The Best Dog Crate for a Bernese Mountain Dog (2026 Guide)

Written by the team at Impact Dog Crates. We build dog crates for a living, which means our days are spent around trainers, breeders, working dogs and anxious rescues. Learn more about us here.

If you share your home with a Bernese Mountain Dog, you know the routine: a big, fluffy head settling on your foot, a trail of tricolor hair on every surface, and the quiet certainty that you will never use the bathroom alone again. The AKC calls Berners “generally placid” but “always up for a romp with the owner, whom they live to please.” That is why the crate matters so much to this breed: it has to feel like a calm corner of the family room, not a room he got sent to. Here’s how we think about sizing a crate for a Berner, what holds up at his weight, and how to help a slow-growing giant settle in.

How Big of a Crate Does a Bernese Mountain Dog Need?

For most adult Berners, the 40”+ (Extra Large), with the 48” (2XL) for the big males. Impact’s product size guide names Bernese Mountain Dogs at both sizes on all three crate lines: the 40”+ for dogs 65 lbs and up, and the 48” for dogs 85 lbs and up. Adult Berners tend to run from the 70s to over 100 lbs, with males at the heavy end.

Your own dog beats any breed label. Berners are built a little longer than they are tall, and that thick coat makes a dog look bigger or smaller than he measures, so check with a tape: floor to the top of his shoulders, and nose to the base of his tail, then add a few inches to each so the crate feels like a den instead of a tight squeeze. Our guide to measuring your dog for a crate shows how.

All of these come in the Collapsible, Stationary, and High Anxiety lines with the same interior size across them. One Bernese owner who bought the 40” wrote that they “wish i would have gotten a larger one!” Impact’s chart does not list Berners at the 40” Large, and a full-grown Berner is a lot of dog. If your Berner is right on the line between the 40”+ and the 48”, go with the bigger one. Before ordering a 48”, check your doorway and floor space: it’s about four feet long.

Impact’s Collapsible Dog Crate in gray, shown front on.

Wire, Plastic, Soft-Sided, or Aluminum: What Actually Holds Up Under a Bernese Mountain Dog?

A Berner is a gentle dog, but a gentle 100 lbs still leans, shifts, flops down, and scrambles back up. Here’s how each material handles it.

People look at wire first because it’s cheaper and everywhere, but a heavy dog leaning on that door every day is a test a frame of rods wasn’t built for. One owner of a Doberman and Bernese mix wrote about a “scary incident with a paw stuck in a cheap wire cage crate” that sent them looking for something safer. Another owner, whose Bernedoodle weighs about 100 lbs, says that dog would “flat out destroy any crate” before they switched. Neither is a bad dog. They’re strong dogs in crates that weren’t built for them.

That’s the gap the Collapsible Dog Crate and the Stationary Dog Crate close with aluminum panel construction, and where the High Anxiety Crate goes further for the Berner who panics when the family leaves or has already beaten a standard crate. It’s a real jump in price over a wire crate. It’s also a crate you buy once, instead of a series of crates you replace.

The door and latch hardware on Impact’s Collapsible Dog Crate.

Why Does a Bernese Mountain Dog Want to Be Right Where the Family Is?

Because that is the job he was made for. The AKC describes the breed as “Big, powerful, and built for hard work” and “blessed with a sweet, affectionate nature,” and a dog made to work alongside people tends to take that arrangement personally. When a Berner whines at the door or leans on it as you walk out, he isn’t being difficult. He wants to be with his people, and he has a lot of dog behind that wish.

So the goal isn’t to teach him to love being alone. It is to make the crate a comfortable place he can see you from, then stretch the time apart slowly. A crate that doesn’t flex helps: if the door never moves when he pushes on it, he learns early that pushing isn’t worth it. If your Berner gets truly distressed when you leave, with pacing, heavy drooling, or panic, that is more than a preference, and our guide on how to reduce stress for anxious dogs is a good place to start alongside your vet.

Are Bernese Mountain Dogs Easy to Crate Train?

Usually, yes. Berners are smart, affectionate, and eager to please, and most respond well to food, praise, and patience. The two things to plan for are size and pace. You can’t pick up an 80 lb dog and set him in a crate, so the training has to make walking in his own idea. And Berners take a long time to grow up, so a young one can look like an adult and still act like a goofy puppy. Short, easy sessions beat long ones.

A Bernese Mountain Dog settled on the rug beside the crate.

What Should You Plan Around With a Berner’s Coat, Heat, and Joints?

Three practical things are worth building into the setup.

