger. Panic is a stop, not a plan.
VCA: at least every two hours at two months and every three hours at three months, overnight included. One hour per month of age only remembers those two examples. Adults can go longer, but a crate is not a workday. Past a few hours on a regular basis, get a walker or daycare.
Slow down. Feed in the crate with the door open. A fitted cover, front still open, is optional if the dog is not pulling fabric in. Do not buy a stronger latch for panic. The Gardner crate is not the fix for fear. Panting, drooling, chewed bars, or injured teeth or nails means stop and get help.
The Bottom Line
The best dog crate here is the Life Stages double-door wire crate by MidWest, in the size the tape measure requires: 36, 42, or 48 inch. Keep the divider in while the dog can still soil one end. Interior inches were not listed, so confirm them on the live page.
The Gardner Pet 43 inch is only for a dog who works latches: 3.9 stars from 49 regional ratings, dimensions not listed, no divider claim. It is not a promise they will stay in. The Sky Kennel 36 inch is for hard travel after you check the airline. Skip soft and furniture until the dog is a calm adult and the listing prints the inside. Take the collar off, leave the door open until the dog chooses the crate, and do not leave a puppy past the clock. Price moves. Check Amazon.
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