A completed wire dog crate consists of a basic metal frame plus add-ons. The basic frame consists of a wireframe, bottom tray, door, and latch. Add-ons include carrying handles, vertical divider, footrest panel, bottom rollers, pet pad, pet crate cover and serving bowl, and so on.
Basic metal frame – Wireframe
As shown in the figure, the wireframe consists of six sides of FUBDLR, each of which is composed of interlocking wires, and the wires are perpendicular to each other, and generally, there is no oblique wire. The four sides FUBD are connected to each other by buckle snap clips, and the reason for using these slips is to make the two adjacent sides have the function of flipping. One sideline of the LR is connected to the D side through the bent wire, and although it is not through the clips, it also has a flipping function. When the FU corner is at right angles, the corresponding side of LR is fixed to the U side by hooks so that the whole wireframe is stable and immobile.
Basic metal frame – Bottom Tray
As shown, the tray will be placed on the D side. When the pet is in the cage, the limbs are placed directly on the tray. Common types of trays are plastic and iron. There is a snap between the tray and the D side, which is to prevent the tray from slipping out of the cage under non-human circumstances, therefore, the tray can be pulled out for cleaning.
Basic metal frame – Door and latch
Wire dog crates are generally set up with one to three doors, the most common being is a double-door, one on the side (LR) and one on the front (FB). Next, is the single-door, located on the side (LR), usually used for cages of small size. Finally, three-door, based on the double-door, another one on the U side, typically used for cages of large size. The door of the small cage, like an 18”, 24”, 30”, 36” dog cage, normally has one latch, larger cages might have two latches for a door. The “1” and “7” type latches are the most common, the “7” type latches will be more solid, the pet is not easy to run out by itself.
Add-ons – Carrying Handle
Generally, wire dog cages out of the factory are equipped with a handle, but there are cases when the factory doesn’t send any. Handle material is mostly plastic, small cages with one, neutral and large cages with two. When the pet cage is fully expanded or folded up, you are lifting it through the carrying handle.
Add-ons – Vertical Divider
Larger size cages will be equipped with vertical dividers. There are hooks on both sides of the divider, which can be generally hung on the front and back (FB) sides, the cage would be divided into two separate spaces, then you will have a house with two smaller rooms now. Dividers usually are set in the middle of the F side or 1/3 place of the F.
Add-ons – Footrest Panel
After installing the footrest, the pet is standing directly on it, so the wire arrangement of the footrest is very dense to prevent the pet from getting stuck, and the wire diameter used is also thick, because it has to carry the weight of the entire pet. There are also hooks on both sides of the footrest, which makes the whole cage more stable. And it can keep the pet clean to a certain extent since the pet will not directly touch their excrement.
Add-ons – Bottom Rollers
Rollers are a new add-on that came out in the last two years, it is a hollow plastic cylinder with an opening on the side, through which the wire can be installed on the crate. The number of Rollers is 8, evenly distributed on the D side, can act as the “wheels” of the crate. When you push the dog crate, it will easily roll on the ground, not only helping to facilitate the movement, but also protecting the floor inside the home.
Add-ons – Pet Pad
There are quite a few kinds of pet pads, and the factory usually does not put them inside the same cardboard box with the wire dog crate. Of course, if it is the kind of thin pet mat, it is okay to put it inside the same box. In short, there is a wide variety of pet mats, you can wait for the cage to arrive at home and then optional. Its size is slightly smaller than the size of the tray.
Add-ons – Pet Crate Cover
The “clothes” of the dog crate, foldable, are tailored to the size of the crate. There are five sides FBLRU. One sideline of the FBLR will be sewn together with U, and then four of them are then linked two by two through the zipper. You will install the cover from the top of the crate, then you can pull up the zipper and fix it with Velcro to make the crate transparent on all sides. Dog crate cover mainly plays a role in insulation, depending on the factory design, it will also set one to four “windows”.
Add-ons – Serving Bowl
This add-on is not very common, because the utility is not very high. If installed inside the dog crate, it occupies the space for the pet to move around. If installed outside, the pet still needs to come out from inside in order to eat the food inside the bowl. It is connected to the dog crate through a bowl holder.
