Best suited for: Permanent crate
Also works for:
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

There seems to be a consensus among owners of giant breed dogs (including Mastiffs, Irish Wolfhounds, Great Danes, Scottish Deerhounds, Saint Bernards, Newfoundlands, Great Pyrenees, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Bouviers des Flandres, Dogues de Bordeaux, and Collies) that the best crate for the biggest dogs is either Midwest’s Model 1154U (single door) or Model SL54DD (two doors). They are both typical wire crates, just much, much larger than anything you’ve seen at the pet stores: Model 1154U is…

Best suited for: Over the shoulder carrier
Also works for:
Quality: Unknown
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

In the Company of Dogs is selling the Alpha Dog Carrier, which is particularly appealing because the top and one long side completely unzip, once you reach your destination, converting the bag into a small, cozy travel bed. There’s a lot about this carrier to like: It has good-sized mesh panels at each end and on one long side, there are a couple of useful pockets, it has an internal lanyard to secure your dog’s…

Best suited for: Backpack carrier, travel crate
Also works for:
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

This carrier starts out as a backpack, holding both your laptop and your small dog, and once you get to your destination, it converts to a small enclosed crate, complete with a padded floor.

Toy breeds will fit best in it, especially in the compact and standard configurations, but when the carrier is fully expanded (16Hx15Lx16W) even Chloe could fit in it. It comes in black and tan.

I own another PetEgo carrier, Chloe’s beloved messenger bag.…

Best suited for: Over the shoulder carrier
Also works for: Stealth transport, people avoiding puppy bling
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

This carrier is made of hemp, which will please the environmentalist in you, and it’s well-constructed. The entire top is a mesh panel (with UV protection), and there are mesh panels on each end. The bottom has some rigidity and a fleece pad, so your dog has something stable (and comfortable) to rest on. There are a couple of useful pockets, a water-bottle pocket on one end, and a…

Best suited for: In-cabin airplane use (Medium size only), car carrier
Also works for: Over the shoulder carrier
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

In an earlier post, I reviewed Creature Leisure’s Carry Den XT, which has backpack straps. The regular Carry Den, however, is also an excellent product. It is as well-made and well-designed as its XT cousin, but it has only handles and a shoulder strap for carrying.

The Medium size (9Hx17Lx10W) is pretty close to the major airlines’ maximums, and would likely work very well for in-cabin use. The…

Best suited for: In-cabin airplane carrier
Also works for: Car carrier
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

Our Pet Pilot XL arrived yesterday, and I think we may have found the rolling airplane carrier we’ve been looking for. In its normal configuration (9Hx19Lx14W), the carrier exceeds the airlines’ maximum sizes, but it’s just barely workable nevertheless (please note that it lies horizontally in the under-seat space). The 19″ dimension is rigid, so the under-seat space must be at least 19″ wide. The sides and top do flex a bit, so I’m not worried about those…

Best suited for: Bike carrier
Also works for:
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

This is a charming, old-fashioned bike carrier for a small dog. Made of woven wicker over a metal frame, the carrier comes with a a faux-sheepskin liner, a wicker sunshade, and a tall “safety cage.” Attached to the interior of the carrier is a short lanyard that can clip to your dog’s collar or harness.

According to the manufacturer, the Cruiser can hold dogs weighing up to 13 lbs. and measuring 13″ tall at the shoulders. Chloe’s a large…

Best suited for: Over the shoulder carrier
Also works for: People avoiding puppy bling
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

Wagwear sells beautifully-made dog gear online and in its tiny New York store. Their stuff has the same preppy appeal of the L.L. Bean catalog, but in a higher price range. We bought the “Boat Canvas Carrier,” which comes in a range of colors and reminds me of the L.L. Bean’s canvas totes.

It’s a great carrier, especially for the summertime. It’s well-made and sturdy, with a small side pocket and a rigid bottom for structure.…

Best suited for: In-cabin airplane carrier (Small and Medium sizes), car carrier
Also works for: Over the shoulder carrier
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

Sherpa makes several lines of pet carriers. So far, I’ve looked at the “Ultimate Pet Carrier” and the “Ultimate Bag on Wheels.” The Ultimate Pet Carrier comes in Small, Medium and Large; the Ultimate Bag on Wheels only comes in Medium and Large. Both bags have built-in straps through which a seatbelt can be passed, allowing the bags to work well as car carriers.

The Small…

Best suited for: In-cabin airplane carrier (Small and Cube sizes; Large size with warning), car carrier
Also works for: Over the shoulder carrier
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

We bought SturdiProducts’ large-sized SturdiBag in the belief that it was just barely acceptable to most airlines. We now know that it’s too big (12Hx18Lx12W). On the bright side, its support struts are very flexible, so it does, in fact, fit under every seat we’ve encountered (and Otto the cat and Chloe the dog have both been fine — the carrier has a lot of headroom).…