This is a specific conversation about Dog travel crates — safe and airline-approved — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Travel crates have very specific requirements depending on whether your dog is going by car, in a plane cabin, or in the hold — and airline rules vary so much that the wrong crate can mean your dog simply can't board. Before I point you anywhere, I need a few details: what breed and size is your dog, how are you travelling, and if you're flying, which airline are you using?
It's just car travel. I have a 6-year-old Chow Chow mix from a rescue — she's pretty medium to large, about 28kg. She absolutely panics in the car. I think a really enclosed den-style crate might help her feel safer rather than an open wire one where she can see everything rushing past.
inparticular.ai
That instinct is right. Open wire crates can make car anxiety worse because the visual stimulation — movement, passing traffic, changing light — keeps an already-stressed dog in a constant state of alert. An enclosed or heavily covered crate removes most of that. For a 28kg Chow Chow mix she'll need a 36-inch crate at minimum, possibly 42-inch depending on her proportions — Chow mixes often carry more body depth than their weight suggests. Is she broad across the shoulders and chest, or more lean and leggy?
She's definitely broad and stocky, classic Chow build but a bit longer in the leg. And she's not great at settling — even at home she prefers small, tucked-away spaces to sleep.
inparticular.ai
That detail about preferring tucked-away spots is genuinely useful — it tells you the den instinct is already there, you just need to replicate it in the car. With her build I'd size up to a 42-inch crate. My recommendation is the MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate in 42-inch, used with the MidWest fitted crate cover that comes as a separate accessory. The iCrate itself is a double-door folding wire crate, but that's not a problem here — the cover transforms it completely, blocking sight lines on five sides and muffling sound. Wire gives you better airflow than a plastic-walled crate, which matters for Chows who can overheat, and the cover does the containment work visually. Fit the cover to leave only the door-side open, facing away from the direction of travel if your boot layout allows. Add a worn t-shirt of yours on the base and let her go in and out voluntarily at home for a week before any journeys. The iCrate 42-inch is widely available on Amazon UK and the covers are listed as compatible accessories on the same listing.
That makes a lot of sense. Is there anything else I should do for the actual car journeys to help her settle?
inparticular.ai
A few things that actually make a difference: feed her at least three hours before travel so her stomach isn't full. Drive smoothly — acceleration and braking are physical triggers that compound anxiety. Keep the car cool; Chows run hot and discomfort accelerates panic. Start with very short trips, even just five minutes round the block, before any real journey. If after a few weeks of this she's still genuinely distressed rather than just mildly unsettled, that's worth a conversation with your vet — there are situational medications that work well for car-phobic dogs and aren't sedatives. But the covered crate is the right foundation to start with.
Really helpful, thank you. I'll go with the MidWest 42-inch and the cover.
inparticular.ai
Good choice. One last practical note: secure the crate in the boot with a cargo net or boot organiser strap rather than leaving it loose — a sliding crate during braking is its own anxiety trigger, and obviously a safety issue. Give her time to get used to it at home first and the transition to car use will be much smoother.
