Hello :)
we are hopefully getting a dogue de bordeaux puppy in october, and are planning to use a crate
overnight and when left.
we have been looking at a 54 inch crate but don't know if it will be too big ( we are planning to use a divider at the start) for him when fully grown.
we are also looking into a 48/49 inch crate but don't know if it will be too small?
we would still hopefully like him to use the crate when fully grown for sleeping but without the door locked.
thanks

Hi
I would say the bigger the better , not much point in getting a smaller one then having to buy another , make sure when he is fully grown he will be able to stand up , lie flat and stretch out  dont know what size DDB get to when adult but i have newfies and have a 60 x 48 x 30 and some of my boys are still to tall for them

I appreciate your dilemma.  Whilst I was waiting for my boy to be born (different breed), I got so confused about actual sizes that I 'borrowed' an adult dog to see if he'd fit in all the places I'd planned.  When he was finally born I worried all over again as it's hard to imagine that tiny scrap that fitted under his mothers chin was ever going to be big enough to fill his crate!!

Some of the websites selling crates are pretty good about sizes - if you have a look at a few you'll get a fairly accurate idea.  Your breeder ought to be able to help too.

In fact you don't have to have the finished size right away.  I actually bought a much smaller one that I used for the puppy stage in the car and we could easily have made do with this one for a while.  The small size is very handy for use upstairs whilst your puppy adjusts to being home with you (if you get one with a top opening you can drop a hand in for comfort), it's much easier to clean in case of accidents (moving large crates in and out of position for wiping is a pain), and a small crate in the car is brilliant at reducing car sickness.

I would never go straight to the big size again - you have months to see what you need, where you want to put it, and see how he likes it.  Try Freecycle for hand me downs, see if you can borrow from a friend, or look on eBay for cheaper prices.  Just watch door sizes - the doors can be quite small on the cheaper ones and the lip (over which they step in) can be high and catch unwary toes.

How exciting - a new puppy!!  Lucky you xx

I've got a number of sizes and have a large breed dog - BMD'S. I would use the smallest for when they are tiny puppies and toilet training, another for the car so he could go in that and my adult was alongside him until I felt he wouldn't jump about in the back.
I also have a couple of large ones, prob need an even larger one now he's probably outgrown what I do have should he ever need to go into a crate
i've always picked mine up from FridayAd very cheaply or picked a nice new one up from a dog food company at cost price.

ebay is good too I got a 54" for  a fiver and 24" form 99P it was about a mile a way so no post either. Also bout 2 others different sizes to fiit gsd from puppy to about  a year old. Sisiter still has 54" fr her gsd who is now 3 and still prefers to sleep in it.

thanks everyone :)
yeah thinking about it now getting a smaller sized one then a bigger one makes more
sense.
had a look on ebay, and we are watching a few
thanks dog a babe i know we feel lucky too, can't wait now only a few months now :)
thanks everyone again

>only a few months now

Oh I've just twigged - you found a breeder then?  Well done kirstz10   ...from some of the replies you received it didn't sound as though it was going to be that easy ! :)

I also have lots of varying sizes ranging from tiny up to HUGE!! Right now to this day if the oldest mastiff boy spots a crate open he dives in!! He absolutely loves having a bit of him space even though he doesn't actually need a crate any more and never gets actually put in one!

48" will be plenty big enough, but I would get a much smaller one for the first couple of months. Trouble with a divider is that they can get up on their back legs and then get caught on the wire by their teeth because it is so high. That's only happened once to me but that is enough. I use a 42" crate at shows.

Yes Dogs a babe, we finally found what we think is a great breeder,
thanks everyone for your comments,
we was looking at getting a 54", but after seeing a 48" we were unsure.
we have decided to get a 36" then as our pup grows we will upgrade to a bigger size :)

I've sent you a pm