[fostermom]

I end up crating almost ALL of my adult fosters...and I guarantee most of them never saw a crate in their lives before coming to my home. Some dogs do better in wire crates (I guess it seems less confining to them), others DESTROY the wire crates but accept the plastic airliner type crates which tend to be a lot sturdier (mine is an extra large that has the center latch plus a bar that goes through both the top and bottom). I guess I'd try a heavy gauge wire crate first..I made the mistake of getting a less sturdy wire crate initially and although my rotti was quite content inside, my little geriatric lab would literally rip it apart..and make sure you make it a really comfy spot with a dog bed, kong or bone. Since I work, new fosters REALLY need to crate almost immediately... I don't have time to gradually introduce them to a crate and I've only had one foster that I couldn't eventually get to crate calmly. Usually after the first couple of days, they willingly walk into their crates...my current (seven year old) foster practically knocks me down running into the crate cause he knows he'll get a treat once he's in.