Founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2015 by Addison and Emily Edmonds, Gunner is a family-owned company dedicated to creating high-quality dog products with a focus on durability, safety, and functionality. The company partners with over 20 American small businesses to manufacture its products, reinforcing its commitment to supporting local industries and communities.

Gunner’s product line includes the G1 Dog Kennel, Food Crate, and Dog Bowl along with many different accessories - all built with attention to detail and tested to ensure outstanding performance. Backed by the GUNNER Guarantee, the company prides itself on the integrity of its products and exceptional customer service.

Gunner Kennel

Quality & Safety

The Gunner Kennel is designed with double-walled construction for safety and comfort is crash-tested and backed by a lifetime warranty.

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Gunner G1 Kennel Features

The Gunner Kennel is designed to provide unmatched safety and durability for dogs traveling in the car. It is the first and only double-walled crate that also earned a 5-star crash test rating from the Center for Pet Safety.

The double-wall construction delivers twice the impact protection with the outer wall absorbing most of a collision’s force and the inner wall maintaining structural integrity to protect the dog. The escape-proof door system also offers an additional level of protection.

The double-wall also creates unique thermal properties for this crate, keeping its interior 10% cooler in hot weather and conserving 20% more energy in freezing conditions compared to leading single-wall or aluminum crates (stats from their website) . It creates a stable interior temperature regardless of weather or the kennel’s color.

The Gunner Kennel is made in the USA and is covered by a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty backing up Gunner’s commitment to quality and safety. Accessories like custom-fit mats and orthopedic bedding can add comfort for your dog while in the crate. It currently comes in four sizes and three core colors with limited edition colors being introduced multiple times a year.

Gunner G1 Kennel Review | Dog Gear Review

Gunner Kennel Fit & Crash Testing

A proper fit is crucial for maximizing the safety benefits of the Gunner Kennel.

Gunner recommends that dogs should be snugly contained, with just enough space to sit up and turn around but without excessive room to move or stretch out in their crate. This snug fit minimizes impulse forces in an accident, much like seatbelts do for humans, by minimizing the dog’s movement during a sudden stop.

At just 35 mph, an unrestrained 60-pound dog can become a 2,700-pound projectile, highlighting the importance of securing dogs in the car. The Gunner Kennel not only provides exceptional crash protection but their thinking was to create a den-like, tighter space for dogs.

They offer virtual fit tools on their website to help owners select the correct size for their dog and vehicle.

For optimal performance, Gunner recommends their custom tie-down straps, which were instrumental in achieving the kennel’s crash test rating. You can find detailed information on their crash-testing results on their website:

Gunner Kennel Accessories - Fan Kit 2.0

The Gunner Fan Kit 2.0 is one of the accessories that you can purchase separately with the crate. It is designed to enhance ventilation and comfort for dogs traveling in G1 Medium, Intermediate, and Large kennels. This weatherproof and dustproof fan mounts easily to the side or front of the kennel, providing up to 20 hours of battery-powered operation on a full charge.

It is created to provide minimal vibration during vehicle use and provides a comfortable and quiet environment for the dogs. The fan can be configured on the side “windows” of Medium kennels and on both the windows and door of Intermediate and Large kennels.

Weighing 5.4 lbs. and measuring 12.4375” x 7.5” x 2.625”, the Fan Kit includes a 110/120VAC battery charger for convenient recharging allowing you to plug it in the car while driving for easy recharge experience instead of needing to remove it from the crate and charging it at home.

We really enjoyed the seamless experience of using this fan during the summer. It is a well-made, incredibly high-quality product that is a great addition if you are worried about the airflow in the crate.

Safety Note: While the Fan Kit improves airflow, dogs should never be left unattended in any crate for extended periods.

Gunner Fan Kit 2.0

Perfect Fit

A high-quality solution to provide more airflow for the dogs in the crate.

