There are two schools of thought concerning the material used for the crate and crate training. While either material is satisfactory, the larger question should ultimately be how do you want your dog to behave?

The reason this question needs to be asked is that the actual design of the puppy crate is more important than a type of material it's made from. I raised and trained a Rottweiler puppy using nothing more than four pieces of plywood nailed together at the corners. No bottom, but more importantly no top.

This was important because I wanted to be able to quickly and easily remove Willy to allow him access to the rest of the house while under supervision. As he got older, I was able to say, "Willy, go to your box" and he would get into his box without help. Understand, our wood walled crate was only 15 inches high but he stayed in his box until I called for him. So my preference for puppy crate training would naturally be a crate that doesn't have a top.

I also prefer one with no bottom. The reason for this is that it's simply more comfortable to stand and sit on the then a metal mesh bottom. It also allows for the human scent from a house in flooring to offer a sense of belonging and comfort to the new puppy.

<-----(Willy in His Box)

If you want to see more of Willy, I've used his pictures around the site. As you can tell, he was a pretty special dog.

So the question of metal versus plastic as far as a puppy crate is concerned, is more dependent on your needs and desires.

Consider these facts:

A METAL Puppy Crate is:

POSITIVES:

1. More durable. There's less chance of damage
2. Sturdier. It will hold up to abuse, especially if you're trying to start from scratch crate training a dog that has never been socialized. It's important to understand the difference between starting fresh with a socialized animal and beginning puppy crate training and one that simply is not comfortable around people, etc.

NEGATIVES:

1. More expensive
2. Harder to store and move
3. Is usually kept in 1 location

A Puppy Create constructed of PLASTIC is:

POSITIVES:

1. Less Expensive
2. Can be easily move throughout your home
3. Can be taken to visit others

NEGATIVES:

1. Is less Sturdy and not appropriate for large UNTRAINED dogs.
2. Is subject to chewing damage if puppy isn't given toys and other items to keep them occupied.

One of the biggest benefits to plastic is its ease of movement. One important factor to successfully crate training your puppy is to have them under control at all times when in your home. It's much more difficult to move a metal training crate from the living room to your bedroom at night.

Puppy crate training isn't based on the type of crate you decide to select. The whole idea of crate training is to limit your pets access to other parts of the house until they're reliably house trained.

If your interest is in having a puppy that's part of the family, you will probably want to take them to visit friends and relatives. The first order of being a good visitor is not to pee on the carpet! By taking along a light weight training crate, it's possible to bring your pup along while still maintaining control of them in new surroundings. The result is that you end up more at ease not having to worry about your dog becoming an unruly guest.

While the decision of metal versus plastic as far as puppy crates is concerned, is one of preference. With few exceptions, a puppy crate manufactured from either type of material can make a very satisfactory crate training tool