Opinions on soft-sided crates?

Riley is fast outgrowing his Vari-Kennel and I'm debating about getting a soft-sided crate. He is only in his crate at night to sleep and at dinnertime (ours). He is always in sight and at our dinnertime, I usually give him something to chew on until we're finished eating. (During the day when I'm at work, he's in an x-pen in the kitchen and my neighbor comes over to let him out a couple of times. Thanks heavens for retired friends!!)
I do have a wire crate he can grow into, but I hate the idea of having to lug it up and down the stairs (bedrooms are on the second floor).

So, do any of you use soft-sided crates? Do you like them? Any favorite brand?

I really don't have an opinion one way or another :/ I have a soft sided crate for Jack that we use during agility trials and that's it. He DESTROYS crates, I had to put twist ties and clips on every side of his wire crate because he'd fold the front in and slip out. After I did that he just pulled apart the bars. I'd get home and his crate would be upside down in the middle of the room. But with his soft sided he lays quietly and is good for short periods of time.

I think if you have a crate-friendly, non-destructive dog a soft sided would work just fine. My Aunt has a couple and just has to make sure the zippers end up together on top or else her little terrier knows how to escape.

My favorite part about our soft crate is that the top unzips and during agility trials I usually leave the top open so Jack can sit with his head out.

I have a soft sided crate and my dogs are fine in it... they are very well behaved in crates and usually just go to sleep, so I like how light weight they are... the one I have now is just a cheapo no name brand that I got at bed bath and beyond for like 16 dollars... it folds flat and into a bag if I need to take it somewhere with me and I can easily move it around my apartment to clean or whatever.

I have put the poodles in them a few times when they were visiting and they can unzip them and get out so obviously they dont work for all dogs. It all depends on how your dog behaves in the crate.

Seems like a good idea..i would give it a shot.

if hes not a chewer/digger there pretty good...
they can however be chewed through by determined dogs.

On older trained dogs, they are great and much prettier than typical crates

but for puppies, forget it! lol they will tear that thing to shreds


these are the ones I most commonly see:
Amazon.com: Pet Gear "Home 'N Go" Soft-Sided Pet Crate, Medium, Blue Sky: Home & Garden

dog sport people have them.. and I am filled with envy. Even Bounce, who loves her crate and NEVER digs, or barks etc chewed her way out of a fabric crate. The JRTs are fine in it till I leave the area.. then boom they are out! I wonder how they know they know they can get out that first time?

No help really.. just wishing I could use them.

I found they tore way to easy. I spent $100 on Muffin's and it now has a huge gash in it. I can still use it bc Muffin doen't really "try" to get out... but well... it's not the same.

I liked how easy it was to assemble, disassemble. I like how lightweight it was..... but now I just use the wire and vari kennels.

Like others have said, they are pretty good if you don't have a chewer/digger.

I have a wire crate and a soft crate for my girl.

The wire crate is a lot more practical when it comes to playing crate games.

The soft crate is a lot more practical when it comes to transport. She also sleeps in her soft crate.

They both have their advantages.

I think I might give the soft side a shot... I do have the wire crate if necessary but it would be nice to have something easier to transport and set up; especially when we go visit my parents (where grand-dogs are always welcome). Riley usually winds up in his crate if we're eating dinner there and he usually just takes a nap.

I have one and I LOVE it, it's so convenient to travel with. They can be quite pricy, though, so if you don't know if your dog will tear it up you might want to search around for a sale. Ebay is probably a good place to start looking.

I love them and use them for my dogs. They respect the boundary it provides, but if they NEEDED to get out, they could.

I've been wanting one strictly for transport and other dog events purposes. I have a cheap walmart one, Maddie can go in it no problem, but most other dogs roll it way too easy and/or get out.

We tried one for our dog. She had anxiety attacks in it, peed in it every time, chewed on it, and kept pawing at the mesh sides. We were afraid she was going to rip a nail out of her paw. We bought a plastic crate with vents and a metal door, and she immediately walked into that crate and fell asleep. No idea why she had such a bad reaction to the other crate. She walked into the soft-sided kennel freely, but after we closed the door, that's when she freaked out.

dont' go cheap. I bought a cheapy one and three of the five zippers broke immediately.

I have a soft sided crate for agility trials and I have never had a problem but having said that I only use it for Petie. I have other dogs here, there is no way I would trust them not to rip it open or Hailey to not un-rip it. (the brat will un rip my purse or my training bag/s to check for rewards lol).
They are the absolute best for transporting and moving them in and out for trials, light and easy to carry.
However, one down fall to some of them is poor ventilation during the summer. When it is really hot I don't use it at trials but will lug my wire crates and/or x-pens miles if I have too.

I adore my soft crate. Meg isn't one to every challenge the barrier, so it is holding up perfectly for us. I have certainly seen dogs get out of them.

I wouldn't go cheap either. I have the Noz-2-Noz, and it is fantastic. Sturdy enough that I can throw my training bag or coat on top of it, and sets up very easily.