Crates - help, please (sorry so long)

I'm going to sound really dumb here, but what kind do you use?

I need to get two crates. We have a small/avg sized Boxer girl and a medium sized mixed breed shelter girl (about 30-40 lbs, I guess?). The Boxer girl has done fine being out on her own during the day for the last four years or so, but our shelter girl is having a hard time with the freedom - she is eating everything in sight (including my walls!!!! And not just the corners, she has taken to gnawing right on the middle of random walls. Sigh... guess we'll be spackling/painting, too) So, I guess I can't crate just the one dog... that would be mean, right?

I think my options are a wire crate, a hard plastic crate or a soft sided crate, correct? I've read that darker interior crates are better... more calming? Is this true?

The shelter girl tends to be a chewer (my poor walls!!), so not sure that a soft sided crate would be a good idea? The hard plastic kennel kind of crates would be nice and dark inside, but I don't think they fold up. The standard wire crates would probably be the most durable, I guess, but they are the most open. Is it necessary to make it dark in there?

I would prefer something that folds up relatively easily so that I can store them away out of the kitchen when I have company over (mostly to have the space back - I really couldn't care less about how it looks ) It's not a make or break kind of thing though.

Also, if you have two dogs, do you put the crates side by side so they can see each other? Or is it better to put them in separate spots so they can't see each other?

Finally, does anyone have a recommendation for a super comfortable crate pad that my chewer will not be able to tear apart in one afternoon?

Thank you and sorry for all the questions!!! I just want to get them what will be most comfortable for them.

Re: Crates - help, please (sorry so long)

lol you have a lot of different thoughts going on there!

we have two dogs but only crate one. the one dog does better outside of his crate, the other inside (and he loves being in it, so he doesn't mind that he's in and his brother is out). try putting her in and letting her sister stay out and see how it goes! if it doesn't work, you can always put them both in crates.

we also have two different types of crates - a wire one and a hard plastic one. the wire folds and has a plastic liner that goes in the bottom, the plastic one doesn't fold. both are nice but our boy that stays in his crate when we're not home prefers the hard plastic one so that's the one we use! we tried bedding in the bottom but they tore those things up in the first day. i really wouldn't even bother with one. you really don't need it... it's just like them napping on the floor anyway!

Re: Crates - help, please (sorry so long)

I have two dogs and I only crated one for a long time. Now they are older and neither is crated and they do just fine. But I never felt too badly about crating one and not the other. They really sleep most of the day away anyway and she had toys in the crate with her to play with- mostly a kong with peanut butter in it. Personally, I like the wire crates. We also used this crate for potty training and to train her not to steal the other dogs food- so we would feed the one dog in the crate and then 15 minutes later take her for a walk. If she didn't go to the bathroom, back in the crate. If she did go, no crate. So since we would sometimes be there in the room while she was in the crate, I thought it would be better that she could see out. As far as crate pads they won't destroy... ya got me. I tried for years and she just ripped each and every one apart. I wound up having to put two fleece blankets in there so she'd be comfy but I wouldn't find the crate filled with stuffing when I got home.

Crates - help, please (sorry so long)

Thank you both! You both deserve medals for reading my long winded novel, lol. I love both of these girls and really just want to make sure we do the right thing by them and that they are both very comfortable when we are not home.
Going to the pet store this weekend to look at crates... and thanks for the Kong idea. I will definitely pick up a couple of those to stuff for them.