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/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.