Crate sizing
Dog Crate Size Guide
The weight range on a crate box describes an average dog. Yours isn't average. Here is how to size a crate from the dog in front of you.
By Joel Wood. Picks and specs last checked .
The complaint
“The box said 40 to 70 pounds. He’s 60. He can’t stand up in it and he cries.”
The weight range is the manufacturer’s guess at an average dog of that weight. It ignores build, and build is what a crate has to fit. A 60-pound Greyhound is a long, tall dog. A 60-pound Bulldog is neither. Same box, different animals, and one of them doesn’t fit.
Why it fails
- The size in the name is the outside. A “36-inch crate” is 36 inches long over the frame. Inside, after the door and the bars, it’s usually 33 or 34. Every retailer rounds up.
- Height gets ignored. Length is on the box in big type. Inside height, the number that decides whether the dog stands up straight, is in the small print or missing.
- Weight ranges overlap. The same 50-pound dog appears in the range for the 30-inch and the 36-inch crate on the same page. The range was never meant to be a fit guide.
- Puppies get sized for today. A crate bought for a 12-week-old puppy is outgrown by six months, and the second crate is the expensive one.
Starting points by breed
These are typical adult measurements and the standard wire-crate length they usually land on. They are starting points, not answers. Two dogs of the same breed can differ by 4 inches in length, which is the difference between crate sizes. Measure yours.
| Breed | Typical nose to base of tail | Usual crate |
|---|---|---|
| Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier | 12–16 in | 24 in |
| French Bulldog, Pug, Boston Terrier | 18–22 in | 30 in |
| Beagle, Cocker Spaniel, Corgi | 20–26 in | 30 in |
| Border Collie, Australian Shepherd | 26–32 in | 36 in |
| Labrador, Golden Retriever, Boxer | 32–36 in | 42 in |
| German Shepherd, Husky, Doberman | 34–40 in | 42–48 in |
| Rottweiler, Bernese Mountain Dog | 36–42 in | 48 in |
| Great Dane, Mastiff, Newfoundland | 42–50 in | 54 in |
Height isn’t in the table because it has to be measured sitting, and sitting heights vary too much within a breed to tabulate. Measure, add 4 inches, and check the inside height column below.
What the standard sizes give you inside
Wire crates come in six lengths. The inside height is the number most people never check.
| Crate | Typical inside length | Typical inside height |
|---|---|---|
| 24 in | 21–22 in | 19 in |
| 30 in | 27–28 in | 21 in |
| 36 in | 33–34 in | 25 in |
| 42 in | 40–41 in | 30 in |
| 48 in | 45–46 in | 33 in |
| 54 in | 51–52 in | 37 in |
Furniture-style crates don’t follow this scale. Their inside measurements are usually smaller than a wire crate of the same name, and some brands don’t publish them at all. Ask.
What to look for
Check every one before you buy. This is the part the pin couldn't fit.
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Inside length at least nose to base of tail plus 4 inches
With the dog standing, measure from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, where the tail joins the body, not the tip. Then add 4 inches. Including the full tail gives you a crate that's too big, which is its own problem in crate training. Use the inside measurement on the listing, which is usually 2 to 3 inches less than the size in the product name.
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Inside height at least sitting head height plus 4 inches
Measure from the floor to the top of the head with the dog sitting, then add 4 inches. Measure to the top of the skull, not the tips of the ears. Sitting is the tall position for most dogs, so a crate sized from a standing measurement is one the dog can't sit up in. That's the whole failure this guide exists to prevent.
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Sized for the adult dog, with a divider for a puppy
A crate a puppy can grow into is the one crate you'll buy. A divider keeps the space small enough for house training, then moves back as the dog grows. Most wire crates include one; furniture crates rarely do.
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Not so big the dog can pee in one end and sleep in the other
The point of a crate is that dogs don't soil where they sleep. Give a house-training puppy a whole 48-inch crate and it will use the far end as a bathroom. Right-sized means room to stand, turn and lie down, and not much more.
What size dog crate for a Labrador or a Golden Retriever?
Usually a 42-inch crate. A typical adult Lab or Golden measures 32 to 36 inches nose to base of tail, which puts the inside length at 36 to 40 inches, and a 36-inch crate is usually too low for one to sit up in. Measure yours, sitting, before you trust the breed.
What size dog crate for a German Shepherd?
A 42-inch crate for a smaller female, a 48-inch for most males. Shepherds run long in the back, often 36 to 40 inches nose to base of tail, so the length rule pushes many of them past 42. Check the inside height too: measure a large male sitting and add 4 inches, and the 42's 30-inch inside height starts to look tight.
What size dog crate for a French Bulldog?
A 30-inch crate for most, a 24-inch for a small one. A Frenchie is short and wide, so the inside width matters more than for a lean breed. Check that the crate is at least 19 inches wide inside, and skip anything with a low door, since a broad chest catches on the frame.
What size dog crate for a 50-pound dog?
Weight can't answer that, which is the whole point of this page. A 50-pound Border Collie and a 50-pound Bulldog need different crates, one long and one wide. Measure nose to base of tail standing and floor to skull sitting, add 4 inches to each, and shop for the inside measurements. For most 50-pound dogs that lands on a 36-inch crate.
Is a 42-inch crate big enough for a 70-pound dog?
For most 70-pound dogs, yes. A 42-inch wire crate is usually 40 to 41 inches long inside and about 30 high, which fits a dog up to about 36 inches nose to base of tail and 26 inches to the top of the skull, sitting. A long-backed or tall 70-pound dog, such as a Shepherd or a Weimaraner, may need the 48.
The fixes
Products that pass, and where each one falls short
Every card below lists the product's known flaw. If we can't name one, we don't list it.
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The crates that pass, and where each one falls short, are on the dog crates guide.Go to the guide.
Get the crate sizing card
The two measurements, the plus-4 rule for both, and the standard crate sizes with their real inside heights, on one page for the store. We'll also email you when something in this category actually passes, which isn't often.