Why a Dog Crate?

What’s all the rage with crate training your dog? Does your dog really need her own space to hang out?

Dogs need their own den space.

Dogs originally come from wolves. It’s a well established fact that wolves are den animals. For a dog, his crate is his “den.” Wolf dens include a birthing chamber. Once a mamma wolf has a litter of pups, she will work hard to keep the den clean (even eating her pups’ fecal matter). Mother dogs display identical behavior.

Wolfs and coyotes find their dens in the wild. Wolves take what they can find. It’s not uncommon for a wolf to choose an empty beaver dam or abandoned bear den. Otherwise, wolves will look for a protected area.

Because they’re pack animals, dogs are very social. Dogs love being with their people (“their pack”). However, it is also nice for your dog to have a place of her own, where she can retreat when she needs a little alone time. A dog crate is especially helpful when guests are visiting the house, and a dog/puppy may feel sensory overload.

Dog crates help with puppy house training.

Crate training a puppy is the single best method to use for helping a dog learn to control its elimination behavior. Because dogs like to keep their den area clean, they don’t like to poop or pee in their crate. In this way crate training is a huge help in teaching a dog to always potty outside. For more specifics about crate training, please read this helpful article. Here’s a helpful article on the full house training process.

Dog crates offer convenience and safety.

At times, you will want your dog in a separate space. Maybe you’re putting together a piece of furniture from IKEA and you don’t want your fur baby to swallow a screw or a small piece of the hardware. Maybe the new neighbor is deathly afraid of any canine. There are often times when it is best for a dog, if he can be in his own den, and not partaking in the craziness that sometimes happens in human households. Some families use their dog crate when they’re away from the house for a short time. It can provide great peace of mind to know that your dog is not potentially harming herself while you are away.

Dog crates establish pack order.

Sara Wilson writes, “Just like humans need rules to help us understand our place and our boundaries, so do dogs. Crate training is an excellent way to establish a hierarchy in your home while your pup is still learning what he can and cannot do. By placing your pup in a crate while you’re away, or when you’re at home and can’t be as attentive as you might need to be, you limit their access to your home and circumvent opportunities for your dog to chew your furniture or have an accident on your living room rug. Therefore, when you actually let your pup have free run of your home, it will be at a time when you’re able to reprimand them appropriately for any bad behavior that occurs, and he’ll quickly learn not only that their crate is their very own space, but that the rest of the house is their Alpha’s space.”

Why a Furniture Dog Crate?

Why not get a metal dog cage? A furniture dog crate is definitely more expensive than a wire mesh cage/crate that you can pick up for a hundred bucks at your local pet store. What’s the advantage of having a luxurious furniture dog crate?

Furniture dog crates are safer.

Many strong (or creative) dogs can get out of wire mesh dog crates. Some of them can push their muzzle through the wires in such a way that they catch their head and neck in the wires, and it can be dangerous. Tragically some dogs have been strangled by their collar being caught in a wire mesh dog crate. Others have sustained serious neck injuries. Another danger is broken wires. Metal dog crates often have wires break. When a wire breaks, it can be a hazard for a dog, particularly if it pokes the dog’s eye. Other dogs have had broken bones because of their paws getting stuck between the wires. If a furniture dog crate is not well-made, it may pose some of these same dangers, but typically the top quality furniture dog crates will be considerably safer than a wire mesh alternative.

Furniture dog crates are visually appealing.

Most of us want our homes to look nice. We want them to be inviting for us and for our friends. There are numerous instances where something may be perfectly functional but hideously ugly. For those who have any sense of aesthetic appeal, a furniture dog crate is a HUGE improvement over a wire mesh crate.

Furniture dog crates let your four-legged family member stay with the family.

Because wire mesh dog crates are unattractive, many families put them away in a very unnoticable place. So Fido, the family dog, ends up spending a lot of time in the garage, laundry room, or basement, because his “den” is unattractive. A beautiful furniture crate allows your dog’s den area to be in a main room of the house (your living room, den, or kitchen), because it’s attractive enough to blend in with the other high quality furniture.

