The best dog crate cover will give your dog kennel plenty of comfort. When picking the best dog crate cover, you’ll want to consider what your pet will benefit most from a covered crate. A dog owner should always do proper research before getting their pet crate accessories. The research will help a pet owner determine the best choice between the different sizes, colors, and fabric options.
Crate Covers are Essential Products
Once you have a dog, you might want to spend all of your time with them. However, dogs sometimes want space from people, especially if they’re feeling a little anxious or uncomfortable for any reason. Crate covers are excellent ways to help your dog feel more secluded when they’re searching for this alone time.
Many dogs like sleeping under crate coverings since they provide intimacy and they can lower external environmental factors, which makes a dog crate cover a great tool. Dogs are very in tune with their sense of hearing, and crates can help limit any loud noises that might bother them when they’re trying to sleep or relax.
An important part of using a crate cover is that it needs to be safe to use. This means you need to ensure plenty of airflows can travel through your pet’s crate still, and you can’t make it too hot, or else your dog’s only safe space might become an uncomfortable oven to them.
The purpose of a crate should be to help your dog feel safe. These enclosures often act as personal shelters. Since they usually only have one opening, your dog maintains an advantage because they fully view anyone who may enter or exit their serenity. If you get a crate cover, it’s important to leave this open gate visibly and always leave the door open while you’re home with your pet. The most important thing when using a crate cover is to ensure your dog doesn’t get uncomfortable by it as you help them become more adjusted to the calming and relaxing benefits crate covers can offer.
How To Crate Train A Dog
There are many steps when it comes to crate training to ensure you complete this task right. Some owners want to wait to get their dog crate trained before adding on a crate cover, but some owners use crate covers from the beginning when it comes to crate training.
The most important part of crate training is to have patience and understand the goal is to let your dog feel safe inside their crate. In order for them to feel as safe as possible, you can never force them into the crate or punish them by pitting them in the crate. You should always leave the crate door open for your pet while you’re home. Otherwise, they’ll feel trapped and panicked since they have no option of leaving their enclosure.
When preparing your dog for crate training lessons, you’ll want to make sure you get the right crate for your pet and yourself. If you travel often, you might want a crate that is easily collapsible or that fits in your car. You have to make sure you get the right size crate for your pet as well. One that’s too small can make them feel more anxious or injure them accidentally.
Mastering your patience will need to be done to allow your dog to become acquainted with the crate successfully. It often takes six months minimum to get a dog completely comfortable with its crate. Be prepared for it to take longer, especially if you rescued your dog from a place where they spent most of their time in a crate. Remember, these spaces are supposed to help them feel calm, but before your pet can feel calm in these spaces, they need to re-learn that they aren’t going to be trapped in one permanently anymore.
You can begin helping your dog adjust to a crate by talking to them in a very positive voice anytime they’re even close to the crate. Consider giving them treats anytime they investigate the crate or stand next to it. Especially give them treats if they go in the crate.
Use this space as a tool for relaxation, so don’t try to get your dog to hop in their crate and play with you, as they’ll likely leave it since they’re probably more interested in running around. Instead, wait until after you take them for a walk or after playtime is over to try to get them to take a refreshing nap in their crate. Allowing them to be calm in their crate is a great way to get them to begin to associate relaxing feelings with it.
As your pet gets more comfortable with their crate, try feeding them meals inside the space. You could also give them special treats, like a Kong ball filled with peanut butter and frozen for an extra chilling delicious dessert.
Remember that if you choose to let your pet’s crate cover sit on their crate, you should keep it rolled up on the sides so that only the top is covered. It will take time to get them used to a cover before they understand that it’s for their own relaxation and not a danger to them.
Make sure anyone who comes to your house knows not to bother your dog when they’re in their crate. If people do this, your dog might not think they can go to their crate when they want alone time, when in reality, this is one of the biggest benefits of using a crate. Also, using a crate will not fix your dog’s separation anxiety, but while you work on fixing that, a crate might be a good way to prevent your dog from destroying your home in your absences.
