I've run into a problem lately that I've never seen before in many years of crating my dogs. In the belief that I'm surely not the only lucky person to have this problem, I wondering what others have done about it--or what suggestions anyone might have for a solution.

I am keeping a dog that I bred for his owner while he is hospitalized. Thankfully the dog, Ranger, is the sweetest, kindest and most tolerant of any dog I've bred. I crate all my dogs at night, and 3 times now I've gone to let them out in the morning and found that Ranger couldn't get up because a toe was wedged between the top of the crate pan and the lower-most wire of the crate. The first 2 times I've been able to get the toe out easily by pressing down on the edge of the crate pan and gently pulling/pushing.

This morning he had 2 toes wedged between two of the vertical wires and over the edge of the pan and under the horizontal wire. I tried my usual method, added corn oil and eventually resorted to cutting the 2 vertical wires so his toes had more space to spread out.

My other dogs sleep happily in this size crate and he is no bigger than they are, but today I'm going out to get him a bigger crate. When I use bedding, the dogs just move it around, so that doesn't seem like a good solution. I've thought of taking the pan out and putting in some kind of flat rubber mat.

Granted that I should have seriously looked for a solution the 1st or 2nd time that it happened, do any of you have other suggestions?

How would taking the pan out and putting in a piece of plywood, or even just a blanket or cushion work?

maybe when he sleeps you pushes against the side of the crate.
I would remove the pan as suggested to see if that will eliminate the problem.

I had a Doberman do that years ago. When his foot got stuck, he panicked and tried desperately to free himself, shattering most of the bones in his foot in the process. I've never had this happen since, but it does happen.

When I use wire crates now, I put a large bath mat in the bottom, a little larger than the crate bottom (or use two if needed), so that it comes up just a little in the front and back, blocking that small open space. Sure, it will sometimes move, but the majority of the time, the backing keeps it pretty well in place. This is not foolproof by any means, but it helps somewhat.

Try using a Vari-Kennel for him.

The Vari-Kennel is a great idea! I was also thinking one the those quiet time crate pads because it has those thicker bumper like edges ! Good luck!

Put something (plywood) under the pan to raise the pan up above the wire edge. That way whatever you use cannot be moved out of the way. Or switch away from a wire kennel. Plywood under the pan will also work to keep plastic pans from cracking on the wire bottom.

Just eliminate the problem with a Vari-kennel.

Here's what I ended up doing to solve my/Ranger's problem. My local Tractor Supply was out of the next larger crate size, so I bought a thick rubber mat--like a piece of stall mat--that I envisioned putting under the crate pan, a variation on the plywood option. While I was experimenting with getting it and the pan in the crate, Ranger came in and plopped down on the mat. So at present it is on top of the pan and because it is slightly larger than the interior of the pan it overlaps the side of the pan. So far he and I are quite happy with it.

The story of the Doberman brought home to me how lucky I am Ranger is a very mellow Lab. I'm now considering putting mats, or possibly plywood, in all of my crates.