# Escaping Crate



## Charlie06 (Feb 10, 2007)

WOW, you either have a really smart dog or a ghost....

Sorry, can't help you out. Charlie can't open it from the inside of the crate but he has broken out the other dogs when they were crated.


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

He might use his nose or his paws to push the latches open or I've heard dogs going through the bottom.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

There's no possible way for Tucker to get out of his. Maybe he's pushing the latches somehow...


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## ID_Hannah (Jun 8, 2006)

*Escape Artists*

Hmm... I'm not sure how Brady could be escaping his crate. Hopefully you'll catch him in the act so you can figure out his methods!  

They can be pretty ingenious though. I once fostered a Heeler cross (probably crossed with hellion). And he was constantly escaping from his hard plastic crate. He was a wildman. Luckily all the damage I would come home to was the toilet paper from both bathrooms strewn throughout the house and a very pleased dog. We video taped him eventually because we knew he was popping the door out on his crate, but we weren't sure how. Well, he'd push his back against one side of the crate and push with his legs (and all his might) against the other side until the crate was bent just enough for him to pop the metal door out with his nose. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself on the tape. :doh: 

After his escape he went up and licked the lens of the camera, slobbering the view... I'm sure it was to avoid us seeing the rest of his antics for the afternoon.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

A trainer friend of mine worked with a dog who used to escape from the plastic crate. He worked out that if he sat up really tall and pushed, he could bow out the crate just enough to get the wire door to pop open!

As for escaping a wire crate, I'd get a couple bolt snaps or caribeaners and clip them from the latch itself to the side of the crate. Some people use bungee cords, but you have to really bungee them tight. I'd hate to think the dog would push a paw through enough to stretch the bungee and then snap! it comes back at them and traps their paw in the door.

-S


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## Jazz's Mom (Feb 26, 2007)

My first GR learned how to escape from his wire crate. I remember the first time it happened. I came home for lunch and he greeted me at the door. I figured I hadn't latched it completely that morning. But when I returned home a few hours later there he was at the door again. He would constantly bang on the door until the latch moved over. (many dogs used this crate, both before and after he did, and no others have escaped from it.)

We ended up using a "c clamp" to hold the door closed.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

ID_Hannah said:


> I once fostered a Heeler cross (probably crossed with hellion). And he was constantly escaping from his hard plastic crate. He was a wildman. Luckily all the damage I would come home to was the toilet paper from both bathrooms strewn throughout the house and a very pleased dog. We video taped him eventually because we knew he was popping the door out on his crate, but we weren't sure how. Well, he'd push his back against one side of the crate and push with his legs (and all his might) against the other side until the crate was bent just enough for him to pop the metal door out with his nose. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself on the tape. :doh:


That is why I don't use plastic crates anymore. I had a German Shepherd who would pop the door off. Twice she even managed to squeeze between the top and bottom halves, loosening the screws.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I guess I'll have to visit Home Depot and see what type of clamps I can find.


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## GoldenShamus (Feb 26, 2007)

Do you have a videocamera or a way to watch him without him knowing it? 

Sounds like a smart dog AND a regular Houdini!!


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## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

...you could always just zip-tie the latches.... Although Steph's caribiner idea sounds the most practical to me.


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## gold'nchocolate (May 31, 2005)

That is actually scary. I remember reading on CG's last year about a pup that was escaping it's crate and got stuck half way out and the owner came home to a dead puppy. I think Kimm is the one who posted about it on CG. I do remember it was a little yellow lab pup and the crate was a wire crate bought at Walmart.


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## marshab1 (Aug 28, 2006)

I was dog sittign for my daughter's dog from her dad's house a couple of months ago. He has to be crated when no one is home or he eats anything he can get his mouth on.

So we crated him in Tinkerbell's old crate. Came home on the last day we had him and he was out of the crate. The crate is a large wire life stages crate. It has 2 doors each with 2 latches. Both doors were closed and 3 of the latches were hooked. the one that was not hooked was the top one on the end door. Now this dog is about 50 pounds he's a lab/german shepard/rott mix. But apparently he got that top latch undone and then wiggled his body up and out of the crate like a mouse.


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