We have a dog in our program who doesn't like being crated. He's a determined and very strong little guy who learned quickly that he could break out of a wire crate and tear the door off his airline crate by pulling it inward. He was usually not destructive once he got out, but he needed to learn to be in a crate or his adoption options would be a lot more limited. My husband, Joe, and I took a standard Walmart crate and reinforced it to contain him. So far it has held and his attempts to get out are becoming fewer as he learns what he did before doesn't work any more. I think he will become at least tolerant of the crate if not happy about it. In case you ever need to do this the parts list, directions, and pictures are below. All the hardware came from Lowes.
Materials you need: 1) A Walmart Airline dog crate. (An extra-large size is best for any length of time. We use the extra-large for sleeping and the large for no more than 1-2 hour containment for this foster. 2) A drill and 3/8" drill bit. 3) Three threaded rods. (Lowes has them in the area where they sell nuts and bolts.) For the large crate 24" rods are perfect. For the extra-large crate you need 27" rods, so you have to buy 36" rods and cut them shorter. *(Directions for cutting the rods so you don't ruin the threads is at the bottom of this email.) 4’ – 6’ of 3/8” inside diameter poly tubing (depending on the size crate you use). 4) Three 5/16 locking nuts and three washers. 5) Four standard 5/16 nuts.
We drilled holes in the top and bottom lip of the door for two inside rods. These are placed just behind the closed door on either side. You want the rods far enough apart that they don't make the opening too narrow for the dog. The placement of the hinged side rod must be far enough toward the center so the door still opens. We had it set so the door would open just perpendicular to the opening when it hit the rod. Now that the dog has been having his way with the rod, it is curved just enough to let the door swing past it. Perfect! LOL! The rods placed just inside the door are secured permanently with nuts but can be removed if you want to break down the crate altogether. We used 3/8" inside diameter poly tubing as a sleeve for the two inside bars so the dog wouldn't hurt himself pulling on the threaded metal surface. Put a washer on one end and tighten down a locking nut. Thread the rod through top hole and into the poly tubing (cut to the length of the door opening) and down through the bottom hole. The locking nut and washer will hold the bar at the top. The bottom of each bar gets two regular nuts. If you only put on one, it can work loose as the bar is tugged on. The second nut will help keep the first on.
Locking nut and washer at top
Doubled nuts at bottom
The third bar goes outside the door. It is positioned at the center of the opening. The outside bar has a locking nut and washer at the top just like the inside two, but it has no sleeve and no bottom nuts. It just drops through the top and bottom holes when the dog is inside the crate. We added three threaded clasps at the top, center, and bottom of the door to help anchor the door to the outer rod to help hold the door in place from the outside.
Clasping door wire to outer rod
How the crate looks closed. The outer rod is held in place by gravity.
* To cut threaded rods. Put two nuts on your rod above the cut mark. Use a nut at the edge of the cut mark as a guide and cut the rod carefully with a hacksaw. Use a wrench to work the nuts off of the rod. This should straighten the threads at the cut and enable you to put the nuts back on when you need to.