Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 27

Thread: Ex pen question

  1. #1
    Senior Dog sparky's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    SW Ohio
    Posts
    2,012
    Thanked: 1626

    Ex pen question

    So we bought an ex pen for Latte. It is 8 sections linked together with solid rings and is one long piece. The problem is the sections are loose. I am thinking of getting some 1x4x4 and fender washers to strengthen the joints. I am going to put the wood on the OUTSIDE of the pen! Anyone have any experience with these? Any other ideas?
    This is what we bought (didn't pay that much!)
    Amazon.com : Precision Pet 36 in. Ultimate ExPen Black Boxed : Pet Playpens : Pet Supplies
    Hidden Content
    Mocha:Born 7/13/14 Gottcha 9/13/14 Latte: Born 7/15/16 Gottcha 9/9/16
    Labs- "Hearts of gold, heads of stone, cast iron stomachs"

  2. #2
    Best Friend Retriever
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    517
    Thanked: 103
    no experience. what are you trying to address? pup leans/jumps on it and you don't want it to move?
    only other idea I had right now would be 1/2" rebar driven in the ground at each joint, fastened with wire ties.
    not sure how often you want to move it around though.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails -31vf7oywfsl-_ac_us160_-jpg  

  3. #3
    Senior Dog sparky's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    SW Ohio
    Posts
    2,012
    Thanked: 1626
    Quote Originally Posted by Bernie View Post
    no experience. what are you trying to address? pup leans/jumps on it and you don't want it to move?
    only other idea I had right now would be 1/2" rebar driven in the ground at each joint, fastened with wire ties.
    not sure how often you want to move it around though.
    That is a great suggestion but I should have mentioned we have the pen in the kitchen
    Hidden Content
    Mocha:Born 7/13/14 Gottcha 9/13/14 Latte: Born 7/15/16 Gottcha 9/9/16
    Labs- "Hearts of gold, heads of stone, cast iron stomachs"

  4. #4
    Puppy jtsum13's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Gulf Coast
    Posts
    30
    Thanked: 4
    We have the same thing in our kitchen. I attached it to a crate so that Major can go in and out of his crate and the play area. The joints on ours aren't lose, but it does move a little bit. I just put the little plastic connectors on the bottom to keep it stable. I did look into getting some door stops to keep it from changing shape if Major decides to play and hits the pieces, but after a few uses I realized the crate kept it pretty stable and he didn't move it much. I ended up moving it more when I bumped into going out the backdoor but that's an easy fix.

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to jtsum13 For This Useful Post:

    sparky (09-07-2016)

  6. #5
    Senior Dog voodoo's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    NM
    Posts
    1,162
    Thanked: 689
    by the time you figure it out the pup will have grown enough to jump/trample over it.
    Amateur pet owner
    Hidden Content
    Chili born 7/21/2013

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to voodoo For This Useful Post:

    sparky (09-07-2016)

  8. #6
    Puppy jtsum13's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Gulf Coast
    Posts
    30
    Thanked: 4
    -img_3359-jpgI hope this helps. This is how we've got ours set up. I just realized I had a picture of it and it's a lot easier to show than trying to explain it.

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to jtsum13 For This Useful Post:

    Charlotte K. (09-07-2016)

  10. #7
    Senior Dog
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Ellicott City, MD
    Posts
    6,626
    Thanked: 3641
    We used metal straps/ties and duct tape...the straight ones for where the pens (2 joined for a larger area) were straight and flat elbow ones (the ones where the flat bends to a 90 degree angle, not the ones where the entire thing is flat) where the corners were (ours was a pure rectangle). That worked really well for the time we had it up for the puppies. When we had just one, we stabilized it with a metal carrier in one of the corners (which we also had in a corner when we had the larger one...that went a long way to keep things in place).

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to SunDance For This Useful Post:

    sparky (09-07-2016)

  12. #8
    Best Friend Retriever
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    517
    Thanked: 103
    Quote Originally Posted by sparky View Post
    That is a great suggestion but I should have mentioned we have the pen in the kitchen
    oh, back to the drawing board then....

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to Bernie For This Useful Post:

    sparky (09-07-2016)

  14. #9
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Carolina in my mind..
    Posts
    6,391
    Thanked: 4178
    To secure the corners of the wire crates I use, to keep the dogs from forcing the corners open and getting out or getting stuck, I use zip ties or cable ties like Bernie has pictured above. I also used them to secure a baby gate up against a stair railing, the posts of which were too far apart for a baby or toddler to safely play around. I figure they're easy to put on and take off, they're pretty inexpensive, and I don't need something permanent. Yeah, it's real attractive but the guys at Home Depot didn't have any better suggestion. I cut the ends off so the dogs cannot chew them.

    I'm not sure I'm picturing what you're trying to do- are the 1x4s going to be vertical between 2 panels, just attached on certain joints and not on others? I'm guessing the fender washers would hold the board more tight against the panels than a cable tie could. Since I'm good at worrying, I'd be concerned that the screws might loosen up and a screw or washer could fall down into the pen for a curious pup to swallow. If it's just to make sure the panels stay attached to each other, cables ties could work fine. I've seen a few people with ex-pens attached to crates, I haven't seen anyone do anything to secure them where the panels join. The ones I've seen have pretty much looked like jtsum13's.
    Last edited by smartrock; 09-07-2016 at 07:55 AM.

  15. The Following User Says Thank You to smartrock For This Useful Post:

    sparky (09-07-2016)

  16. #10
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    2,598
    Thanked: 2588
    That pen is pretty standard. It will move a bit if the pup jumps on it. Connecting it to a crate will help. Putting it in a corner will also help. If you are handy, build a 4' x 4' wood "corral" and drop the pen inside. You could use something like a 12" x 1" or whatever Home Depot has.

  17. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to JenC For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (09-07-2016), Charlotte K. (09-07-2016), sparky (09-07-2016)

 



Not a Member of the Labrador Retriever Chat Forums Yet?
Register for Free and Share Your Labrador Retriever Photos

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •