I dog does not seem to like pillows or blankets in his crate most of the time (he pushed them out) and sleeps on the hard plastic tray in the bottom of the crate.

Recently he was sick in his crate so he spent a night with no pillows/blankets while they washed and seemed perfectly comfortable there. I'm wondering if I should even both adding them back since he pushes them out anyway?

I don't want him developing soreness or rubs because of it (I searched the forum and found some issues with that) but I would like him to be comfortable. It's the heat he hates and this dog generates and INSANE about of body heat (yes, he's been checked out) I tried a cooling pad and within an hour it was toasty warm. He'll whine when it gets to warm, take the blankets out and if one area of the tray is warm, he'll roll over to the cool half and is quiet. When he sleeps on the bed with me he sleeps by the window in front of the fan (even in the dead of winter, he'd let his nose get frosty if I let him, I actually have to but a band around his ears at this time so they don't freeze off) while I use him as a foot warmer.

None of my dogs have blankets in their crates - 2 hate them because they overheat, so they push them into the corner, one chews them and one is too young to trust with them.

I haven't had any issues with rubbing with any of my dogs - the oldest being 6.

Let the dog decide what he likes and let him have his crate without the extras. You could make him a nice cozy bed outside the crate so when he is not crated he can take advantage of the plushiness

In my pack, Drift is the only one who seems to want a blanket in her crate. I have tried them for Toni and Cat, but they smush them into a corner and never use them, so I just took them out.

When they aren't crated, the dogs will lay on soft rugs or the bed. If they get too warm, they will move to the hard wood floor. I can always tell when Paul has the heat on too high in the house because all the dogs will be camped out in the bathroom on the cool tile.

I've never had a problem with rubbing on my dogs either. I recently got a dog that was kenneled a lot on concrete and had worn spots on her elbows. I just rubbed some Vit E oil on them a couple times a day for a month or so and the hair grew back.

If you don't want the hard plastic, get a rubber kennel mat from leerburg or a feed store in your area. They work great in providing a little padding and are easy to wash down.

Grrr! Sore subject for me. I recently put Ruby in her crate for a little time-out because she wouldn't settle down. When I came back, she had completely destroyed her $35 crate pad! First thing she's really destroyed, so I guess I have no one to blame but myself since I should have check on her after five minutes to make sure she settled. She was only in there about 20 minutes. So now the little brat can just do w/o until she's older! Actually, I do put a folded u-haul blanket in at night for a little padding. Most of the time she's out sleeping beside the bed on a cushion anyway. But I learned my lesson - no more crate pad when I'm not around!

I may have to try rubber. My boy likes to eat/shred/destroy anything I put in there regardless ofwhatever distractions I put in for him (stuffed kong, bully stick, antlers). I feel bad that he doesn't have a soft bed to sleep on in his crate but its just dangerous to keep letting him eat blankets... wonder if he'd try to eat the mat...

I use heavy-duty rubber mats in wire crates. I don't know what the mats are like that LB sells, but the mats I purchased from Tractor Supply have a very strong "tire" odor when new. It dissipates over time, but re-energizes when I wash them. Also, some of the mats will transfer their black color to the coat of the dog. This doesn't seem to happen with the stall mats I've used (these have to be cut to the dimension of the crate), but rather with the smaller sized utility mats.

None of my dogs have ever chewed on the mats, but I once had a visiting Great Dane pup at my house who chewed up the corners of one of the smaller utility mats. If you use a mat that is sized exactly for the crate, it is less likely that they will be able to pull it up to chew on it.

I use kids'sleeping bags as crate blankets for my dogs that I buy at goodwill for a few bucks. Some of my guys will scrunch them in the corner but I figure they might use it as a pillow so I leave them in :-)

The sleeping bags is a great idea!!!!! I'm on my way to Goodwill now!

This is great stuff. Its so nice to find out that there are so many other owners out there having the same issues. I don't wish this on you guys but....well you know.

Jeter destroys every bed I put in his crate. the interesting thing is that once he shreds it a little he seems to be happy ad then leaves it alone ripped. Its still functional but chewed up a little. It usually winds up i the corner of the crate anyway.