Crate Covers Benefit Dogs With Anxiety
If your dog is crate trained, they may already find a lot of comfort retreating to their crate to rest and relax. Adding a crate cover to this safe area is like providing your dog with its own private den. Many dogs will want to retreat from being social from time to time. They might be tired, nervous, or scared, and going to a location that offers an enclosure, but the easy entrance and exit access can be a great option for them.
Den-like spaces can help dogs feel more comfortable from external stimulants. Many dogs are scared of thunderstorms, and having a cover over their crate can help diminish loud noises like thunderstorms. This helps curious dogs rest easier since they won’t be disturbed by minor noises.
Many dog owners already include crates in their pet’s safe space since it can help them calm down so much. Unless there is a thunderstorm during the day, most owners don’t use these covers during daylight. Instead, pet owners will roll up the sides of the covers so their dogs have an open view of their surroundings, which can make them feel more comfortable. But, if your dog is especially anxious or stressed, using a cover can help them feel more hidden while also allowing them to keep a safe eye on their entrance and exit.
Important Information to Pick the Best Crate Cover for Your Dog
When you’re looking for the right cover for your dog’s crate, it’s essential to know their crate’s measurements. You need to choose the right size for their crate because one that is too loose will likely get pulled inside the crate. Dogs can easily tear a cover since they’re supposed to be made of thin and breathable material.
While a DIY dog crate cover seems like a good idea, they often aren’t chew proof and won’t offer all the benefits a manufactured dog kennel cover will. Do not use a blanket as a stand-in crate cover because crate covers need to have breathable materials. Blankets often make it very hot in a crate, making your dog less comfortable and less likely to use their den-like crate to relax.
It’s still important to know what type of material would work best for your dog’s crate cover. If you plan on using your crate outdoors, you’ll want something that offers a little thicker material with a darker shade. Lighter crate cover colors will allow more sunlight to pass through, but outdoor crates should try to limit sunlight a decent bit.
Keep in mind that many crates have their own care requirements. While some are low maintenance and can be machine washed and dried, some are less durable and need hand washing and air drying to stay clean. Decide what is more realistic for you to clean since you’re going to have to clean the cover anytime your pet has an accident or tracks mud or dirt on the crate.
While it’s not necessary to spend tons of money on a cover, it is important to remember you often get what you pay for when it comes to pet supplies. Don’t buy the cheapest cover option you can find. It likely won’t stay in place and will tear very easily. Instead, focus on getting a crate that can be rolled up on the sides, so your dog isn’t always enclosed by these covers. Choose functionality over its appearance, but if you’re stuck between two excellent options, your deciding factor can be whichever cover would look best in your home.
Top Dog Crate Covers for Your Dog:
1. MidWest Homes for Pets Dog Crate Cover
This Midwest Homes dog crate cover has six different size options. You have the options to choose from a 20-inch, 24-inch, 30-inch, 35-inch, 42-inch, and 48-inch cover. Midwest Homes for Pets also offers three different colors when it comes to purchasing this cover, and you can buy a brown, black, or gray cover.
Its polyester and cotton blend is a great material for a dog cover. Not only is this material protective, but it’s also easy to clean because it’s machine washable, and you can use a dryer to dry it. Midwest Homes for Pet brand created their cover with special Teflon protection on their covers, which makes it repel spills and oils. This breathable fabric offers security and privacy thanks to its darker colors.
Some crate covers won’t offer many access points, but this cover offers multiple access points that can be used on their own or simultaneously to match your dog’s comfort levels. This cover fits most 1 & 2-door folding metal dog crates. It doesn’t offer any top access entrance, but it does have 1, 2, and 3 door access zippers. This makes it much easier for your pet to enter its cage from the front, rear, and side.
