Customer Reviews

Midwest Life Stages Double-Door Folding Metal Dog Crate

5 star:		(457)
4 star:		(124)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

If you have a medium sized doggie and are looking for a crate because you live in an apartment, this particular model is a good choice. Crate training is amazingly simple (just don't use it for punishment--make it a happy experience when your puppy go into his crate). We have been using this for two months, and he takes to it easily.

1. Easy to put together and fold away. Solid black e-coat steel wire, conjoined with small metal plates with welded corners facing out. It comes with a slightly smaller divider that you can hook to the insides of the crate. As our puppy got bigger, we moved the divider and eventually removed it.

2. The two doors (one on the long end is off-centered) are not removable and opens only one way so it's not omni-directional when you place it in tight spaces. You may want to check out some crates with three doors if so.

3. The bottom tray is made of black-composite plastic material, easy to wipe clean and slide out from under the short end of the door.

4. I like the double latch, but some people may find it a little more work to open and close day-to-day.

5. If you buy a crate cover, check out Cratewear Pet Dreams 3-Piece (which fits this model well, but only work with the door on the short end).

6. For this price, it's a good crate to highly consider because your goal is to have a sanctuary for your puppy (for time out and quiet-time) and to housebreak your dog and/or temperate from negative behavior (such as chewing furniture, etc.)

I hope this review is helpful for you.

I bought this crate for my 30-lb beagle/terrier mix dog and it's great. It folds up in a cinch (it's literally 3 steps and takes about 10 seconds max) and has carry handles on the side, so it's really easy to transport. I like having the 2 doors so I have options of how I can place the crate in a room. There are latches on the top and bottom of each door so it's very secure. Great crate!

I purchased this crate from Petsmart for my newly adopted dog. They size these crates based on dog weight, but I would measure your dog to make sure they fit.

My dog is less than 45 lbs, but his head touches the top of this crate when he sits up. He has room to lay down, but he can't really stretch out. I am ordering the next size up from Amazon for him however, and will use this one as a travel crate.

It set up in less than a minute, and everything works very well on it. The crate seems very sturdy and I've had no problems at all.

We purchased this crate for our new 10-lb Labrador pup (who will eventually be 80+ lbs), and I couldn't be happpier with it. I only wish I had known about it 10 years ago when we got our German Shepherd pup, as we purchased multiple crates to accomodate her growing size. There is little to no set-up needed, as it literally just pops right up when you take it out of the box. The construction is very durable, with rounded edges. I thought the pan in the bottom would be cold for my dog, but it's made of some material that seems to always be warm. The adjustable divider that comes with it is very easy to move. My pup is very happy in his space!

I purchased this crate and paid for Saturday delivery so that I could have it for my new 7 week old puppy. The crate is good quality and will likely serve us well as the dog grows, but I cannot use it yet. The problem is that the gaps between wires are too wide, allowing a small puppy (or small breed dog) to get his teeth and jaws through them - with the strong liklihood of injuring himself or traumatizing himself by becoming stuck that way.

I had to rush out the same day to a local store and purchase a smaller "travel crate" with smaller wire openings in the door. He will stay in that until he outgrows it.

**EDIT**
It would be only fair of me to say that once my dog grew enough to avoid the hazards mentioned above, this is a great product. The crate is very durable and safe and has served us and our large German Shepherd very well for the first year of his life. We still use it daily.

It is hard to feel comfortable purchasing a home for your pet that you can not see or feel. Yet, the prices compared to Petco or other retailers make you take a second look.

The reviews helped me tremendously when picking this product. When I received it, it was a simple set up. My dog was just a puppy so the divider was an essential. The quality sets it self apart from others. It was made to last. I looked at other crates that seem to have the ability to rust and break down, but not this one.

They really did a good job. I keep it inside my home and it always appears clean and aesthetically pleasing. The fold up option takes a little time, but we do not move it often.

Overall, I am very pleased with this product, and do not think I will have to buy one anytime in the near future. This Was Made To Last!

I have this crate only larger 42inches for my border collie mix. We decided it was a little too big for her...although I am sure she doesn't mind :)Her large crate is going to our Husky for when she gets bigger, and our border collie will be getting this size crate. She absolutely loves it! It is her own bedroom. We don't crate her during the day but we do crate her while we sleep. I actually tried letting her sleep out of her crate and she kept moving around the room. Once she gets into her crate she pretty much passes out and falls asleep because she knows it means sleep time. The crate also folds down nicely and fits into our car without any problems. We just fold down the back seats and put our dog's bed on top and we are good to go! I would highly reccomend this crate to anyone. Having two different enterances is great! Our dog prefers the gate on the side. She always goes in without a problem! Also, I would highly recomend putting a bed inside during the winter and maybe a piece of carpet that covers the inside floor during the summer. This helps take away the noise of thier nails scratching on the plastic. Plus...they feel more comfortable.

** Simple to construct.
** Strong enough to withhold a puppy trying to claw & bite its way out of the crate (who said crate training was easy? ha ha!
** Love the 2 door option...comes in handy when you're trying to find a perfect spot in your house.
** Advice: cut the shipping box and put 2 layers under the tray (it will buffer the noise!)
** Not really portable cause it's pretty heavy.
** Glad I bought it!

We have 3 70-pound retrievers and for the most part, they are very good in their crates. We use the crates whenever we are not at home and sometimes at night (though for the most part, tghey have graduated to sleeping in our rooms). However, if they hear you in the house and they have not been let out or they do not agree with your decision that it is time to be in the crate, they will jump and claw and paw to try to get out.

Midwest Life Stages was the only crate that I have found that will stand up to your dog regardless of size. It is one thing to survive a little puppy who is all full of themselves... however, when you have a crate that can stand strong in the face of 70 pounds of fur and muscle, you have a great crate.

I have tried the Petmate dog crate and it just is not very sturdy compared to the Midwest. I have had another crate with a single twist lock mechanism. While that crate was decent, the dogs quickly learned they could use their teeth to lift up the door to open it. If the door is locked, then they still won't take "no" for an answer and consider to bite and salivate and make a huge mess to where the entire door has rusted out and I've just ordered another Midwest to replace it.

This create is easy to setup, it is solid and secure, and it is easy to get break down to move it around. It is easy to get the tray out of the crate in those cases where there has been an accident and you need to clean the tray.

My only gripe is that the tray is not the strongest part of the system. Our first tray lasted a year or two but wound up breaking into pieces. Fortunately, they do sell replacement trays (though they are expensive relative to the price of the crate itself). The bad news, though, is that we have only had the replacement tray for a couple of months and it is already broken in one corner.

I have just ordered another Midwest crate to replace one that rusted out and plan to use a previous reviewers suggestion of putting the cardboard underneath the tray... hopefully that will provide a bit more support and protection for the tray and make it last longer. If so, that is a simple solution that would bump my review up to 5 stars.

I think it is great that all the other reviewers (and their pets) have had positive experiences with this product. I, unfortunately, have not. I left my 65 lb dog in his crate for 45 minutes only to come home to the wire on the door having broken welds and the wire bent up at my dog's eye level. I understand that some dogs will be able to damage their crates, I just feel that the crate should withstand my dog trying to reach a toy that ended up outside of his crate. This damage has not only made this brand new crate unusable, my dog could have been seriously injured had he been left for a longer period.

To make it worse, I was told by MidWest's customer service that the warranty will not cover anything because the damage was inflicted by the animal. I was told I should have "more thoroughly inspected the crate for any defects prior" to leaving my animal in it. So I guess I was supposed to check every single weld on every single wire on the entire crate before use. That is ridiculous. Further, no parts are replaceable (except the tray) and it is not possible to order a new door. I was told to go purchase a new crate at full price.

Be careful with this product. Apparently the warranty is void once your animal has been inside the crate. I gave it one star only because zero stars was not an option.