We recently purchased a 5x5 crate for our 65lb dog. It is in our bedroom which has reclaimed wood floors. The crate is bottomless. We put down some cheapish interlocking foam mats and we also got a $20 rug to put on top of the mats as flooring. She was doing fine with it…for about a month. Today, after my husband and I went back to work for the first time after a week break, she got mad and ripped a huge hole in the carpet 
As an aside, she has at least one if not two Nyla bones there with her for chewing purposes. We try to rotate them to keep her interested. My father also takes her out at least twice while we are at work. Regardless, I think she was mad we went back to work and took it out on her rug.
The crate itself was NOT cheap so we tried not to spend a fortune on the flooring. I also know she can be destructive, so I didn’t want to come home to an $80 destroyed rug.
But now she is just going to be on the interlocking mats. They aren’t thick like horse ones. We got them at Lowe’s. I’m worried she will start chewing on those now.
I’m torn now. Do I go get another cheap, $20 rug to put down? Do spend a little more money and get a thicker carpet? Do I try her on just the mats? Do I look into getting thicker mats? I’m trying to avoid putting something with a strong rubber smell in there since it is my bedroom. Any other ideas or options would be appreciated.
I would nix the carpet, and anything else indigestible that she can chew up, because if she swallows any of it you will have one heck of a vet bill. Would the crate fit in one of those plastic baby pools? You could then use hay, cedar chips, pellets etc as bedding. If not use plywood and 2x6 lumber to make an appropriate size ‘pan’ for the crate and fill with (stomach friendly) bedding of your choice. Use money left over to buy books on ‘Separation Anxiety’.
I agree with the NOT using anything she can/will tear up and ingest.
My thoughts are plywood on top of carpet to protect your floor. I also like the idea of the baby pool.
Good luck!
What about a piece of plywood covered with linoleum? Make it somewhat bigger than the crate and staple/nail the flooring on the outside, so no nails or staples in the crate area.
I agree, not carpet, mats, or anything else that can get ripped up and/or ingested. I would also argue that she might not have been mad at you but bored, and carpet is something to play with. If this is new to her, it will take her a while to be content in her crate, so be patient.
FWIW, my dogs have all hated nylabones. If she likes them, great; but if she still seems bored/unsettled, I would try a kong with peanut butter, or something similar as well as the nylabone.
Good luck.
I’d suggest leaving the interlocking mats and, if worried about bedding to prevent elbow callouses, making or buying a Kuranda bed.
Add stuffed frozen kongs or a greater variety of chew toys. Like another poster, my dogs ignore Nylabones, even the flavored ones.
Thank you for the ideas. I agree about the carpet/rug options. Baby pool isn’t a horrible idea, but it is in our bedroom and I would really like to try and make it look sort of nice if possible.
I have been looking at things like this on-line
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Multy-Home-12-in-x-12-in-Rubber-Slate-Deck-Tile-6-Pack-MT5100012/204671453
and I am wondering if that would work. I think I need to take a trip to Home Depot and touch some stuff. I need to see what material things are made out of.
Be careful with vinyl flooring. If you go that route with the vinyl on the plywood I would glue it down well and use sheet vinyl and inspect it regularly. I would not use the square peel and sticks.
I had a young lab rip up a section of my vinyl floor in my kitchen. It had gotten a tiny little rip in the cheap vinyl from moving the fridge. He pulled up a 1’ x 1’ section. It was glued down. But the rip gave him somewhere to start an edge so he could grab it with his teeth. He didn’t ingest it but I could see some dogs might.
How about a piece of plywood cut a little bigger than the crate that has been painted with an epoxy style paint? Although 5’ x 5’ is a tough size since most plywood is only 4’ wide.
Take 2 pieces of thinnish OSB or plywood. Cut to 5’ long (HD should rip it for you) Buy 2 boxes of salvage laminate flooring (cheap at salvage stores or last box clearance). Affix to the plywood, cut to make a 5’6" X 5’6" platform. Glue foam to the bottom so it doesn’t scratch your floors. Place pen on platform. You could fasten pen down with pipe straps if you think the dog will push it off the platform.
This should make a stable, safe, relatively attractive platform. Put in a kuranda-type bed for comfort.
StG
[QUOTE=Houdini1220;7448918]
I have been looking at things like this on-line
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Multy-Home-12-in-x-12-in-Rubber-Slate-Deck-Tile-6-Pack-MT5100012/204671453[/QUOTE]
I’ve seen just this sort of deck tile advertised in kennel supply places. I bet the rubber interlocking mats you have are cushier than this.
[QUOTE=Bicoastal;7448834]
I’d suggest leaving the interlocking mats and, if worried about bedding to prevent elbow callouses, making or buying a Kuranda bed.
.[/QUOTE]
I was looking for a bed like that, that would fit in the 5x5 crate. All the ones I had seen were too large, but I just looked at the Kuranda website and they have smaller ones that would fit!! Perhaps I will do a harder base floor and then get one of those beds that she can sleep on??
