Dog Crate Interior Space Comparator
A crate's name is usually a number — "36-inch," "Large." Neither word says how much room is actually inside. We fetched two brands' own current pages, one wire crate line and one hard-sided kennel line, and checked what each brand's own number for the same-sized dog actually means.
The same label, two different brands, two different real ceilings
Carlson's own "Intermediate" wire crate is a 36-inch-long crate, and Carlson's own product page
states its "Ideal Pet Size" as up to 30 inches long and 23 inches tall — a recommendation, not a
measured interior. Petmate's own hard-sided kennel, also sold under the number "36," publishes an
actual interior chamber instead: 32.5 inches long, 26 inches tall. Same nominal number, a
2.5-inch-longer real ceiling from the other brand, using its own separately published interior
figure rather than a general recommendation.
Petmate's own next size down misses the same dog
Petmate's own weight range for its "32" kennel is 30-50 lb — which plainly includes dogs around
30 inches long. But Petmate's own interior figure for that same "32" is only 29.5 inches long. A
30-inch-long dog, squarely inside the stated weight range, comes up half an inch short on Petmate's
own interior measurement alone.
Carlson's own page disagrees with itself
Carlson's Extra Large page states, in its general description, "up to 36" long and 28" tall." The
same page's own product specifications section instead states "Ideal Pet Size: Pets up to 36" long
and 24" tall" — a 4-inch gap between two numbers on the one page, for the one product. This tool
uses the spec-table figure (24"), the more specific of the two, and flags every Extra Large row
below with the discrepancy.
Every stated figure, unfiltered
These tables don't depend on what you typed above — every figure this page cites, straight from each brand's own current page.
| Carlson (wire, single door) | Overall length | Own stated max dog |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 24″ | 22″ long × 16″ tall |
| Medium | 30″ | 24″ long × 20″ tall |
| Intermediate | 36″ | 30″ long × 23″ tall |
| Large | 42″ | 32″ long × 25″ tall |
| Extra Large | 48″ | 36″ long × 24″ tall |
| Petmate Vari Kennel (hard-sided) | Labeled size | Own interior chamber |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | 19″ | 16.2″ long × 9″ tall |
| 24 | 24″ | 21.5″ long × 13.5″ tall |
| 28 | 28″ | 24.25″ long × 19.5″ tall |
| 32 | 32″ | 29.5″ long × 23.5″ tall |
| 36 | 36″ | 32.5″ long × 26″ tall |
| 40 | 40″ | 36.25″ long × 28.8″ tall |
What this does not do
- It checks length and height only, not width — and not how a specific dog behaves in a crate; a nervous or destructive dog may need more room than the tightest passing fit shown here.
- Carlson's figure is its own stated recommendation, not a separately measured interior chamber the way Petmate's is — the two brands' numbers are each "their own ceiling," but they are not measuring the identical thing.
- It compares one product line per brand — Carlson's single-door wire crate and Petmate's Vari Kennel — not every crate either company sells.
- It is not an airline or IATA cargo-travel sizing check. Air travel adds its own separate crate rules on top of at-home sizing; check the carrier's and IATA's current requirements directly before flying with a pet.