Check out the Fan Kit

Gunner Kennel Accessories - Gunner Bowl

The Gunner Dog Bowl is another sturdy and durable product designed to withstand daily use at home and on the road. Made from ultra-strong nylon, the bowl is rustproof, impact-resistant, and slip-proof thanks to its SteadyGrip™ base with sonic-welded rubber feet.

The included Punchseal™ lid is spill-proof, and capable of holding water even when the bowl is turned upside down, making it ideal for travel. Built-in vapor release channels keep the bowl clean and mildew-free. Dishwasher-safe (top rack) for easy cleaning, the Gunner Dog Bowl is made in Nashville, TN, and includes a manufacturer’s warranty against defects.

Another high-quality Gunner product that will last a lifetime. The lids indeed seal the bowl perfectly and the personalization is a very nice addition! The only thing to keep in mind is to double-check the size before ordering as these bowls are unnecessarily big for Zulu.

Safety Note: Run the bowl and lid through the dishwasher before initial use.

Gunner Bowl

The perfect travel bowl

A matching set of super sturdy bowls that are easy to clean and can be personalized.

Check the bowl on their website

Gunner Kennel Review

When receiving our Gunner Crate, I was immediately impressed by the quality and sturdiness of everything in the package. The kennel walls are indeed thick and I was unexpectedly impressed by the metal doors that are super sturdy and are a great experience to open and close.

The optional addition of the nameplate to the front of the crate is a nice finishing touch. The crate door is lockable with a key but there are also two small pins on top and bottom that add even more security to the crate in case of an accident and also make it less likely that someone opens it if you are parked at an event. Locking the pins also eliminates the rattling of the door that was otherwise present.

Assembling the crate was fairly easy even alone, although please note that the intermediate crate weighs 48 lbs (~22 kg) so it’s not the easiest to carry and lift it alone due to its bulky size even though the carry handles help with this.

I was once again impressed by Gunner’s attention to detail as they provided detailed instructions and assembly videos for each of their products and even the tools came in a nice package making it very easy to figure out what goes where.

Since we received the most questions about sizing, I will talk about that in a bit more detail here.

Prior to receiving the Gunner crate, we had been using our Ruffland Intermediate which had an interior base area of 30 1/8″ x 19 1/2″. As Zu spends a lot of time in the crate when training, I didn’t want to size down from that when choosing the Gunner Kennel size. As the Gunner intermediate has almost the same interior base area of 30" x 18", we went with that.

I did know that the double-walled Gunner would be a lot bulkier than the Ruffland but I was pleasantly surprised by how much taller it is. While the Ruffland Intermediate has a 22" interior height, the Gunner offers 25".

While dogs usually travel while lying down, I like that Zulu can finally fully sit up in the crate. We discussed above the reasons for having a snugly fitting crate in the car, however, the sizing decision also depends on how you use the crate and how much time the dog spends in it. When we train or travel for deployments or workshops, we easily have a 12-14 hours travel day and while we stop regularly to give the dogs a break, I still don’t want Zulu to be too snug for this many hours.

I also think that a bit of extra room allows for better airflow and makes it easier for them to cool down when getting back in the car after working.

Many think this crate is way too big for Zulu when seeing the photos of her standing up in it as the Gunner crates are proportionally taller compared to their base area than most other crates on the market.

The two photos show how Zulu fits in the crate and also how thick those side walls are. In the standing photo, note that her paws are outside of the crate, her back would be higher in the crate if her paws were inside the crate.

Gunner Intermediate base area

Gunner Intermediate height

The Gunner Kennel is an incredibly sturdy product and I have no concerns about its performance, we need to recognize that its bulkiness can make it hard to place it inside a car. The Gunner kennels were originally designed for hunting dogs traveling on the truck bed (outside of the car) hence the importance of extra sturdiness and the focus on insulating properties in cold/hot weather.

While these features still come in handy inside a car, the first clear tradeoff is that it can be hard to fit a Gunner crate in many cars if you have a bigger dog. The Intermediate fits our Bronco Sport with two back-row seats down.

