What Size Crate Does My Dog Need
Crate sizing goes wrong in one direction: too small. This page gives you the size in inches from a measurement you can take in thirty seconds, or from your dog’s adult weight if they are still growing. The weight bands come from crates we actually list, three of them quoted straight from the manufacturer’s own product listings rather than rounded off by us. If your dog falls between two sizes, go up — a divider fixes a crate that is too big, and nothing fixes one that is too small.
Measure the dog. It beats the weight chart.
Crates are sized by length, not by weight. Measure your dog from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail — where the tail joins the body, not the end of it — then add 2 to 4 inches and round UP to the next crate size.
Weight is a useful shortcut and it is what the picker below falls back on, but two dogs of the same weight can need different crates. A Whippet and a French Bulldog are the standard example: same scale reading, very different shape. If you can measure, measure.
Crate size by adult weight
| Crate length | Adult weight | Where this range comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 18″ | 0–11 lb | Fills the same maker’s series |
| 24″ | 12–20 lb | Quoted from a crate sold in our shop |
| 30″ | 21–40 lb | Quoted from a crate sold in our shop |
| 36″ | 41–70 lb | Fills the same maker’s series |
| 42″ | 71–90 lb | Quoted from a crate sold in our shop |
| 48″ | 91–110 lb | Fills the same maker’s series |
Over about 110 lb, stop reading weight charts and measure — giant breeds vary too much for a band to mean anything, and 54 inch crates exist for exactly that reason.
Crate size by breed
Adult weight, taken from our own breed pages. A breed only appears here when we hold a weight for it — the rest need the measurement above rather than a guess.
| Breed | Adult weight, up to | Crate |
|---|---|---|
| Bichon Frise | 18 lb | 24″ |
| Bulldog | 55 lb | 36″ |
| Chow Chow | 71 lb | 42″ |
| French Bulldog | 29 lb | 30″ |
| Pomeranian | 7 lb | 18″ |
| Shih Tzu | 15 lb | 24″ |
Buying for a puppy
Buy the adult size and use the divider that comes with it. A puppy given the run of a full-size crate will often use one end as a toilet, which is the whole reason dividers exist — and buying three crates as a dog grows is the expensive way to learn that.
A crate is a bed and a safe place to be shut in briefly, not somewhere a dog should spend the working day. How long is a welfare question, and it depends on the dog, their age and their toilet training. Ask your vet or a qualified behaviourist rather than a size chart.