I’ve always been a fan of crates for dogs for the amount of positive things they bring to the table. So not long after we got our new puppy, we also wanted to find the best crate for a labradoodle.
I shopped around a bit and researched quite a lot before finally settling on the AmazonBasics Folding Crate.
The AmazonBasics Folding Crate is great for a labradoodle, all the way from when it’s just a puppy, to now 60 pounds of almost fully grown labradoodle.
And while it’s not totally perfect, the few flaws are nothing really that drags the final product down as it was something that was easily fixed.
But lets’ take a look at why I would recommend this crate to anybody looking for a crate for their Labradoodle.
But why should I buy a crate?
Buying a crate for your puppy is highly recommended.
Some people think it’s cruel to put a labradoodle in a “cage”, but I say it’s crueler not to.
A puppy will see the crate as a sanctum where it can have its own little cave. A place where it can go for some peace and quiet and to not be disturbed by the kids of the family.
Another advantage is that a puppy much quicker will learn not to have to go out for a pee every night if it sleeps in a crate.
From natures side, a labradoodle isn’t interested in messing up its own cave, and if it’s not in a crate, the puppy will just be able to relieve itself on the kitchen floor instead of learning to hold until morning.
Under any circumstance, you should expect to have to let your labradoodle puppy outside once a night for the first 10 weeks or so.
By using a crate, you also minimize the risk that your puppy will acquire some bad habits at night, like chewing on furniture or anything it will be able to get its paws on.
Another advantage of using a crate is that you will be able to bring it with you if you are going on a vacation or visiting relatives.
And by doing so, your Labradoodle will always have a place where it feels safe and comfortable, even when you are visiting new and unknown places.
Setting it up
We ordered the 48″ double door version, as it’s always nice to have more than 1 option for how and where to place the crate, without ending up blocking the only door into it.
And we wanted it to be big enough no matter what size our dog would grow into. Some dogs might prefer a smaller crate, so you will have to decide what size you think is best for your dog.
Assembling the crate almost couldn’t be easier, as it arrives folded flat in a box, and the clever folding design of the crate means you can unfold and assemble it in less than 30 seconds.
Without the use of any tools but your hands!
You just lay the crate flat on the floor, then raise the sides and the top, and finally, swing out the front and back panels.
The crate comes with a plastic bottom, which prevents any accidents or spills of any kind, to leave the crate and flow through to the floor underneath.
And if you at one time would like to bring the crate with you somewhere, simply doing this in reverse allows you to fold it down just as fast as unfolding it.
Without using any tools!
While doing this, our labradoodle Monty was watching the entire unpackaging/assembling, and we didn’t even finish setting it up before he jumped in!
In the package, there’s also a divider panel.
It’s basically an extra panel you can use to divide the crate and make it seem smaller and more appropriately sized for your puppy.
This way you can also easily use the crate for house training your puppy, by using one side of the crate as the potty side, and the other for sleeping.
And then simply remove the divider when the puppy grows larger and requires more place.
Durability
We had previously owned a crate from another supplier which had cost more than twice as much as this one, and our old dog was able to chew that apart within a few weeks, so we were a bit skeptic before buying it.
But that skepticism has been proved to be unfounded!
It’s not that our dog hasn’t tried to taste it on more than one occasion, but the crate has been able to withstand it all so far, and thankfully our dog has grown out of the biting phase by now.
The crate metal is thicker than that of any crate we’ve previously owned, and again, considering the price, that’s pretty great, as that’s usually where manufacturers will try and save some manufacturing costs.
One small issue we had with the crate was that there was a handfull of quite sharp edges in the metal wiring. But I was able to remove then quite easily just by using some sandpaper on them.
But the bottom line is that we have been using the AmazonBasics Crate for more than half a year now, and you can hardly see any signs of usage on it!
And that is pretty darn impressive considering 60 pounds of dog haven’t exactly tried to avoid doing any harm to id.
Especially the first few weeks he was pretty rough with it, and it really stood up to the challenge.
Best crate for a labradoodle?
You can easily spend upwards of 3 times as much money on a crate and still not get a product that is as smart and durable as the AmazonBasics model.
It’s easy to assemble, comes in whatever size you could possible want, and is very affordable.
During our so far 6 month of use, the only issue we’ve had was the one with the sharp edges, and that was something we could fix in 5 minutes.
So the final verdict is that we are very satisfied with the AmazonBasics Folding Crate (affiliate link), and it looks like it might last a lifetime, so we won’t have to replace it anytime soon.
If you’re looking for help on how to crate train your puppy, I have written a lengthy guide here.
