An End to Ugly Dog Crates

Dog crates are a great way to train your pups, but most crates are a tad... ugly. When you visit the pet store, your choices seem to be metal or plastic. Neither are exactly sexy materials! And even colored plastic is still... plastic.

If your dogs are crated in the garage, or you only use crates for traveling, then it probably doesn't matter, but if your pups enjoy being in the middle of things and have their crates in the living areas of the house, you may not appreciate those eye sores resting against the wall.

Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives out there today, and these dog training aids need no longer be ugly. You can browse the web for all sorts of dog crate ideas, but we'll talk about some of the more common ones here.

Some of your options are to get covers specifically designed for crates or to buy an all new crate that is made from more attractive materials. You can even get crates that are designed to look like pieces of furniture.

Dog Crate Covers

These are exactly what they sound like. You can get fabric covers in all sorts of colors and patterns, and they are made to fit snugly over the crate (you need to know what size crate you have so you can order a cover that fits correctly).

Covers can be a good option for hiding the crate (or at least making it a little more attractive) when you don't want to actually purchase a new crate. Also, your dog will feel at home, since covers make the interior a little darker and cozier. Dogs are often more comfortable with this den-like atmosphere than with the openness of metal crates.

You can pick up covers for as little as $20 or $30.

Dog Crates Made from Different Materials

While metal and plastic are easy to clean and very popular for crates, they're not all that attractive. Another popular material you may consider is wicker. Though wicker is fairly easy to keep clean, you'll probably want to wait until your dogs are potty trained to make this switch.

You can also find crates made from wood and various reclaimed or recycled materials (yes, even dog crates can be eco-friendly!).

These crates can cost anything to $50 to $200 and up.

Furniture-style Dog Crates

Perhaps the best way to "hide" the dog crate is to make it look like something else--a side table for example.

Several designers are making crates that double as functional pieces of furniture. The crate part is hidden beneath a table top, and in many cases, it's hard to tell there's a dog home there at all.

Of course, this is another case where you'll want your pup to be potty trained first. These classy crates cost several hundred dollars and tend to be made out of furniture-quality wood.

So, there you have it: three options that will improve the looks of your current dog crate. It just depends on how much you want to spend and how stylish of a crate you need!