Pet Gear “The Other Door” 4 Door Steel Crate with Plush Bed + Travel Bag for Cats/Dogs

We were so frustrated with the lack of quality in two of the standard steel wire crates (the first and the exchange).It's hard to describe how happy with are with this purchase. It is easy to assemble, it is well designed, it is good looking, and it is easy to use. The who crate easily folds up for when we travel with our dog. Nice feature.It came with a nice "carpeted" cushion for our one-year old mini-Australian Shepherd. I was not expecting that.We find that we don't even have to use the latches on the front of the crate. Our puppy has not even tried to get out of the crate when we simply close the front. By the way, the front of the crate lifts and slides right into the top of the crate.Yes, it's expensive but only relative to the badly designed, low quality stuff that is out there as an alternative.

We tried one of the soft crates when we brought home our two year old Cattle Dog, he chewed his way out of it less than 10 miles down the road and sat on my lap yapping for the remaining two hour drive home, I couldn't handle it anymore so we walked the remaining 3 miles. We tried this crate for my little minion. I can't say how he feels about the newest Cattle Dog containment device, I sure like it! I've taken it to a few herding events, set up is easy once we get there. He is content to sit in it with a fan blowing in his HRH. I simply wheel it out to my small SUV, reassemble once we are at our destination. This crate has also been useful in the most unusual way. He used to two everywhere we went. Once I left it assembled following an event. He was doing his usual yapping, I told him one more bark and he was going in his crate. *BARK BARK BARK* I pulled over, made him get out of the backseat and get in his crate. I didn't even have to close him in it, he was sulking so much. I asked him if he thought he could hold it together, let him out and back into his spot in the backseat. He's been silent for the past 6 months. I thought we would have to do this several more times for sure. Nope. After a month of improved car manners, I took the crate out of the car. And the lesson is still holding strong! Ahh silence.

We are two to three times a month agility competitors. We had seen things about this crate and wanted to try one. Amazon had a 36" listed that said it had been returned, but "was in great condition" so we bought it. It arrived and we opened it. We found that the latches on the ends fell off easily and are a nuisance. The latches that open the doors are very difficult to use unless you have fingers of steel. But what was worse was that one of the "garage door" tracks had been torn loose, probably by the person who bought it before. I took things apart and found screws stripped from the plastic because any load would rip them out, and did. The screw heads for the too few molded nuts placed in the plastic were so small that once there was a heavy handed person trying to wrestle the thing open, they popped through the plastic track. I have been an engineer and fabricator all my adult life so I managed to reassemble and use other means to hold the tracks. but it probably will still only be a matter of time before it fails again. I hold a few patents, I have designed hundreds of products for the public and I can't think of a time I have seen something this poorly developed. I would be ashamed to acknowledge that I had anything to do with this product.

There were a lot of mixed reviews on this travel crate. I weighed the pros and cons and went for it, and I'm glad I did.Now that I've owned it for a little while, here are my pros and cons:Pros:- love that there are four doors, they all work well and close securely- for such a large crate it collapses to a decent size- it transports (while folded) fairly easy. I live on a second floor and have carried it up and down the stairs a few times. I am a small but strong lady...- I can open and set it up by myself- I can collapse it by myself- it contains my dog well when we travel- the wheels come in handy when transporting it on a hard, smooth surface- the bag thankfully has handles, by which I usually lug it around- it's not cloth, so my dog can't tear and chew his way out- like he has with the zipper, nylon cratesCons:- it's a little clumsy, but it's a dog crate. What dog crate isn't clumsy?- the bag is necessary when the crate is collapsed. But the material is thin, and I can potentially see the handles ripping off the bag where the stitching is because each time I carry it to a new destination, I can see the stress and wear...- it's a little heavy, but I have to remember I'm kinda small and it is a large crate- the back side of the crate, where there are no doors, is a little tough to figure out. There are two plastic hook-clasps that secure the folding part of the cage and it took both my brother and me (two very educated adults) to figure out how they work properly. The directions are horrible.- the plastic hook-clasps mentioned above won't last long if my dog figures out that they are the weakest part of this cage. He's smart enough to do it too. All he has to do is chew on them and the cage will flap away from the side supports and he can wiggle his way out. It hasn't happened yet, and I'm sure that's because I haven't left him ALONE in the crate.I wouldn't use this crate to go to work for the day and leave him alone. He'd find his way out for sure. But it works well when I went on vacation and needed to secure him temporarily so the cabin didn't get destroyed when I wasn't around to watch him, and I used it when I visit other people who have pets and he needed some time to be alone. If you've got a thrasher, or a chewer, this is not the crate for you.If you have a mild mannered dog, who has already been crate trained, go for it. You'll be happy you own it.

Our boy is 70 lbs to get an idea of an XL. Plenty of room too. He was crate trained as a puppy, I think a dog that’s going fight it might get out. But a determined dog can get out of just about anything. It is a bit wobbly but seems sturdy enough.Fits well in a Ford Explorer cargo hold and was easy for my husband to lift in already unfolded. We bought it for camping, and I think it’s going to be ideal. The pad that’s included is like any crate pad (pretty thin) but very soft and good quality. We just put his bed on top since it’s more padding for the long trip. We got a good deal with it on sale. Overall, we are very happy and would recommend!

The mixed reviews here make it appear that this manufacturer once provided a great quality product with strong parts. However, as time has gone on, either the company has clearly decided to cut costs, and unfortunately, it is at the expense of the product. I was really hoping this would work out, but unfortunately, my product confirms the mixed reviews. My crate came in a completely dinged up box that was hardly holding itself together and the black plastic part that acts as a rail for the side door lid was broken. There was also a screw that seemed to have fallen off at the bottom of the box. Needless to say, this will be returned.For this price point - over $300 - I would absolutely look elsewhere.And as a note - the 36 inch would not fit through a regular sedan back seat door.

Big box arrived on time and no damage. Everything was good except for the front sliding door keep getting caught on the rails where it should slide smoothly. The "garage door style" front door has to be held on each end horizontally and slowly pushed in to line up to the rails or else its going to be a repeat procedure, other than that it looks good and sturdy.

I bought this product because it has wheels . However, the wheels are virtually useless. In order to roll the crate, one that needs to lift it from the side which is very difficult. The wheels need to be on the corner, not the bottom, to allow one to push the crate. Alternatively, it should be equipped with a handle similar to a suitcase. Also, the locks to keep the door closed are very difficult to open.

Great but really Noisy inside car. Really heavy to carry