Coat and heat. That thick double coat is made for cold weather, and a big, heavily coated dog can warm up quickly indoors in summer. Put the crate in a cool, ventilated room, away from direct sun and heating vents, and never leave him in a parked car. If he’s panting hard and can’t settle, call your vet. A washable mat helps, because this coat sheds.

Joints and growth. Large and giant breeds put a lot of weight on their joints, especially while they’re growing. Give him a thick, supportive mat to lie on, keep him at a healthy weight, and ask your vet about a large-breed puppy diet and how much exercise is right at each age. If the crate rides in a car, ask your vet whether a ramp makes sense so he isn’t jumping in and out.

Location. A Berner wants to be near his family, so a crate in the living area, where he can see you, usually goes over better than one tucked away in a back room. Our crate placement hacks can help you fit a big crate into the room without taking it over.

Should You Buy the Adult-Size Crate for a Bernese Mountain Dog Puppy?

Yes. A Berner puppy is already a big puppy, and he keeps growing for a long time, so a puppy-sized crate is a purchase you’d make twice. Buy for the adult and use bedding to make the space cozy while he’s small. Impact also makes a Puppy Divider that adjusts as a pup grows and works with all Impact crate models, so a big crate doesn’t feel like an empty room to a young puppy.

How to Crate Train a Bernese Mountain Dog, Step by Step

The fundamentals are the same for every breed, and our walkthrough on what crate training involves covers them in detail. With a Berner it’s mostly about making the crate part of the family space, protecting his joints, and building time apart slowly.

1. Set the crate up where the family already spends time, with the door propped open. Let him investigate on his own schedule. A Berner who chooses the crate is a Berner you never have to talk into it.
2. Feed meals in the crate and toss a few treats to the back. Reward the walk in, not the stay. Lure him with food rather than lifting or pushing him.
3. Add a thick, supportive mat before you start closing the door. Treat his joints as part of the setup.
4. Take a calm walk first, then close the door for a few seconds while you’re sitting right there. Build from seconds to minutes before you leave the room, and keep goodbyes and hellos low key.
5. Stretch the time apart a little at a time, and keep him cool. Berners hate to miss out, so go slowly. Our guide to how long a dog can stay in a crate has age-by-age guidelines for puppies and adults.
6. If you see real panic, such as torn-up paws, soaked bedding, or a dog hurting himself to get out, call your vet or a certified behaviorist. A crate is a safe place to be while you work on that, not a cure for it.

Which Impact Crate Is Right for a Bernese Mountain Dog?

It comes down to what your dog actually does. A Berner who panics when you leave, or has already worked his way out of other crates, belongs in the High Anxiety Crate, which is backed by a Lifetime Dog Damage Guarantee. A settled Berner who needs a permanent, secure spot at home does well in the Stationary Dog Crate. And if your Berner rides along to the trailhead, the dog show, or the cabin, the Collapsible Dog Crate folds down for the road with the same aluminum panel construction.

A Berner’s Crate Should Give Him Room to Stretch Out and Somewhere Cool to Do It

A Bernese Mountain Dog is a gentle, devoted family dog with a lot of size and a lot of coat, and the crate has to be right on both counts: roomy enough that he can sprawl, and built so that a lean, a flop, or a long evening alone never turns into a failure. Measure your dog, start at the 40”+ and go to the 48” for a big male, pick a construction that doesn’t flex under his weight, and put it in a cool spot close to the family. Do that, and you’ve bought a crate for the life of the dog.

What Other Dog Owners Are Saying

Frequently Asked Questions

How big of a crate does a Bernese Mountain Dog need?
Most adults fit the 40”+ (Extra Large), which Impact names for Bernese Mountain Dogs, and big males of 85 lbs and up fit the 48” (2XL). Measure his height (floor to shoulders) and length (nose to base of tail), then add a few inches to each.

Can a Bernese Mountain Dog use a wire crate?
It isn’t a good fit. Wire flexes under a heavy dog’s weight, and a bent rod or spread joint can leave gaps that catch a toenail or a leg.

Are Bernese Mountain Dogs easy to crate train?
Usually, yes. They’re affectionate and eager to please, and they do best with calm, reward-based training that starts early and moves slowly.

Do Bernese Mountain Dogs get too hot in a crate?
A thick double coat can make a Berner run warm, so keep the crate in a cool, ventilated room away from sun and heat vents. If he pants hard and can’t settle, call your vet.

Should I buy the full-size crate for a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy?
Generally yes. He will outgrow a puppy-sized crate, so buy for the adult and use bedding, or an Impact Puppy Divider, to make it cozy while he’s small.