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  1. #1
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    Best brand / type of puppy exercise pen that won't slide around?

    Hi all,

    My wife and I are planning on bringing home a lab puppy sometime in the next few months and I've started to review the different brands / types of puppy pens out there. We'll be crate training the pup, but I want to provide the pup with a bit more room to move around when we have to leave him home alone for a few hours. Would like to have the crate either in the pen or one of those built-in pen/crate combos so the pup can choose pen or crate. Does anyone have recommendations on the best brand or model of exercise pen out there? My main concern is that I want something that the puppy won't be able to push/slide around across the ground (bang into walls, etc.) I'm hoping to use this pen until the puppy is 10 months old or so, so I'm looking for something that is fairly strong / heavy duty. I'd prefer it to be free standing so I don't have to anchor it to a wall, etc.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    OH made ours. Much sturdier and higher walls than anything we could buy at the time.
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    biggytre (06-17-2018)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    This is the one I use, my litters cannot knock it over, it's pricey but worth it!

    Precision Courtyard Kennel Exercise Pen
    If you have Amazon Prime, shipping is free, if not you could try Chewydotcom I think their shipping is either free or really reasonable

    https://www.amazon.com/Precision-Pet...urtyard+kennel

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    biggytre (06-17-2018)

  6. #4
    Real Retriever Beth C's Avatar
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    I'm not sure there is a pen that won't slide inside the house, unless you anchor it to something or weight it down somehow. I used an x-pen when I fostered, and a determined dog can almost always move it. I used the x-pen when I was home, but crated when I went out.

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    biggytre (06-17-2018)

  8. #5
    Senior Dog
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    We made ours out of 4 x 4 x-pens (we had two together) with boards around the perimeter to frame it on the bottom, boards at the corners and sides of the gates, and straps/elbows to keep the x-pen in shape at the top. We also clipped a large crate into one of the corners as a den for the pups and extra stability. Sunnie's puppies were smaller than Lab pups...you might have to reinforce it even better at the top than we did.

    We had it sitting on pieces of plywood since we would be dealing with potential wetness despite coverings.

    I hated to take it down once we didn't need it anymore...it worked so well.

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    biggytre (06-17-2018)

  10. #6
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    I had that same idea when my youngest was a pup. He loved he extra space so much hat he peed and pooped all over the inside of the pen. It is a good idea, but it won’t necessarily work for every pup.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  11. #7
    Puppy
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    Thanks so much for the helpful replies, everyone! I think I'll probably go with something similar to the Precision Pet Courtyard Kennel Exercise Pen that Shelley recommended. Will experiment with different ways to weigh it down so it's difficult to slide. Something as simple as bricks along the perimeter may do a decent job. Don't really want a permanent structure. Fairly small living space so want something we can take down if we have company over, etc.

  12. #8
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    Hi Meeps83,

    Thanks for the reply. Are you saying that your pup really considered the crate his "home base" and didn't pee/poop in there but felt free to pee/poop in the exercise pen area? I'm hoping to make the exercise pen an extension of his "home base" but that's an interesting point you bring up. Every pup is a little different!

  13. #9
    Real Retriever Beth C's Avatar
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    Most young pups don't want to soil where they sleep. They will, however, go to the other end of a too-large crate/pen to do their business. That's why it's a good idea to keep the crate space small (use a divider in a crate that's meant for a larger dog) and take them out frequently while potty training. It's not fun, but potty training will progress faster if the puppy isn't given the chance to potty in the house/crate. I'm getting an 8 week old puppy in mid-July (my first in many years), and I'll probably start by taking him out every hour at first (and upon waking up, after eating, after playing, and in the middle of the night, too, if necessary). By 10 weeks some puppies can progress to a longer time between potty breaks, if all is going well. Fortunately, I'm retired, so I'll be home to do this.

  14. #10
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Beth C View Post
    Most young pups don't want to soil where they sleep. They will, however, go to the other end of a too-large crate/pen to do their business.
    LOL, and that's why I used the crate in the pen or as big a crate as possible. Because puppies don't have the control to hold on and if you don't get there in time they are stuck lying in their own pee, poop or puke. Most of us have things going on in our lives beyond our control, we won't get there in time some times. The statement also illustrates that many pups come the desire to stay clean, just not the means, not enough control till they are older.

    Yeah, I agree, outside as soon as you think they might need it is best. That might be every 15 minutes if you have a play in the house. Playing gets them going. And for us it was out twice a night at first. In winter. In deep snow. And -35C several nights. While the puppy who slept through the night from the get go was the spring puppy. Figures, doesn't it?
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