Worried that crate might be too small

[JuanRamos]

What do you think? Is the crate too small or just the right size for my puppy?





I take out the food bowl once she's done eating her meals and leave on its place a chewtoy. She has never pooped/peed inside, by the way, the newspaper is just there in case she makes a mess by pushing around her bowl with water. So far she has been very calm inside of the crate, but I'm also worried about her holding it for too long. I usually let her out to pee/poo around 11:30 PM and it's not until 6:00 AM that I wake up. I'd wake up earlier if she started crying, but she's pretty calm throughout the night.

She's about to turn 4 months old in the 26th, so I was also wondering if she's a normal-sized yorkie or a "teapot", since a lot of people have told us that she's bigger than the adult yorkies they have met. The vet told us she's past 2 pounds already, but after looking up in google I can't help but notice that she seems a tad bigger than the adult yorkies of that weight.

I'm mostly asking the later to start looking for a bigger crate that would accomodate a big yorkie. She's a good dog and her getting bigger would just mean that we would be less worried about our 8 years old Golden playing too rough with her. Our Golden grew up with an old dog (maltese/pom mix) that passed away when she turned 5, so she's already used to being around small dogs (and also puppies and tortoises), but she still gets a little bit too hyper despite her age.

[joyce evans]

Just my opinion...others may differ. Great size for potty training and maybe short periods of time but I think it's too small to leave your pup in for long periods of time. Not enough room to Romp & Play, Pee & Poo and Sleep.

[matese]

Originally Posted by joyce evans

Just my opinion...others may differ. Great size for potty training and maybe short periods of time but I think it's too small to leave your pup in for long periods of time. Not enough room to Romp & Play, Pee & Poo and Sleep.

[Harrysmum]

I personally think it's too small....I know I'd go a little stir-crazy, and that's how I look at it for our little ones.

[TxVicki]

My opinion only. But I think it is too small.

[megansmomma]

I think it's fine for now but you probably should size up soon.

[JuanRamos]

Originally Posted by joyce evans

Just my opinion...others may differ. Great size for potty training and maybe short periods of time but I think it's too small to leave your pup in for long periods of time. Not enough room to Romp & Play, Pee & Poo and Sleep.

I wanted to get her a bigger crate, but sadly that one was the only one I could find. My main issue isn't potty training, which I was told a small crate is good for, but that right now there are too many people coming in and out of my house and I can't really afford to take my eyes off her.

We also got one child fences, so she's free to run most of the day around my office, without me worrying about her getting out of the house because someone left the door open , so I only let her in the crate to sleep besides my bed (or desk when I stay up late to work) or when I have to go out to avoid her biting any cables (which she hasn't tried yet but I feel that its better to be safe than sorry).


Would getting an outside kennel be a good idea? I know yorkies are meant to be inside dogs, but I'd like to think that even they would enjoy playing outside (when there's good weather, obviously) while their owners are away. My backyard has pretty tall walls so I wouldn't worry about her being stolen or attacked by other dogs. And where I live there are no birds of prey or other predators such as lynxes, and the weather is warm and sunny most of the year, plus I make sure to always keep my backyard free of spiders and ant nest, and also to always keep plants out from the reach of my dogs. I'll post a pic later of the place where I think I could install a kennel for her, it's somewhere where the sun won't hit her directly, but she would still get plenty of fresh air. There's also a fence that splits my backyard (originally used to keep the labs and golden from destroying our tree back when they weren't trained), so she wouldn't be left without supervision with the bigger dog, because even if she's inside of the kennel I'd be afraid of my Golden breaking in to play with her since she's pretty good at opening doors.

Anyway, I'd like to keep using a crate for her to sleep in, since her being used to it would make things easier if I ever have to keep a close eye on her when she gets old. What size would you suggest me?

[JuanRamos]

btw I meant a safety door fence, not an entire child fence. I only use it to keep her from going outside of my office since the rest of the house is pretty chaotic at the moment.

I am also planning on getting an inside kennel for cold/rainy days. It's just that I feel that dogs are better off getting fresh air when its available in a safe place, and right now I'm too scared to take her out for walks since she is gonna get the last one of her puppy shots in a week, so I'd rather wait until she has all of them before allowing her interact with strangers and other dogs in a crowded place such as a park. She still gets to see new faces whenever we take her out with us, so it's not like we keep her at home 24/7.

[CouversMom]

I would definitely get a larger kennel for when she grows. I wouldn't suggest a kennel for outside... You never know what could happen. It would not be worth losing her! I would advise only letting her outside when you can be with her.

[hobbette]

It looks fine for sleeping at least at the moment. Yumi has a plastic pet carrier that is smaller proportionally to her than that is to your pup. I leave it open in the living room and find her and my mom's pup both in there a lot.

[AngelFae]

Originally Posted by hobbette

It looks fine for sleeping at least at the moment. Yumi has a plastic pet carrier that is smaller proportionally to her than that is to your pup. I leave it open in the living room and find her and my mom's pup both in there a lot.

I'm like Hobbette here, Blazer has a small plastic pet carrier. He sleeps in it and travels in it. It is left open in our bedroom and he goes in there whenever he wants. I won't get him a crate that is big enough to potty in- he is an outside potty ONLY dog!
I wouldn't feel safe leaving my dog outside while I'm gone- even if your yard is fenced and the pup is in a roofed kennel, ANYTHING could happen and dogs go missing from fenced yards all of the time.

[valeriejsmyth]

I would buy a pen (open at top and can be shaped in many forms). Place it in a kitchen or a room in the house that has the most traffic. She will be happy and have room to play, pee, eat and sleep in her crate for quiet time.

[kreuer]

For the crate I agree with all the others. For being a "teapot" I think she is a standard size based on what you said. My pup was 3.5 pounds at 4 months old and she is projected to be about 5-6 pounds as an adult. But you never really know. Anything can happen!

[rylariaizmik]

For crate training purposes I think it's a good size. If you plan to leave the puppy home for longer periods you may want to invest in an exercise pen.

[JuanRamos]

Originally Posted by valeriejsmyth

I would buy a pen (open at top and can be shaped in many forms). Place it in a kitchen or a room in the house that has the most traffic. She will be happy and have room to play, pee, eat and sleep in her crate for quiet time.

We just made one of our rooms puppy-proof to keep her in there while we eat, since mom is home all day and allows her to be with her while we are out. All we have to worry about is to lock the doors of the bathrooms and my mom's office, where there's stuff that our puppy could swallow. She's now potty trained so we don't have to worry about accidents anymore. And my sister sleeps in that room with her so we barely use the crate anymore.