The five flaps on the front, sides, back, and the top can allow as much light as you’d like, or you can help your dog rest more peacefully at night by lowering these flaps. There are hooks and loop tabs to hold the cover neatly in place, so it doesn’t fall off or inside their cage. This breathable fabric offers plenty of airflow and comforting measures.
by MidWest Homes for Pets
2. Explore Land Dog Crate Cover Durable
Explore Land offers a universal fit dog crate cover with multiple colors and size options to choose from. With six sizes, ranging from 24-inches, 30-inches, 36-inches, 42-inches, 48-inches, or 54-inches, you’ll be sure to find the right size option for your dog’s crate measurements. If you’d like a darker colored-crate that offers more privacy and blocks light, you can choose between the black and gray colors, but the tan color is a great calming alternative if you don’t mind some light passing through your dog’s cover.
With a polyester oxford material that has a windproof coating, the Explore Land brand cover is stain resistant. Its cover can be cleaned with lukewarm water and a soft brush, and it has to be air-dried, preferably by hanging it on a line.
This cover is easy to install since it has a top zipper and no bottom, so it can slide onto your pet’s cage. You can secure it in a case with the five toggles it has at the bottom of the cage. These plastic toggle locks keep your dog’s crate in place, and they’re so sturdy that the top of the cover has a handle underneath the zipper, so you can move the crate and cover together if you ever need to move it around your home.
There are two entrance doors, and they can be used together or separately. The mesh window flap can adjust visibility and ventilation for your dog. But the strong mesh window with flap offers plenty of airflow, while the fabric will be able to block most direct sunlight.
by Explore Land
3. HiCaptain Double Door Dog Crate Cover
HiCaptain offers a double-door dog crate cover that has the most color options of any of the covers on this list. Pet owners can find a tan, black, or two-tone pink cover on their site, and they have two other options that come in fun patterns. This cover comes in six size options, 22-inches, 24-inches, 30-inches, 42-inches, and 48-inches, so you know you can find one that will fit your pet’s cage correctly.
Another polyester cover with a water-resistant coating offers plenty of airflow through this protective yet breathable fabric. The HiCaptain brand built two entrance doors into this cover and roller shades that can be adjusted to match the visibility your dog is most comfortable with. There’s a breathable mesh window to ensure extra air circulation, and the easy entrance and exit make this perfect for dogs who like laying in their crate and often move places.
Two toggles at the corners help this cover stay in place. The four elastic ties secure the cover perfectly onto the four corners of any wire crate, as long as dog owners are sure to buy the right size for their crate. The open bottom design also ensures this crate is very easy to install and put away.
by HiCaptain
4. Amazon Basics Dog Metal Crate Cover
The Amazon basics dog cover offers the simple basics crate covers can have. The five size options, 24-inches, 30-inches, 36-inches, 42-inches, and 48-inches, make it easy to choose the right size for your pet’s metal crate.
Although there is only one color option, black, the polyester fabric is breathable and can be cleaned easily with a damp cloth. This crate is only for indoor use, but it can block plenty of sunlight if your dog’s crate is placed next to a sunny window.
by Amazon Basics
How to Pick the Right Crate Cover for Your Dog
When you’re choosing a crate cover for your dog, the best thing to consider is what you want to use the cover for. Many crate covers are made to simply help your dog with their anxiety and allow them to rest in the privacy of a den-like environment. It’s important to make sure you get the right size for your dog’s crate, so you know the cover will fit and look nice. You want to make sure it has the entrance needs and ventilation your pet will feel the most comfortable with.
If you get a cover that doesn’t have as many openings as your pet might be comfortable with, it could deter them from using their crate at all. A wire dog crate cover is an excellent tool. Getting the right fabric for your kennel cover can affect the ventilation, easy access, fit, and other key factors that might get your pet to like their dog cage more. Remember to use patience when introducing your pet to a new crate cover, especially since most covers offer returns within a limited period after purchasing them. You can always send it back if your pet doesn’t like it as much as you were hoping they were.
