Best covered crate for Coton de Tulear anxiety

A dog with separation anxiety needs the crate to feel like a genuine refuge — which means getting both the size and the visual environment right. Too big and it feels exposed rather than safe; too open and every movement outside becomes a trigger. Crate size is the most important starting point, and for an anxious dog the covering matters almost as much. Can you tell me roughly how much your Coton weighs and how tall they are at the shoulder? And is the crate mainly for home use, or do you also need it for travel?

That's really helpful. At 5.5kg and 27cm she sits comfortably in a small crate — you want her to be able to stand, turn around, and lie flat, but not much more than that. A 24-inch crate is the right footprint. Now, for a dog with established separation anxiety, the covering is doing a lot of work. Blocking her sightlines to the room reduces the visual arousal that fuels anxious pacing and barking. Have you tried covering her crate before, or is this a new approach?

That's exactly the problem with loose blankets — they shift, she engages with them, and you lose the calming effect. What you want is a fitted crate cover designed to stay put. My recommendation is the MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate in the 24-inch size, paired with the dedicated MidWest Polyester Crate Cover that's made to fit it exactly. The cover has a front panel you can roll up or leave down, which lets you gradually reduce visual exposure during training rather than going cold turkey. The iCrate itself has a removable divider you won't need at her age, a sturdy double-door design, and it folds flat if you ever need to store it. It's genuinely one of the most practical setups for an anxious small dog working through separation issues at home.

Start with the front panel closed and the cover fully on — you want maximum den effect initially, especially for a dog who's already four and has ingrained anxiety patterns. Once she's consistently calm on your departure, you can experiment with rolling the front panel halfway up to reintroduce some visual connection to the room. The goal is for the crate to be where she chooses to go when she feels uncertain, not a place she associates with isolation. Pair it with something that smells of you inside — an old t-shirt works well — and keep your departures completely low-key. No long goodbyes.

Good choice. The combination of a properly sized crate and a well-fitted cover is one of the most straightforward things you can do to reduce visual stress for an anxious dog. Give it a couple of weeks of consistent use before you judge it — four-year-olds with established anxiety take a little longer to recalibrate than puppies, but they absolutely do get there. Good luck with her.