Best soft crate for Aussie agility travel

Switching from a wire crate to a soft crate for agility travel is a smart move — wire crates are heavy and awkward at trial venues, and a well-made soft crate folds flat and fits in the boot easily. The main thing to get right is size and structure: Australian Shepherds are active, medium-sized dogs, and a soft crate needs enough rigidity to hold its shape when bumped, not just flop. Before I point you in a direction, can you tell me roughly how big your dog is — weight and whether they're on the larger or smaller side for the breed? And have they used a wire crate happily, meaning they're already comfortable being crated?

That's the ideal situation — a dog who already likes her crate will transition to a soft one easily, as long as it smells familiar and you introduce it at home first. For a 20kg Aussie used for agility travel, you want a 36-inch soft crate. That gives her enough room to turn and lie stretched out without so much space that it loses the den feel. What size is her current wire crate?

Exactly right. Stick with 36 inches — no need to go up. My recommendation is the Ellie-Bo Collapsible Soft Dog Crate in the 36-inch size. It's purpose-built for this kind of use: the frame is steel-reinforced so the walls stay upright even if another dog or a trolley bumps it at a show, the mesh panels give good airflow when you're waiting around outside, and it folds down to a genuinely flat package that goes in the boot without drama. The zip quality is decent and the carry bag is included. It comes in a few colours if that matters to you. It's available on Amazon UK and typically around £45–55 depending on the colour. One thing to do before the first show: set it up in your living room for a week or two with her usual bedding inside and let her use it as her regular resting spot. She'll walk into it at a show without a second thought.

Good question. The main things: soft crates aren't waterproof, so if you're set up outside and rain comes in sideways, the mesh sides won't protect her. Most experienced agility people use a small pop-up canopy over the crate or position it under a trailer or gazebo. Also, don't put it directly on wet grass — the base will wick moisture. A cheap foam mat or a piece of tarpaulin underneath solves that. The Ellie-Bo handles light British drizzle fine; it's driving rain you want to shelter from. For indoors or covered show venues, it's completely straightforward.

That's the right approach. Give her a week of napping in it at home and she'll settle at shows just as well as she does in her wire crate. Good luck with the trialling.