Living in an apartment can make choosing the right dog crate a little more complicated. Your dog still needs enough space to stand, turn around, and lie down comfortably, but you also don’t want a bulky crate unnecessarily taking over your living room or bedroom.
That’s why some crate features become especially valuable in smaller homes. Foldable designs make storage easier, multiple sizes help you avoid buying more crate than you need, and space-saving doors can make a surprising difference when the crate sits near furniture or a walkway.
The goal isn’t to find the smallest crate possible. It’s to find an appropriately sized crate for your dog that also makes smart use of your available space.
Here are three of our favorite dog crates for apartments.
Top Picks (Quick Links)
MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate
A versatile folding wire crate available in a wide range of sizes, with practical features that make it a strong all-around choice for apartment living.
New World Folding Metal Dog Crate
A straightforward folding metal crate that’s easy to collapse when you need to store or transport it.
Lucky Dog Double Door Dog Crate
Its sliding side door eliminates the clearance required by a traditional swinging door, making it especially interesting for tighter apartment layouts.
MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate – Best Overall
The MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate is our best overall choice because it combines flexibility, straightforward construction, and several features that make sense in an apartment.
MidWest offers the iCrate in a range of sizes and in both single- and double-door configurations. The crates also include a divider panel and plastic pan.
Having multiple sizes available is important because apartment owners shouldn’t automatically choose a smaller crate just to save room. You can select the appropriate size for your dog without unnecessarily going larger than needed.
The folding wire construction is another major advantage. If you move apartments, rearrange the room, or temporarily need to store the crate, a collapsible design is much easier to work with than a rigid kennel.
Pros
- Wide range of sizes
- Folding construction
- Divider panel included
- Plastic pan for easier cleaning
- Single- and double-door configurations
- Good all-around apartment option
Cons
- Larger models still require significant floor space
- Wire construction isn’t ideal for every dog
New World Folding Metal Dog Crate – Best Simple Wire Crate
The New World Folding Metal Dog Crate is a good choice for owners who don’t need a complicated crate.
Its biggest apartment-friendly feature is straightforward: it folds down.
That can be useful when moving, storing the crate, or rearranging a smaller living space. The crate also uses a removable plastic pan, which can be slid out for cleaning.
The open wire construction provides airflow and visibility, allowing your dog to see what’s happening around the room.
For someone looking for a relatively simple everyday crate without needing a long list of extra features, New World makes sense.
Pros
- Foldable construction
- Straightforward wire design
- Removable plastic pan
- Good airflow
- Easier to store than rigid crates
- Practical everyday option
Cons
- More basic than feature-heavy alternatives
- Wire and tray components can create some noise as dogs move
Lucky Dog Double-Door Dog Crate – Best Space-Saving Door Design
The Lucky Dog Double-Door Dog Crate may actually have the most apartment-specific feature of our three recommendations.
Instead of requiring every entrance to swing outward, Lucky Dog uses a sliding side-door design alongside a traditional front door. The manufacturer specifically positions the sliding design as a way to save space in constrained areas.
Think about a crate sitting beside a sofa or near a narrow walkway. A large swinging door requires additional empty space in front of the crate every time you open it.
A sliding door doesn’t have that same requirement.
Lucky Dog also uses corner stabilizers intended to strengthen the frame and reduce rattling, along with rubber feet, a removable pan, and a folding design.
For apartment owners working with an awkward layout, those features make Lucky Dog particularly compelling.
Pros
- Space-saving sliding side door
- Second traditional door
- Folding construction
- Removable pan
- Rubber feet help protect flooring
- Corner stabilizers designed to reduce rattling
Cons
- More elaborate design than a basic wire crate
- Larger sizes can still occupy substantial floor space
What to Look for in a Dog Crate for an Apartment
Apartment living changes which crate features are most valuable.
Choose the Right Size
Don’t buy an undersized crate simply because you’re short on floor space.
Your dog should have enough room to comfortably stand, turn around, and lie down.
Measure your dog first, then compare those measurements with the manufacturer’s sizing recommendations.
You should also measure the actual location in your apartment where you intend to place the crate.
That prevents the unpleasant surprise of discovering that your new crate technically fits your dog but doesn’t fit the room.
Look for a Foldable Design
This is one of the most useful features for apartment owners.
If you move frequently or occasionally need to reclaim some floor space, being able to collapse the crate makes storage and transportation considerably easier.
All three of our recommendations provide folding designs.
Think About the Door
This is easy to overlook.
A traditional swinging crate door requires open space in front of it.
If the crate sits near a sofa, bed, desk, or walkway, that can become annoying quickly.
That’s why the Lucky Dog sliding-door design stands out so much for this particular article.
Consider Cleaning
Apartment owners generally don’t want to drag a giant crate outside every time it needs cleaning.
A removable bottom pan makes routine cleanup much easier.
Where Should You Put a Dog Crate in an Apartment?
Try to position the crate somewhere your dog can comfortably rest without blocking a major walkway.
Depending on your apartment, that might be:
- A living room corner
- Part of your bedroom
- Beside appropriately spaced furniture
- Another quiet area of your home
Make sure there’s adequate ventilation and enough room for your dog to comfortably enter and exit.
Also account for door clearance when measuring the space.
That’s another area where Lucky Dog’s sliding door can be helpful.
Are Wire Dog Crates Good for Apartments?
For many dogs, yes.
Wire crates provide plenty of airflow and visibility, and folding models are relatively convenient to move or store.
They’re also available in many different sizes.
However, not every dog responds the same way to a wire crate.
If your dog repeatedly attempts to damage or escape a crate, or shows significant distress when confined, simply purchasing a stronger wire crate may not address the underlying issue.
What About Crate Noise in an Apartment?
Noise deserves additional consideration when you share walls, ceilings, or floors with neighbors.
Wire crates can rattle when dogs move around.
Make sure the crate is assembled correctly and that the removable tray is properly positioned.
Lucky Dog’s corner stabilizers are specifically designed in part to reduce rattling, which gives that model another apartment-friendly advantage.
If your dog is barking or becoming distressed while crated, however, that’s a behavioral issue rather than simply a noisy-crate problem.
Can Large Dogs Use Crates in Apartments?
Absolutely—as long as your apartment allows the dog and you have room for an appropriately sized crate.
Don’t downsize your dog’s crate just to make it fit.
If you’re shopping specifically for a bigger breed, check out our Best Dog Crates for Large Dogs guide.
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Which Dog Crate Is Best for an Apartment?
For most owners, we’d choose the MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate as our best overall option.
It’s straightforward, foldable, available in numerous sizes, and includes useful features without making the crate unnecessarily complicated.
If you want a simpler folding wire option, the New World Folding Metal Dog Crate is another strong choice.
But if maximizing your apartment space is your biggest concern, we’d take a particularly close look at the Lucky Dog Double-Door Dog Crate. The sliding side door solves a legitimate problem that standard swinging-door crates don’t.
The right choice ultimately depends on your dog’s size and your apartment’s layout.
Final Thoughts
Finding the best dog crate for an apartment isn’t about buying the smallest crate you can squeeze into your home.
It’s about finding the right-sized crate for your dog while choosing features that make the most of limited space.
The MidWest Homes for Pets iCrate, New World Folding Metal Dog Crate, and Lucky Dog Double-Door Dog Crate each provide a slightly different approach.
MidWest is our best all-around option, New World keeps things simple, and Lucky Dog offers the most interesting space-saving door design.
Measure your dog, measure your available floor space, and consider how the crate doors will open before making your final choice.
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