Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After having this crate for two months I've come to the conclusion that this is AWESOME. I am buying two more... one for each dog. It is easy to store (folds flat), transport (MUCH easier to set up in a SUV or car than one of those metal crates), carry (the handle is nice), and clean (take off the cover; wash, dry, put back on easily and there are no issues with wear and tear from the W/D as of yet). I bought this originally for two puppies that we adopted when they were about 4 months old... A Border Collie Mix and a Flat Coated Retriever - about 15 lbs each. I crated them together in one 36 inch crate for about two months. They're too big to sleep together in the crate at the same time - now 40 and 30 lbs - but individually it fits them perfectly. The 36 inch size may be too small for the retriever when he is full grown. The 70lb limit set by the manufacturer seems accurate. And yes, my dogs do chew, but they haven't taken to chewing this crate, or it is so minimal I haven't even noticed. What we put in the crate for them was a thick dog bed covered with a blanket, a couple of non-squeeky toys so they could chew at night and not wake us up, and one of my night shirts that I didn't mind being chewed on. My husband read something about putting worn shirts into the crate since it has the owner's scent on it, the puppies feel more comfortable. We also have a Keeshond who is almost four and I crate trained him until he was 1 1/2. He will freely walk into this crate and lay down with the door open. He's not as keen on the idea of sleeping in there all night, but that's just because he's used to sleeping on our bed. I was a little weary of getting this crate simply because of the reviews. Two of the "1" star reviews are IDENTICAL posts written by the SAME PERSON. Three of them are over two years old. I am assuming that companies update their product more often than every two years OR the issue of Amazon posting a different picture than what they send is now fixed. The "2" and "3" star reviews are just silly. These people's dogs were not crate trained - see below - and they're blaming the lack of training their dogs had on the "cheapness" of the crate. The dog has to *ACCEPT* the crate; not want to get the heck out of it after two seconds. Some of the other non-five star reviews are along the same lines. Animals getting anxious or bored and pawing or chewing the crate. If dogs chew or paw excessively and you don't have a way of stopping bad behavior with your animal, this crate IS NOT for you... That includes when you put a dog in a metal crate and they paw at the door to try and open it. It may seem cute in a metal crate and you think nothing of it, but that will ruin mesh very easily. This is a sturdy mesh but enough paws at the material with long nails and it's ruined. Definition of "Crate Training" from Wikipedia: Crate training is the process of teaching a pet to accept a crate or cage as a familiar and safe location. Advocates claim that dogs are den-dwelling animals and that a crate can become a den substitute. Update 12/16/12: We still have the same three crates that we originally purchased. At first I thought that the 36" crate would be too small for our retriever, but he fits inside it well and loves it! We keep the crates against a wall in our living room and I will often walk by them and see each of our dogs inside their individual crates just napping, without us asking them to "go to bed". The crate covers have been through multiple washes, and while they do skink if you dry them, they still fit over the frame. We still have our metal crates but I'm honestly not sure why as I cannot think of a situation where we would use those over these soft-sided crates.