Best Dog Crates of 2026

Our recommendation

Gunner is our top-scoring pick in Dog Crates, at 9.6/10 — it highlights “Independently crash-tested designs”.

Impact Dog Crates scores 9.2 and is the one to compare against it — it highlights “Aluminium construction resists bending”.

Both scores are our editors’ assessment of published specifications, pricing and terms against the criteria in our rating methodology — they are not aggregated customer reviews.

Sizing: bigger is not better

The correct crate is large enough for the dog to stand without ducking, turn around comfortably, and lie down fully stretched — and no larger.

That last part is counter-intuitive and it matters for house-training. Dogs avoid soiling where they sleep, which is the mechanism crate training relies on. Give a puppy a crate big enough to have a bathroom corner and a bedroom corner and it will use both, and the training benefit disappears.

For a growing puppy, buy for the adult size and use a divider panel to restrict the usable area, moving it as the dog grows. Most wire crates include one. Measure your dog standing — nose to tail base for length, floor to top of head for height — and add two to four inches to each.

The four crate types

Wire crates fold flat, ventilate well, are easy to clean and are the most economical. The trade-offs are noise (they rattle), visibility (some anxious dogs settle better enclosed — a cover helps), and that a determined dog can bend bars or work a latch.

Plastic kennels are more enclosed and den-like, quieter, and the format most often accepted by airlines. They ventilate less, are bulkier to store, and are harder to clean thoroughly.

Soft-sided crates are light and portable for travel and events with a settled adult dog. They offer essentially no containment for a chewer or an escape artist.

Heavy-duty metal and aluminium crates are built for dogs that destroy or escape everything else, and for vehicle travel. They are expensive and heavy, and for the right dog they are the only thing that works.

If the crate is for the car, look for crash testing

This is the specification that genuinely separates products, and most crates do not have it. An unsecured crate — or an unsecured dog — becomes a projectile in a collision, dangerous to the animal and to everyone in the vehicle.

Look for independent crash testing rather than a manufacturer's claim of strength, and check that the design has published results at a stated speed and weight. Then check that it can actually be secured: tie-down points, compatibility with cargo anchors, and a size that fits your boot without blocking the rear view.

A crate that is strong but sliding freely in the load area is doing only half the job.

Escape resistance, in the specifics

Dogs escape crates in predictable ways, and the countermeasures are specific:

• Latches. Simple slide bolts are opened by clever dogs surprisingly often. Look for multiple latch points or a two-action mechanism.
• Corners and seams. Most chewing starts at an edge. Rounded or reinforced corners remove the grip.
• Floor trays. Plastic pans are frequently destroyed first. Metal trays last, and a removable tray is far easier to clean.
• Bar spacing and gauge. Wider spacing and thinner bars are what bend.

As with beds, it is worth naming the underlying issue: persistent, frantic escape attempts are usually separation anxiety rather than a containment failure. A stronger crate contains the dog; it does not address the distress, and for a genuinely anxious dog the crate can make things worse. That is a training and, sometimes, a veterinary conversation.

Using it well

A crate should be somewhere the dog chooses to go, which takes deliberate introduction: feed meals inside, leave the door open initially, build duration gradually, and never use it as punishment. A dog shut in abruptly for hours on day one learns the opposite lesson.

On duration, the usual guidance for puppies is roughly one hour per month of age up to a maximum, and adult dogs should not be crated for a full working day without a break. Crating is a management tool for house-training, safe travel and recovery from surgery — not a substitute for exercise and company.

Keep bedding appropriate to the dog: a destructive chewer with fabric bedding unsupervised is an intestinal obstruction risk, and a bare tray with a chew-resistant mat is the safer arrangement until that phase passes.

Sizing charts, crash-test status and airline compliance vary by manufacturer and model and change over time. Confirm current specifications with the manufacturer, and check your airline's own requirements well before travelling.