Crate danger

[tritonx]

My new pup is now 10 weeks old and chewing everything. I keep him in a puppy pen with his crate inside for him to nap in. This morning I noticed a different sound in his chewing of toys/bully stick and went to check him. He was a chewing on one of the black lugs(?), the little thing that connects the top and bottom parts of the crate.  Just as I got there, he had it off the crate and into his mouth--a perfect size for choking him. I got the lug out of his mouth and removed the crate until I figure out what to do, but thought I'd warn other owners of puppies using crates with the same attachment system. It is a Remington brand. https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/remington-pet-carrier?a=575735 Don't have Photobucket, so attached link to an image. It's the little black plastic things along the middle side of the crate.

[bizzylizzy]

Glad he‘s ok! 

[russ-g]

I hate to be that guy, but that's a pet carrier, not a crate. Pet carriers are not designed for pets to be in long term, just for short journeys. That may be why you've encountered this issue.

A proper crate is made mostly from metal with very little (or nothing) the dog can get a hold of when inside.

[bizzylizzy]

I hate to be that guy, but that's a pet carrier, not a crate. Pet carriers are not designed for pets to be in long term, just for short journeys. That may be why you've encountered this issue.

A proper crate is made mostly from metal with very little (or nothing) the dog can get a hold of when inside.

In principle that’s right, they are primarily intended for transport but  whether a dog is in one on  a flight for 8 hours or whether he sleeps in one for 8 hours in the kitchen is surely rather irrelevant. I used a carrier in lieu of a crate as I knew we‘d get more use out of it and it suited our purpose better, and I think there are quite a few people who do similarly, so its always good to be aware of possible dangers. 

[russ-g]

In principle that’s right, they are primarily intended for transport but  whether a dog is in one on  a flight for 8 hours or whether he sleeps in one for 8 hours in the kitchen is surely rather irrelevant. I used a carrier in lieu of a crate as I knew we‘d get more use out of it and it suited our purpose better, and I think there are quite a few people who do similarly, so its always good to be aware of possible dangers. 

I dont think it is irrelevant, because there's a big difference between one-off uses and prolonged use in the home, as evidenced by the issue in this post. Im not suggesting people can't ever use them for dual purpose, but as you say, there are dangers such as the one in this post which suggest that they're not designed for this kind of use. Dogs love to chew plastic.

[sophie.ivy]

That sounds like a scary experience! These pups can be little rascals with chewing and swallowing. It's a miracle my girl made it out of her puppyhood without an expensive surgery (just one emergency trip to the vets on Christmas day to induce vomiting after she wrapped a rope toy up like a danish and swallowed it whole).

If you're looking at buying a different crate, eBay is great for barely used crates for a bargain price if you don't mind collecting. 

[vixen]

Accidents can still occur even in metal crates.
Maisie has always slept in a crate at night and when she is left home alone.  One day when she was about four months old, I had just put her in prior to leaving when i heard a horrendous scream.  Somehow she had managed to get her teeth and muzzle trapped between the bars of the crate and she couldn’t get them out and was panicking.  It was a scary few minutes whilst she and I were struggling but eventually she was able to free herself. My boy Ned loves jumping on the top of his crate but I have to put a piece of vetbed over the top just to prevent  his legs getting caught between the wires.
As to the travel crate, I personally feel as bizzylizzy does, a dog should not be able to remove a plastic lug regardless of how long it is in there. It simply is not safe and the manufacturers need to be made aware.