Furniture dog crates are more durable.

Dog owners who have used a wire mesh crate, know that they don’t last long. Due to rusty parts, cheap construction, broken wires, or bent sections, the cheaper wire mesh dog crates, seem to need constant replacing. A well-made furniture dog crate is an investment for the future.

Furniture dog crates are customizable.

Because the best furniture dog crates are built by hand, they are more customizable with special features than a metal dog crate.

Furniture dog crates demonstrate particular love and care.

Families who take the time to buy a special crate for their furry family member are visibly saying that their dog is special to them. Their attitude is not, “It’s just a dog, let’s put him in the cheapest thing possible.” Most of us don’t have our children sleep on cement floors, we get them nice beds. Many families want to show extra TLC for their canine companion by giving him/her a furniture dog crate.

Why Castle Crates?

What sets Castle Crates apart from our competition? Even if you’ve decided you need a crate for your dog (good choice), and you want something that looks like nice furniture (now you’re talking), why would you choose us?

We hope that Castle Crates becomes an obvious choice for your fine quality furniture dog crate because of our:

Unsurpassed Quality

At Castle Crates, we have a commitment to excellence. Our crates/kennels are built of solid wood and are better constructed than our competition. For example, nearly all of our competitors spray paint rebar instead of using actual powder coated aluminum balusters. Rebar should be used to reinforce concrete, not to build fine furniture. Most of our competitors build their wooden crates the same way you would build a deck (pine, rebar, pocket screws), and then call them “furniture.” Castle Crates are at an entirely different level in terms of quality.

We value quality over quantity, and it shows in the way we hand craft our crates, the high quality materials that we use, and the way that we treat the craftsmen on our team. Quality is part of what drives our culture at Castle Crates. Read all of our goals here.

We want our best crates to last for a lifetime. Dogs are den animals because they come from wolves. Researchers have discovered that wolf dens are frequently reused by several generations of wolves over decades and wolf lifetimes. We think it’s appropriate that a high quality dog crate should be built to last.

Surprising Value

Many people who read about our quality and see our crate pictures on this website, think that our crates will cost several thousand dollars. A couple of our competitors have crates (and dog houses) that cost several thousand dollars. We realize that you often get what you pay for. The craftsmen on our team are top shelf. While we do seek to make some money from the crates that we sell (10% of which we give to charity), we also want to be fair in our pricing. Our competitor price match guarantee is just one of the ways that we add value to our business.

Significant Customization

At Castle Crates we offer multiple sizing options, several varieties of wood species, and multiple stain/paint options for your kennel/crate.

Hand Built in the United States

Unlike much of the competition that is factory made overseas and lacks quality and customer support, Castle Crates are hand crafted right here in the United States by a group of legacy Amish furniture makers in central Ohio.

Commitment to Customer Service

Customer service is one area that nearly every company needs to improve. We work hard to be responsive to your needs and to answer your questions. Because Castle Crates works with a few builders, we normally have less build time than our competitors and can typically get you your crate faster than our competitors would (this doesn’t necessarily apply to unusual custom designs).

Competitor Price Match

If you can find an identical quality crate from one of our competitors for a better price, then we will match their price. We try to be thorough in keeping up with market trends to be sure that our crates are priced slightly lower than our competition. It would need to be an apples to apples comparison. For instance, looking at materials used, construction technique, and quality our competitors are almost always below the build quality of our custom crates (aka kennels). Additionally, many of our competitors have very high shipping rates or significant upcharges for stylistic changes (one charges $800 extra to use the sliding barn door style) or any form of customization.

Money Back Guarantee

If you are not entirely happy with your Castle Crate when you receive it, you have the option to return your crate for a full money back refund (minus shipping costs). To our knowledge, none of our competitors offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee. At Castle Crates, we’re confident in the craftsmanship and quality of our crates and believe strongly that you will like these luxury furniture dog crates as much as we do.

Giving Back

We pledge at least 10% of our yearly profits to go to 501c(3) charitable foundations and non-profits. Our goal is to do more than 10%, but we set 10% as a minimum.