Pet Gear The Other Door Steel Crate - Tan/Black - 36"

I purchased this as a means to contain my old dog on trips to the vets and other short car trips. She has gotten to the point where she looses her footing in a moving car, this way she just sits and is by the window with the breeze blowing in. Should she get up and stumble, she is contained and not rolling all over the back cargo area. Also, the large side door (garage door) is essential for me to lift my dog up and place her into the crate. This is so much better than shoving her into one of the end doors. My sweet old pup has never liked crates and this feature, plus the fact it is so open (not solid) is really helps make this work. So, for me, this meets my purpose and I am very happy. Because it is foldable, I set it up when I need it and take down and store it when I don't need it. Some other notes - I don't think it is sturdy enough for a very active dog who wants to get out of a crate ( I can imagine past active dogs of mine busting out of this), but would be OK for a well mannered dog. The set up/break down process is good. I have the large crate and the only tricky part for me is getting the front and rear panels up while lifting the heavy top with folding side up and onto the top edges of the front and rear panels. If I were stronger (I'm 60 and not particularly strong) and had a longer wing-span, it might easier. Or if there was a second person with me. But regardless, I can do it alone. It is easy to roll with the hand grip and wheels and the storage bag/case has slots for the wheels to come through so you can roll it into storage. I assemble it outside of the car, roll it out, then get it into the hatchback by lifting the front up to the back edge, then lifting the rear and sliding it into the cargo area. If you are thinking of using this in the same manner as I have, be aware that the side door must be pulled out straight completely before it will go down to close. In my situation, after I put my dog in the side door, I slide the crate all the way to the far side of cargo area then pull out the side door to close because I need that extra space. In my car (RAV 4, 2007 model) I have just enough space to do it. In my car this large only fits long-way, front to back, not side-ways and I am putting my pup in through the rear passenger door of the car. Oh, I the one I ordered, I did not get the plush fleece thing (intentionally) and what came with it was a thin fleece and poly back rectangle. I have plenty of other items I can use so did not need to order the one with the plush fleece. OK, all that being said, I am very happy with my purchase, especially for my specific needs, and would recommend this product but would encourage others to think through how they will use this and the space they will use it in.

I was looking for a good household crate (as opposed to one for air transport, or back-of-car transport), to crate-train my puppy. I liked the rectangular shape of this one, and the fact that it was very open and airy on all sides, which I thought would be more comfortable for a large, dense-furred puppy in summer. I also like the 'garage door' design feature, which allows one whole long side to roll up out of the way. I thought this would also help the puppy get used to going in and out, and treating the crate as a den space.However, when the crate arrived, it turned out to simply be badly designed. When I roll the side wall up into the roof, it always goes off its little track and jams, usually with several inches of it sticking out on one side. It takes my husband's stronger hands, to get it back into the track so I can roll it down again. And getting it to come all the way down so that I can latch it closed, isn't easy either. So, I have mostly had to keep the side closed, and only use one of the end doors. This doesn't make it as puppy-friendly as I had expected. Furthermore, the little plastic clips for securing the door closings, were so stiff that they really hurt my hands for the first couple weeks. They are gradually becoming easier to press in and release. But I suspect that these little pieces of molded plastic will eventually just break, after being pressed in enough times. And I don't see any way they can be replaced. So I suspect this crate will have a short working life.It is supposed to be easy to collapse and set up, to use in travel. But the first time I set it up, there were a lot of little misalignments which made it seem like it wouldn't even stand up safely, to a lively dog inside. Several corners were not quite meeting at first, and again, it took my husband's strength and determination, to make everything completely click together. It does look nicer, as an addition to the room's 'decor,' than the more traditional Vari-kennel which we have now also gone out and invested in. But it's just not very usable, in terms of some specific features that attracted me on the website. I will say that our puppy does prefer it over the Vari-kennel, probably because of the open, airy quality that I wanted for her comfort. But on the other hand, to keep her calm, we have had to try draping a sheet over the whole thing, and the wires are far enough apart, that she has been able to drag a large portion of the sheet inside through the wires, which defeats the purpose of covering her to get her to quiet down.

Perhaps this is not a problem if you have a calm dog. But if you have German Shepherd dog banging on the wire door wanting to get out fast, this not a crate you want.I have 3 German Shepherd Dogs I take to training every week by car. I have a double autobox which accomodates two. For the 3rd, I bought this crate and removed a seat from my van so it would fit in. The dogs are all keen to go to training and when it is their turn to be on the training field, they go nuts. As they leap out of the crate, you want to have a leash in one hand to grab the collar. However, you are not going to be able to do this because you need both hands to open and to close the darn doors. This is because you need one hand to press on the release part of the lock and another to pull the lock back. Furthermore, the release part of the lock sometimes does not open easily or close easily.The crate has several doors, which is nice and the plastic parts of the crate are well made, but the wire parts of the doors are on the flimsy side for a medium size dogs that is anxious to exit. It is nice that is has wheels, which makes it easy to move.It looks great, like it might be worth the money, but when you start using it regularly, you realize it is a grossly over priced item. Much as I do not like Varikennels, at the moment, they are a better choice for your car.If the designers replaced the locks with something which could be operated easily with one hand and if the wire parts of the door were stronger, they would have a winner, a crate worthy of 5 stars. But as it is, this crate is overpriced and needs to be improved.

Functionality of multi-door design is good in theory. They just didn't make the clips well enough. Half metal, half plastic. If clips were all metal, there would be no problem.

easy to put up ( i did it in 5 mins by myself ) robust but very light weight , up & over door a great space saver ( plus it has other doors if you don't want to use that one ) , given that it shipped from America , it arrived very quickly ( under a week if i recall rightly ) i've had all metal dog crates in the past , this is far superior ( and in my opinion safer ) in all respects.if it helps re the size , i got this for an adult male Vizsla & it's fine size wise

This item normally retails for over $300 and I paid $180 with free shipping on Amazon.ca. I read mixed reviews about it when I was doing my research but I am very happy with this product. The garage-style door is such a brilliant idea. My puppy goes in the crate when it is left open to play with his toys or just to relax. I love the we can always see him and he can see us. It also folds down easily and has a travel bag for easy transport - there are wheels on the bottom that make moving it a breeze. For the price, I highly recommend this item - you won't be disappointed.

I really like the design. Quality is good. We use it in our living room, and it's neutral enough to blend in. We use it as a side table, and while it's not really flat on top it's good enough. We removed the provided mat as it seemed too slippery for our dog, we replaced it with another which doesn't move around.

Once you follow the directions it is fairly easy to use. Metal bars are great with our Border Collie as she can't byte or knaw her way through. Would definitely buý again!