Which dog crate is right for your dog? Dog crate comparison. Is Diggs worth the price?

So you’re ready to crate-train your dog (or puppy)! First off, you’ll need a crate, and that in itself can be a daunting task with prices and sizes varying widely. 

Below I’ll go over and compare the benefits and disadvantages to multiple types of dog crates to help you choose the right one for your dog, household, and lifestyle.

To be noted, all the below crates are for home or hotel use but not for your dog to ride in while in the car; none of these pass crash testing. Learn more about dog crash tested crates on our blog here.  With that said let’s dig into the dog crate comparison…

Diggs Revol:

Diggs Revol crate is the crate I use with my own dogs, I use it in our home, for guest’s dogs that are over for training and it’s the crate I always bring to set with me. 10% off your Diggs crate with the link above, Amazon link here (no discount).

Things I love about the Diggs Revol crate:

• I think it’s actually really nice looking, I personally have a white and a black one. 
• Dog tags and coallars don’t get stuck in this crate due to it’s diamond design, which is a HUGE safety plus!
• By far the easiest crate to set up
• It’s easy for your dog to grow up in, as setting it smaller is super easy.
• Can open the side door completely 
• The Diggs Groov accessory is a favorite to help with crate training. 
• Had wheels to move it about and a handle for easy lifting when collapsed (YESS!)
• Tray slides out easily for cleaning
• Did I mention it looks really nice?
• Top opens for easy pets and giving a toy.
• This crate feels like a quality product. You know that feeling of closing a nice car door, that’s how I feel when I close my Diggs crate. 

The downside:

• It’s not the cheapest crate option out there. The good news is with this link you’ll get 10% off any items from Diggs, if you’re looking for a Diggs coupon code just use that link – no code needed. In my opinion you often get what you pay for and for this it’s quality that stands out, is safe and will last.

Plastic Crates:

Plastic dog crates aren’t an awful option. Before Diggs these are what I used inside my home.

What I love:

• I do like that the bottom is covered, and there is a much smaller chance of a tag on a collar getting stuck
• They aren’t too hard to take apart to clean if someone has an accident.

What I don’t love:

• If you are traveling they are not convenient at all. 
• Some dogs chew through them, I wouldn’t kennel a dog with major eeperation anxiety in these.
• They don’t look great IMO, but with a crate cover on they aren’t awful.

Wire Crates:

The good:

• They usually keep your dog contained, unless you have a highly anxious dog (in which case you may be considering a more expensive and specialty crate than any of these). 
• For the most part they aren’t too hard to set up for one time use.
• Have great air flow

The Bad:

• They are a pain to set up and take down again and again as the wire starts to warp after constant use – we ran into this on The Pack with our constant traveling.
• They are incredibly noisy to move, good luck driving with this rattling around.
• Tags can get caught in these crates, so I highly recommend removing your dogs collar if you are using a wire crate.
• If you are going for aesthetics these surely don’t win.

Portable soft crate:

Portable soft crates are a great option if you dog is very gentle in their crate. Linked above the is the Petsfit dog crate but Amazon basics now sells their own version which may be worth considering too.

The good: 

• They are really nice crates
• Lightweight
• Don’t look awful IMO
• Easy to travel with! 

The bad:

• If you have a dog that knows how to undo zippers or push their noses to undo them, this isn’t for you
• If you have a dog that diggs in their crate or bed this isn’t for you
• If you have a dog that pushes boundaries this isn’t for you.
• If a dog pukes in it, probably not the easiest to clean – maybe use a waterproof dog bed to help prevent this.

Fable pets crate:

I have had a few clients that have purchased the Fable Pets crate and honestly I would never recommend it (sorry). It does look pretty, I would say the only use case is if you plan to never close the door and just leave this crate open. This crate has a garage door style door, which means it slides out from the top of the crate, above the dog and downward. 

The good: 

• The Fable pets crate aesthetically looks really lovely.

The bad:

• My issues with this is it is quite terrifying for this door to be moving above you, I haven’t seen one dog enjoy being in there when this is done and training and crate time should be a positive experience.  For me the Fable Pets crate is a nope.

The other door:

This before Diggs was my on set crate, I didn’t love it for in house but due to folding flat I used it for travel.

The good:

• It folds down somewhat flat pretty easily
• Has wheels to move it around
• One side door fully opens up, similar to Diggs
• Has a top that opens (with an awful clasp, but it opens)

The bad:

• The clasps are not easy to use, I’ve hurt my fingers many times opening and locking these crates
• Does not feel as sturdy as the diggs one at all.
• Not as easy as Diggs to set up. With two free hands though you could do it (demo in my video above)
• After a year+ of use on set I’ve had a few pieces break off mine and the elastic has stretched.

My favorite crates

Here are some of the supplies that I used when making this project!

We hope this helped you choose the right crate for your dog. Need crate training tips? We are ready to help!