List Price: $109.00
Sale Price: $68.56
Today's Bonus: 37% Off
First, the good points: the crate Is very lightweight, it (quite literally) zips together in a flash, the 43" crate is probably big enough for a small Dane, and the canvas is sturdy, with a waterproof coating on the inside.
Now, the not-so-good: The photos and description are inaccurate. The product description says there are flaps to cover the mesh on all 4 sides-NOT TRUE. There is no flap cover for the door. This may not be a problem for you, but I specifically wanted flaps over all mesh areas. Also, in the photos the mesh along the sides and back appears to start well above the floor of the crate. (I wanted this to avoid possible tears in the mesh should my dog start digging at it.) In fact, the mesh is only 3 or 4 inches above the floor, so with a bed inside it's pretty much even with the bed. Also the fleece 'mat' is not really all that. One one side it's fleece, on the other side it's a slick nylon type fabric and in between is a sheet of rigid plastic. The plastic sheet, BTW, is what makes the bottom rigid.
Now the bad: if you just need a crate once in a while for a day or two for a well-behaved dog, sturdiness may not be an issue. It was for me, though, since this is where my dog sleeps every night. BE WARNED this crate is held together ONLY by two zippers. THE HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL SUPPORTS, in addition to being extremely flimsy, DO NOT ATTACH TO EACH OTHER ANYWHERE. I suspect this is the case with all the different crates that look like this one, as well as the dome-top GoPetClub crate. The supports that run parallel to the floor at the long sides of the top are about as big around as a couple of pencil leads and VERY, shall we say, flexible. When zipped together for the first time the top was decidedly swaybacked ( the nice rigid, sturdy-looking crate in the photo simply does not exist). The vertical supports are somewhat larger, but equally as bendy. Of course the good news is that they're easy to bend back, but really, if you put anything heavier than a bed pillow on this you're headed for a collapse. To see the zippers, look at the photo and note the thick black bands around the edges of the front and back of the crate. Those are zippers. And they're what holds the crate together. Just two zippers.
And as for customer service: I'm not one of those people who orders things expecting to send them back, so I often don't pay as much attention to return policies as I should. *sigh* let my life be a warning to you. I bought this from Go Pet Club, so when I realized it was not what I wanted, I contacted them for return instructions, which I was given. It cost me $44 to return via UPS. After they received it I got a curt email back saying the item was used, had pet hair on it and therefore no refund. I wrote back saying the item had been unboxed, set up with the dog's bed inside it, moved around the room for a while, brushed off and reboxed. I also noted that I have 4 dogs, 8 cats and a parrot, so it did not surprise me that there might be some hair, but that the crate was in perfect condition when I returned it. They were adamant, so I complained to Amazon. Several days later I got an $81 refund. I am used to dealing with mail order retailers like LL Bean who emphasize customer service to get customer loyalty, so it is always infuriating to me to run into "gotcha" return encounters. As I said, let this be a warning.
Bottom Line: unless you actually WANT a flimsy crate from a surly vendor, you can do much better elsewhere. I got the Remington crate, which is exactly what I wanted. Remington Soft-Sided Collapsible Kennel, Extra Large, 42-Inch L by 28-Inch W by 28-Inch H, Green
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This HUGE soft-sided crate is very reasonably priced for the size.I have 3 Giant Schnauzers that I trial in Agility and I used to have to drag a huge airline carrier into trials so one of my dogs could rest alone before their run.
Heavy!
One of my Giants is 30" tall, another 29" tall, and smallest one is 28" tall.
When I set it up in the living room, they took turns going into it to try it out.
This crate has been Giant-approved! (by my Giants, anyway.)
The additional nice features of this crate are the open-up or drop-down shades or covers (giving the dog privacy when down or being able to get fresh air with the shades up while the screen keeps flies and other bugs off the dog).
(No need for carrying in of blankets to cover the crate.)
Nice carrying straps for the shoulder and crate is lightweight, especially for this size.
But to me the greatest thing about this item is the price.
Most carriers this size run close to and/or over $170.00.
This one was only $62.00 with a used one with a little screen damage that was repairable for only $38.00.
