Shiba Inu escaping wire crate? Better options

A Shiba Inu squeezing through wire bar gaps is a classic problem with that breed — they're compact, flexible, and determined in a way that exposes every weakness in a standard wire crate. Before I point you toward something better, let me ask a couple of things: how much does your Shiba weigh, roughly, and is this crate mainly for home use, car travel, or both? And when you say they squeezed through — was it the door gap, the side panels, or a corner?

That corner-and-frame weakness is exactly where cheaper wire crates fail with determined dogs. The bars flex just enough at the joins, and a Shiba will absolutely find and exploit that. At 10kg and primarily home use, you don't need to stick with wire at all — a solid-walled plastic travel crate actually makes a lot more sense here. The enclosed walls give zero gaps to probe, and interestingly, Shibas often settle better in them because the den-like feel reduces their visual stimulation and anxiety. Is she calm once she's settled, or does she actively work at escaping for a sustained period?

Perfect — that tells me she's not in sustained distress, she's just testing the exit during the settling window. That's very manageable, and it means you don't need anything heavy-duty like an escape-proof steel crate (which would be overkill and expensive). My recommendation is the Midwest Skudo Pet Carrier in size 3, which fits dogs up to 12kg and is widely available on Amazon UK. It's a rigid two-piece plastic crate with a lockable door, no bar gaps anywhere, and the solid walls genuinely help that initial settle-down phase because she can't see movement around her. The door latch is robust — not something she'll nudge open. Size 3 gives her enough room to stand and turn without being so large that it loses the den effect that's already working for her overnight.

Yes — don't swap them overnight. Put the new crate next to the old one for a day or two with the door open and something familiar inside, like her blanket or a worn t-shirt of yours. Feed her meals just inside the entrance, then gradually further in. Most dogs that are already comfortable with the crate concept transfer within three or four days. The enclosed feel might actually speed things up for her — Shibas tend to like a bolt-hole. Once she's going in voluntarily, start closing the door for short periods before you build back up to overnight.

Good choice. It should solve the escape problem completely and quite possibly make her more settled than she's ever been in the wire crate. If for any reason the size 3 feels borderline when it arrives, Midwest also do a size 4 for dogs up to 18kg — same design, just a touch more headroom. But for a 10kg Shiba, size 3 is the right call.