Lab chewed through plastic crates? Escape-proof fix

Two plastic crates destroyed tells me you're dealing with a determined chewer, not a training failure — some Labs at this age have both the jaw strength and the motivation to make plastic irrelevant. The material needs to change before anything else will stick. To point you at the right thing: is the chewing happening because he's anxious when left alone, or is it more that he's bored and worked out he can escape? And does he need to be crated overnight, during the day, or both?

That's useful — it's separation anxiety driving the chewing, not just boredom. That means you've got two things to solve: the crate needs to be genuinely escape-proof, and you'll want to work on his departure routine so the crate stops feeling like abandonment. On the crate itself — what size are the plastic ones he's been in? I want to make sure we don't go too small, because a cramped crate makes anxiety worse.

For a Lab at six months you actually want to be thinking 42 inches — he's still growing and a 36 is already borderline. Here's what I'd recommend: the MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate, 42-inch double door model. It's heavy-gauge steel wire, not plastic anywhere near the door or latches, and the double-door latch system is genuinely robust — it's the crate rescue organisations and behaviourists reach for when dogs have broken out of cheaper options. It folds flat, which is a bonus if you ever need to move it. The divider panel also lets you section it off now and open it up as he grows. One thing worth doing alongside this: start feeding him his meals inside it with the door open before you ever close him in. With separation-driven chewing, rebuilding the association with the crate as a safe place will make a real difference to whether he settles or just redirects to the steel bars.

It's a fair concern. He won't be able to chew through the wire — the gauge is too thick for that — but if he's pressing his face against the door and mouthing the bars out of frustration, he can wear his gums a bit. The answer to that isn't a tougher crate, it's reducing the anxiety that's causing it. A Kong stuffed and frozen the moment you leave buys you 20–30 minutes of focused chewing on the right thing, which is usually long enough for him to settle. Most dogs peak in their distress in the first few minutes after the door shuts — if you can get him through that window, you're most of the way there.

Double door — it gives you more flexibility about where you position the crate in a room, and the front and side access makes it easier to encourage him in from different angles during the retraining phase. The MidWest 42-inch double door is the one to search for on Amazon UK. It usually comes with the divider panel included.