# Should I use a crate or a playpen?



## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Not sure how Ian Dunbar defines "long term" but I'm thinking he means longer than the puppy can hold it's bladder. I would avoid leaving the puppy alone for the first month or so for longer than a couple of hours (take some vacation or have a friend/family watch the pup while you can't). After that (at around 3 months) you can leave him/her in a crate for 3-4rs if he's really tired. If you leave them in a playpen, they probably will go potty in it and it will set you back with potty training.


----------



## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

I don't like Play Pens. The bar spacing is too wide, and a puppy can get their head stuck. Even when bigger, they can get their legs stuck.

They can also chew them to pieces.

Either use a Crate, or an Ex-Pen designed for Dogs. I used a 4 X 6 X 4 Ex-Pen with Gilmour and it worked great.

This is what I used:









Notice the strips of 1 X 2 at the bottom. This genius addition on my part served two purposes:



It allowed the Pen to be moved around without fear of the wire scratching the floor.
These Pens 'fold' up. This also means the dogs can move them around into different shapes LOL. By attaching the 1 X 2 strips to the bottom, it locked the Pen into a square shape. I simply used those little plastic things you get at radio shack to screw TV cable to the wall. Wrapped it around the bottom wire, then screwed it down into the 1 X 2. Make sure the wire is centered on the 1 X 2 so the boards don't flip up.
This was a great setup for me. Now, it is in the kitchen, where there is also a dog door leading out to the Kennel area. However I did not want Gilmour going in and out on his own (without me being home) until he was at least 4 months old. This kept him safe when I had to go to the store, my Mom's house to provide nursing care, etc... I work from home so most of the time the Pen was not needed.

Not sure if you can tell it, but this particular Pen has a step-through door for easy access.

This is the one I bought:

http://www.digitpet.com/product_group.cfm?cid=1001,2006,3016&pid=12037M

I got the 10 panel (4ft by 6ft X 4ft Tall) and it cost me $87.99 plus shipping. Honestly, I think the 3ft tall would probably be sufficient and cheaper 



Stef said:


> If we got a puppy, once we went back to work it would be left alone for 3-4 hours at a time
> Would it be best to put it in a crate for this time, or a playpen with a crate in it?
> I want to train it to pee outside rather than inside on papers, but I don't know whether a crate is too confined for this time, or if it is better
> In Before You get Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar, he says that long term confinement should be a playpen with a potty area in, but I don't want to train my puppy to pee inside the house.
> ...


----------



## Abby (Aug 17, 2010)

Im getting my golden puppy in about a week, and I'm going to use both.
The crate will be used for when I'm not home and for sleeping at night and occasionally through the day
Because the crate is large and upstairs, I can\t confine him in it all the time when we're not looking, so we put a playpen around his bed and newspapered that part of the floor. 
Because it's in the middle of the living room, my puppy will feel like he's apart of the pack, but will still have somewhere safe to sleep.
Don't put him in the crate only when you're away, or else he'll associate it with you leaving.
And remember, the general rule for how long puppies can hold it is their age in months plus another hour, so a 2 month old puppy can hold his bladder for 3 hours.
If you leave for 4, you might find an unpleasant surprise in store, especially if you use the playpen.


----------



## cubby (Jun 23, 2010)

We used an X-Pen that we bought used for $40. We had a small crate and newspaper laid down. We later expanded it to pretty much the entire kitchen which turned out to be a mistake because she was just to young. She dug a hole in the carpet that I was fortunate to repair myself.

Around 4.5 months we moved to a large crate and wished we would have long before. We tell her to kennel up with a treat, and she goes in without a fuss. When we're home she'll cry a bit in it, but for the most part it doesn't bother her. She is able to hold it for up to 6 hours now even. It wasn't intentional, but our dog walker was late and Cubby still held it from about 8:00 until 2:30pm. She is almost 5.5 months now and getting better, but not ready to leave the crate.


----------



## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

Playpens make me nervous. My sister got a pomeranian puppy about 6 years ago and we were using a playpen. He didn't like it and learned to jump over it. There were a couple times when he missed and caught his leg in it and the whole thing fell on top of him. So yea.. I wouldn't leave a puppy alone in one. I like the crate instead.


----------



## JCR (Sep 23, 2010)

I absolutely love using a crate. This is my first time using one and from now on will always use one. It makes things so much easier for me and my pup. I feel that it has made potty training A LOT easier and she sleeps much better in her crate than out. I also don't worry about her at all while we are gone, when I come home she is sitting there tail wagging, yawning, just waking up from a peaceful nap. I will recommend to anyone getting a new pup to at least give crate training a try. 

Dog Crate Cage Kennel With Top Quality and Wholesale Prices 

^ We ordered from there. Best price I could find, it comes with a divider and I like that it has 2 or 3 doors so you have more choices on how to position it. It also only took 2 days to reach my door, might not be normal but I was impressed.


----------



## PrettyPollysMom (Oct 18, 2010)

I used a crate from both my dogs. It worked great.


----------

