Dog Exercise Pens

September 9, 2018 5:09 AM

My puppy is mostly house-trained so I'd like to get her a dog exercise pen as she still can't be trusted if given free reign when I'm at work. I have questions though

I'm looking to get the Midwest exercise pen (link)

I have some information I'm having trouble finding though for these types of pens, so I'd like your thoughts if you use a similar type of pen:

1. Can these pens be used on carpet?
2. Is there any material I could put under it? (My dog likes to tear up my carpet so even something that would mildly deter her would been better than nothing)
3. If you connected it to the dog crate, did that work out?

I'm also interested in your general thoughts on whether these worked out well for you or if you regret it. I originally bought a soft-sided/fabric pen with a mesh top which was a waste of $25.

My dog is 20 pounds and about 18-20" tall if it matters.

posted by Aranquis to Pets & Animals (5 answers total)

That’s the same pen we use for our 18lb pup. It works well. We have his area all set up with his kennel inside, a few toys and a bowl of water so he’s got a comfy hangout when we’re gone. I like knowing he’s safe!

When he was a puppy, I was afraid he’d have an accident on the hardwood while we were gone so I went to the hardware store and got a remnant of linoleum...and a few weeks later, our lil troublemaker scooted the panels of the pen around one day and proceeded to shred and eat a decent amount of it!! One trip to the emergency vet later, my advice is this: if you are going to put anything underneath make sure it extends WELL beyond the pen and can’t be pulled up /eaten by a bored pup.
posted by RunRunRunRun at 5:21 AM on September 9, 2018

We made puppy pens out of them. We used two together, but then ours was also for a whole litter of baby puppies, not just one.

1: Sure
2: A cheap piece of remnant vinyl flooring. Like $20 for 8x8 or 8x6.
3: We just put little crates in the pen

You will DEFINITE:Y want to observe your pup's behavior in the pen before you leave her alone in there. Our first litter, we had a puppy using its jaws to try to climb up and out get his or her jaw stuck in it and had to run in and fix it. Anticipating this, we now line the interior side of the pen with some polycarbonate sheets.

The most recent litter, we had an eight week old puppy climb out by wedging himself in the corner.

If you have an old phone that still works, it wouldn't be the worst idea to set it up as a webcam so you can monitor your puppy, who like all of them I'm sure is an utter devil when she isn't an absolute angel.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:24 AM on September 9, 2018

Yes! All of our dogs “lived” in a pen when they were puppies. We used a heavy tarp under ours. It was ugly but since it was only temporary it was fine (and cheap and reusable). Also, you may also want to consider some lightweight blankets on standby. Two of our dogs were good girls who were happy in their pen. The third was a little escape artist who somehow managed to climb out (and almost hang herself when her collar got caught on the top) so we binder clipped a lightweight blanket over the top of the pen and let it hang down the sides. And we took the collar off when she was in the pen.
posted by dogmom at 8:05 AM on September 9, 2018

Our puppy was in one of those whenever we left the house for his first year and it was great. He’s smaller than your dog but we had it inside over hardwood and had his crate is there as well and he really didn’t seem to mind.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 8:23 AM on September 9, 2018

I had two of these set up, hooked to 2 crates for two 18 pound dogs that couldn't be left out alone together for a while. (Adult dogs, not puppies.) They were also fed in there for a long time.

They were on carpet, which kept them from sliding around. I did put pieces of old yoga mats in there to try to protect the carpet from too much fluff. I would think that those interlocking foam pieces for exercise mats or kids playrooms might be a better option -- I used what I had on hand.

Eventually, I started arriving home to find the 14-year-old Schipperke either sitting next to his sister on her side, or just chilling out in the rest of the house. It took months, but I eventually got him on camera jumping to the top of his crate and hanging out there before being on his merry way. Now, they are capable of being trusted alone together so the pens are folded up and put away.

Had I really needed to continue separating them, I would have had to get the crates out of there I think, or else get a taller pen. (I was using a 24" pen with a 24" tall crate.) Licorice is the one who will still voluntarily hang out in her crate large portions of the day even when I'm around, so she probably didn't need the pen at all, while Black Jack could have used the pen without the crate. He *never* goes in the crate voluntarily. So I think it kind of depends on your dog's need for a "den" and his personality as to whether you really need to use them together.

The best advantage of this type I think is that it does fold flat, and so they travel well -- easier than their crates, honestly.
posted by pixiecrinkle at 8:49 AM on September 10, 2018