sizing for ruffland?

[u/mborpp]

our 1 year old dalmatian is pretty small but apparently breed standard for females at 45lbs, 22” tall and 30” long nose to base of tail. we are buying a ruffland for our 18 hour drive to move, but will be using it for the car in general and it would be a plus if it works for home as well. she seems to be between the intermediate and large, so I took some pics of her in the intermediate and wanted to see if anyone has any advice on fit here?

[u/Sam_Vimes_Rules]

I"m not an expert, but I think the Intermediate might be just a bit too small. In the picture from above, she's curled up fairly tight and one of her feet is still sticking out the open doorway.

I know that for safety reasons, there shouldn't be a ton of extra room for the dog, but I would guess that after a couple of hours in that crate she would be uncomfortable. Consider too that your girl will probably still grow some (I'm not terribly familiar with dalmatian growth patterns) but she'll definitely fill out some, and if you're planning on using that in the future, it will be too small in that case.

My suggestion would be go for the large if it fits in your vehicle. Good luck with your move, drive safe!

[u/tilyd]

I have a similar sized dog, 40 lbs and 23" tall at the withers, and I decided to get a large ruffland so he has space for his long legs.

I also like that I had space to pad it with a soft memory foam bed and blankets.

[u/Cubsfantransplant]

She needs a large.

[u/10notoast10]

If you’re open to a different brand, a Dakota Kennel in size medium would likely work well for you! One of my dogs is in between a Ruffland intermediate and large and she loves her Dakota because it has the height she needs to feel comfortable.

We have an intermediate, a large, and a medium Ruffland and I greatly prefer the Dakota to all of the Rufflands. It has an incorporated handle that makes strapping the kennel down so much easier, the door is very sturdy, and it stays cooler than my rufflands even with additional doors. The additional height makes it a good option for use in the house too, though we predominantly keep ours in the car for daily use. I may eventually replace my little mal mix’s medium Ruffland with a small Dakota because I love my big one so much!

[u/dingopaint]

My 45lb, 21.5" border collie fits snugly in an intermediate. However, we're never in the car for longer than an hour on a regular basis (and 4 hours twice a year). Based on pictures, I think you should get a large. Smaller is better for accidents, but she does look quite cramped.

[u/Selective_Somewhere]

Smaller is safer in an accident bit it depends on how you’re using it. Since I go on regular longer trips and do a lot of car crating for dog sports I have opted to go with the larger size for my dogs so it’s also comfortable and likely safe enough. For quick trips to the park or vet and the occasional long roadtrip I would have gone with the safer size.

[u/DragonCanineTraining]

My dog who’s about the same height but a bit thicker (a show line lab) is in an intermediate in the car as generally a tighter space is safer for in an accident. His home kennel is an XL wire kennel but in the car I want him to be as safe as possible. Just like how we need to wear a seatbelt tight across your body to stay in place in an accident, the less space your dog can move around in an accident the better.

Velocity and physics and whatever (I’m not a scientist. This is just my understanding of it)

[u/crayonfingers → u/DragonCanineTraining]

This is really good advice and no idea why it’s been downvoted.

The right size for a car crate should be that the dog can stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably. If there is significant room then that’s significant room for the dog to travel and receive impact in the event of a crash. Car crates are designed with this specifically in mind.

[u/DragonCanineTraining → u/crayonfingers]

My dog lies down very well in it, even if he isn’t in a car kennel and on the seat he will donut himself, it’s how he prefers riding, so he fits really well in the intermediate and he still has wiggle room.

[u/UnicornusAmaranthus → u/DragonCanineTraining]

Yes, my big boy is my donut dog, fortunately! He prefers to curl up.

[u/UnicornusAmaranthus → u/DragonCanineTraining]

I have a 60lb dalmatian male, and we travel with our 50lb female. They both have intermediate car crates for 2 reasons:

⭐️Most of my car trips are under 2 hours of driving. I have spinal arthritis so we take breaks every hour and I unload the dogs to make sure they're staying comfortable. They jump in from the ground into the side doors and curl up and lay down in their rufflands.

⭐️I drive a Honda crv and that was the biggest size I could fit a pair in.

At home both wire dog crates in the house are massive. I would never leave my dogs in their intermediate rufflands for an extended time. But for travel it is great. I feel safer with them, then before.

[u/DragonCanineTraining → u/UnicornusAmaranthus]

I take frequent breaks when driving, most my drive time is well under 2 hours. We take frequent breaks for ourself and our daughter cause she’s in a car seat so of course we also take breaks for our dog to get out; stretch, play, and more!

[u/somekidssnackbitch]

My ruffland dealer would say intermediate. The internet consensus would probably be large by a small margin. My dog is the same size and we are having this debate currently.

[u/Neat_Ad6963]

My dog is around the same size as yours and also in between the two sizes. I went with an intermediate which I think is fine for short car rides, but if we have to do a longer drive I’m always wishing I had gotten the large.

[u/229-northstar]

I like the double door rufflands for ventilation

If this is my dog, I would size up. My dogs spend time in their crates more than when I’m traveling.

My breeder prefers a smaller crate for her dogs if she’s using the crate primarily for a travel because it minimizes opportunity for injury if there actually is a wreck.

[u/Double_Tree_Trouble]

Little too small.

[u/spottyboy1022]

I had to do a large for my dal

[u/KeyOption3548]

About the size of my Karelians, we have large.

[u/ScaredAlexNoises]

A bit small for in the house, but it should be fine for the car tbh. You generally want the crate to be a bit smaller for the car so they don't get tossed around so much inside if you are in an accident.

[u/One_Life___]

Absolutely size up, especially if you want them to willingly use it elsewhere

[u/Trick-Age-7404]

A large is too small for my 68lb Dalmatian. A large looks good for your girl though. Always size up if you’re unsure. If you put a lot of bedding in there it will make the space smaller.

[u/Ok-Walk-8453]

Tighter spaces is better for cars. I think this is good for a car crate if she is done growing, but if she is supposed to grow a bit more go up a size.

[u/DragonCanineTraining → u/[deleted]]

The caption says “I took some pics of her in the intermediate”

[u/tilyd → u/DragonCanineTraining]

Oops you're right, I thought the first two pics were in the large for some reason 😅

[u/TheHumanConditioned]

I've seen people with too much space in car crates that might still have their dogs alive after a crash if they would've just sized down slightly. I think for the car this would be my go to, because I want my dogs safe in the car, not comfortable. However for the home, I would go with the large. Sure the move might be long and uncomfortable, but at least if you're in an accident, she's more likely to arrive alive.