The only thing that would make this product go from a 99.9% to a 100+% would be if there were some sort of ties or way to secure it to the crate, at minimum on two sides, preferably three, and a way to tie back the flap on the door side(s).
We only use one of the doors on our 2 door 54” crate, and even though the fit is perfect, my dog has major separation anxiety from 3 years of being in and out of foster homes and shelters, and even though he has been with us for almost two years now, and we have done everything the trainers, and vet behaviorists, have told us to do, he still can’t handle being alone. And yes, we have even tried medicating him… He is a 100+lb Foxy Dane (½ Foxhound ½ Great Dane,) and his metabolism just burns through every medication we’ve tried… and seriously, we’ve tried everything, and every combination of meds, he might respond at first, but within an hour or two at most it’s worn off, and he is even more distressed, so we don’t medicate anymore.
ANYWAYS! Back to the review!!! We needed the 54” X-LARGE crate, our dude is BIG even if he THINKS he’s the same size as a chihuahua! This cover is really the only one on the market that fits the crate, and is made with any quality.
I absolutely love that the fabric is lightweight, but isn’t flimsy. The fit is perfect for the crate, the Velcro closures at every corner makes putting on, and using the cover extremely easy and fool proof! (Even my husband is able to put on and take off this cover without any confusion!!!)
The ONLY… ONLY… ONLY thing that would push this cover absolutely ridiculously over the top is if there was the addition of ties to secure the cover to the crate, and having a tie back available for the door flaps to help keep them up and out of the way when the door is open.
The reason I say this brings into my dogs separation anxiety that I described above. Because of his anxiety, he tries to pull whatever cover is on his crate off by pulling it through the bars. He is so goofy, he won’t go into the crate if it isn’t covered, and nice and dark, but once he is in, even if a flap is left up, he still tries to get the whole cover off, then freaks out more because now he isn’t covered…
He wasn’t able to completely remove the crate cover the first few times we tried him with it, but he was able to pull it somewhat off and into his crate. (This does speak extremely well of the fit and quality of this item, because even in his frenzied state, the Velcro side closures held firm, he just found a way to lift the cover up before beginning to pull it down into the crate itself.) So I went to the craft store, bought some heavy duty fabric that I then made my own ties and sewed them onto the cover.
I now have four ties at the bottom of one of the long sides, and three ties each at the bottom of the two short sides. I placed the ties so that there is one for each corner, and the middle is able to tie down as well. I use these to tie the cover securely to the bottom of his crate (below the crate pan and bed so he can’t get to them.) Just adding these ties to the three sides that we don’t use has made the BIGGEST difference! He now knows that he can’t pull the cover off anymore because it’s actually secured, (and yes… he tried HARD to see if he could figure out how to thwart my plan!) And surprisingly he actually calms down quicker now because he isn’t getting himself worked up over the cover anymore.
As for the top flap ties. I added two Velcro straps to the front top seam of the flap where our door is, in order to be able to secure it up and out of the way before I open his door and am hit by a ridiculously happy nuclear war head escaping from his crate to get to me so he can show me just how happy he is that I’ve returned.
The very first time we used the cover, before I made my additions, I didn’t anticipate the fabric panel sliding back towards me and the door, and it almost got caught up in the explosion of dog excitement. Had it actually gotten caught on the door, I can imagine it would have ripped, through no fault in the quality of the fabric, just through sheer force and violence of the door being thrown open from the full weight of my giant lap dog. :D and this was before I even secured the other sides down!!!
But in all seriousness, this is a 99.99999% perfect product! I do love the fabric, the fit, and the quality. He loves his dark “den” when I am home, I just needed the extra little security that tie downs provide us for the times when I do unfortunately have to leave the house and he isn’t allowed to come with me.
Soooooo if in the future these features are ever added to a “new version” of this same size cover, You have a perfect product tester ready and waiting!! ;) *wink, wink*
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