The other tradeoff is that this crate doesn’t have any emergency door or escape feature so if it needs to vedged in the cargo area with crash-tested tie downs, it can be very hard to quickly get a dog out in case of an emergency if you tailgate is not functioning for some reason. While it is great that the crate will protect the dog in an accident, it is just as important to think through a plan B of getting the dog out in the other direction to ensure it will not end up trapping the dog in the car. Depending on how much space you have left in the car, this might just be the strap placement to ensure you can easily disengage them from the backseat and pull the crate back to access the door without opening the tailgate.

Over the summer we did extensive testing on the double walls’ effectiveness against heating up and to see how much airflow there is in the crate while the AC is running in the car.

It is important to understand that the double wall will not automatically keep the crate from getting hot in the summer and then keeping it warm in the winter. The extra insulation works the same way as an insulated bottle: it takes a lot longer for the crate to heat up/cool down as the outside temperature changes, but it also causes the temperature in the crate to change slower when heating/running the AC in the car.

For example, if you leave early in the morning on a hot day, the crate will stay nice and cool for a long time keeping the dog comfortable. However, if your car is standing in the sun all day and you are leaving somewhere late in the day, the crate will still emit the heat and be uncomfortably hot for the dog even if you are blasting the AC and freezing on the front seat.

Same in the winter: when you leave in the morning and the car is parked in frozen temps, the dog will be cold for a very long time even if the car is comfortably warm for the passengers.

While I really enjoyed using this crate over the six months we tested it, it is really important to understand when the double wall is a helpful feature and how to utilize it. If your dog is not chewing things when left alone, adding a temperature monitor in the crate can really help you understand how it works and ensure you know when the dog is comfortable back there. Running the Fan Kit while driving also really helped to ensure the crate is cooling down/warming up faster since only the front of the crate has an opening on the dog’s level, so it can take a while for the temperature change to reach there.

Functionality Review of the Gunner G1 Kennel

In-Car use: If you have a car and dog size that makes it possible to use inside a car, it is a great, safe option. Make sure you have a plan to get the dog out even if the front door is unaccessible after an accident and keep in mind how the double wall influences the temperature inside the crate. Four metal tie-down connection points make it easy to safely secure the crates.
Truck bed Use: Gunner is popular with hunters who keep the dogs on the truck bed. The thick double walls and the metal door provide outstanding safety for these situations and Gunner also offers a cold-weather door cover and an all-weather kit to cover the crates if needed.
At-Home Use: The Gunner Kennels can be used at home, however their sizing and features are not designed for that and it would be an unnecessarily bulky option for most households. While the Gunner crates are crash-tested and are very sturdy, they are still made from plastic and I have seen dogs chewing through its walls so it might not be ideal for dogs with severe separation anxiety. Gunner offers a Chew Kit to add steel covers for the windows and doors where dogs are most likely to chew.
Using it for Traveling, Hotels, Events, etc.: As this is a bulky, heavy crate, it is not easy to carry it in and out of hotels and go through doors especially alone. Having a lockable door does make it a safe option for events if you need to be sure no one can access the dog.

Gunner Kennel Review Summary

The Gunner G1 Dog Kennel is an outstanding product on the market that impressed me as soon as I opened the package. It was clearly made by dog people to dog people with attention to practical details and features and accessories that make it an outstanding option when traveling with dogs.

The thickness and sturdiness of the crate, along with the quality of the metal door would put me at ease about the safety of the dog even without going through the crash-testing results and information.

The unique double wall indeed offers insulating properties but as we discussed above, it is important to understand how that works and what effect it has on the inner crate temperature in different scenarios. The accessories make this crate an even more versatile option and I was impressed by the quality and modularity of all these additional products that I have seen and used in real life.

After using their products for over six months, I don’t have any concerns about the quality and durability of any Gunner products and I am looking forward to following what else they come out with in the next years.