The notebook
Crate school
Short notes on the questions that arrive before a crate does. How to measure a dog, when two dogs share, when steel makes more sense than wood, and what the pieces ask for once they live in the house.
We write these down because the mailroom gets the same questions in the same order, and most of them are settled with a tape measure before any catalog page opens.
Measure the dog, not the doorwayThe tape goes on the dog before any catalog page opens. Two numbers, where the slack goes, and what the width in a crate name describes.One roof, two roomsWhat the divider wall changes, when two dogs do better on one open floor, and why the doors are worth counting.When wood is the wrong answerThe honest reasons to move from a furniture crate to a steel kennel, and what to read on a heavy kennel listing before the width.The printer measures firstFootprint with the trays open, the two width families of our stands, and what belongs on the shelf underneath.The same panels, other roomsOver-toilet cabinets, a tree bookshelf, gym racks and a shoe bench, and what to measure before each of them.The tray does most of the housekeepingHow the slide-out tray earns its keep, what wood panels want, and the short list of things a crate never forgives.
Where to start
Start with the tape. Nose to the base of the tail, floor to the top of the head, and a few inches of slack on each. Every other page on this site makes more sense with those two numbers in hand.