crate size?

[lulu]

   hello, everyone. i was wondering what size of crates you all have for your saints? i have picked out a newborn pup and when i  bring  him home in 8 weeks i am planning on crate training him. i was at the pet store the other day and saw some pretty huge crates. (that were also pretty expensive). i am wondering what size do i need? i will only be using the crate until he is potty trained. so do i need to get the hugest one? i wont need him to fit in it when hes full grown just until hes trained. so how big of one do i need???
   thanks.

[Yaz]

Yes, by all means get the biggest one. What you do is section is off the crate. I put two rubbermaids  filled with storage items in my crate and removed them as Gershwin grew. Saints grow incredibly big very fast. At eight weeks Gershwin was 20 something pounds and now at 15 weeks he has *tripled* his weight. We actually have two crates, one for the family room and one for the basement. We use the one in the basement when he sleeps at night or if I need a break - since it is very loud and busy in our home during the day it is hard for him to get a really good sleep sometimes when he is in the family room.  So I would advise buying the biggest crate out there - the metal ones are very solid and by six months of age you will find your Saint is probably very close to filling it.

[Imani's Mom]

You can probably find better prices on any size crate on ebay- just keep an eye on what they have between now and almost time for your new baby to come home, and make sure you get the best deal you can find.   Personally, since I had several different size crates on hand, I started with the smallest one, which is 24", about two weeks later we had to move to the next bigger one, which was a 36" or close to that, and then right on up to a 54".   Neither of my girls are in crates any longer, but it really is handy to keep them around in case of future emergency, such as an evacuation, a long trip, illness or injury that requires them to be kept "quiet" and limit their activity.   You could even build your own crates easily and fairly inexpensively if you have access to materials to work with.

[GR8DAME]

As my dogs have gotten larger, so have my crates. I started with dobies, so a large crate was fine, but when Merlin (dane) came along, I got a colossal crate. Although they are expensive, it's not like you can never use them again. My crates have been through six dogs over the last 17 years. Consider them a one-time investment.
Stella

[The Brindle Pack]

Currently set up in our living room is a "gorilla cage" (54" colossal) an x-pen, and a 36" crate.  I leave the x-pen and the colossal up all the time, as my guys love them.  Tyra would rather sleep in the gorilla cage than in the bedroom with us.  The 36" crate is out for Kona the puppy I watch three days a week.  We also have another x-pen and two smaller crates that come out as needed for foster pups. 

Cindy