This thing was a BEAST to put together!! It is definitely at least a two person job. I put it together by myself as a petite woman and it took me HOURS just to put it together. Some of the part should have came pre put together. I did use dog safe paint to match my decor. As you all can see, I have pretty decent sized dogs and they fit comfortably on each side. I will say that if you have chewers or dogs that tend to destroy things (my dogs aren’t), this is not the crate for you. The reason is because it is not high quality wood (particle board mostly). Overall, I am satisfied with my purchase.