2 Crates or a Playpen???

[Liz Proudfoot]

Today makes 38 days until we pick up the new puppy! My husband and I are trying desperately to be as prepared as possible for our little guys arrival. Our house has 2 stories, bedroom is upstairs and living area is downstairs. We want a crate for our bedroom for at night but aren't sure what we should do during the day. My husband and I were thinking about getting a second crate to keep in the living room, but we weren't sure if both would feel like "home" to the pup. I've seen some people discuss getting a playpen but I didn't know how long that would last. Puppies grow pretty fast so I don't want to but a playpen for the downstairs if he will just out grow it in 2 months. What are your thoughts and experiences with this? If you have 2 crates is the dog comfortable in both?

Thanks!!!

[Liz Proudfoot]

[Laura and Angus]

First of all...ADORABLE! Congrats on your soon-to-be new family member :) We had two crates - one upstairs and one downstairs. Our puppy only used the upstairs one until around 5 months old - he stopped going in on his own and he started getting too heavy to pick up and put in there haha. He stays in the downstairs crate during the day a few days a week when we have a dogwalker come in midday. He would cry for the first few weeks when we first put him in the crate and would leave the house, but now he heads in there happily to get his PB kong and nap. It really just takes them some time to get used to the new schedules. I will tell you that at 8 months, he definitely doesn't ever go into his crate to relax...he'd prefer the couches or tile floor it would seem. I imagine that also takes some time...

Either way...we never used a playpen, but definitely made sure to gate off areas and keep doors closed - our puppy has never really gotten the run of the house and still really can't be trusted to meander on his own. Good luck with everything!

[Tammy and Violet]

I had all of those !

[Jenny and Cooper]

Those puppies are adorable!  :)  I had the same questions back then too, one or two crates?  Well, this is how we did it...we bought the Life Stages Midwest crate and it was so big to carry up and down the stairs so we bought another smaller crate.  Cooper slept upstairs for 3 nights then we brought him downstairs because I was afraid to wake him up everytime I get up to the bathroom or my son comes in our room in the middle of the night.  It worked out better for us and for Cooper.  So actually we needed only one crate afterall.  We bought a playpen too.  It was very useful and helpful.  If Cooper went for potty already and I needed to leave the house, I would put him in the playpen and go out for an hour to an hour and a half.  We would also play with him in the playpen.  Also, if we're having dinner and I know he has already gone potty, he would go in the playpen and wait until we are done.  I believe after I got his potty time down (about 10 weeks), he stopped napping in the crate and did all his napping in the playpen. 

The playpen is on a hardwood floor and Cooper likes napping on the cool floor.  Towards the end of his nap, I would open the playpen and he would come out for a drink of water and usually just prop back on the floor (outside the playpen) to continue his nap.  The playpen worked out great for me because I know where he is when I'm busy and I don't have to worry about him disappearing on me after his nap.  lol.  Cooper is now 12 weeks old and he does all his napping in the playpen.

Hope that answered your question.  I would recommend the playpen.

[Liz Proudfoot]

Thanks so much! That is very helpful! I think we may end up doing the same :)

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I would suggest an ex-pen and a crate for the bedroom.  We had an ex-pen that we used in the living area.  We are 7 years in and we still use it when we go on vacation to the beach to block the patio railing and make it a little taller.  The one we purchased (at petsmart) can be one long set of panels or a square or rectangle or in sort of an octagonal shape.  When they were puppies we would sit it on top of rubber backed rugs and a blanket that we were able to just toss in the wash if they had an accident.  We had two puppies and they both had plenty of room to run around a little bit or sleep.  When Lucy had surgery on her knee we added a top and used it again for 7 weeks.  We used it for Sophie as well when she hurt her knee.  When they were younger we would take it with us if we went to visit friends to put both of them in if we went out to dinner or somewhere and left them home.  Our girls were pretty good and didn't jump up on the sides and try and knock it over or anything but I know some have had that problem once the dogs were larger.  There are different height ones as well.

[Liz Proudfoot]

Thanks! The pictures were a big help! I think we may end up going with the pen for downstairs :) It seems to be what people like

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We actually just used our ex-pen again this week.  It has been raining constantly and I haven't been letting the girls outside off leash because the yard is so wet.  It was a beautiful evening and DH and I were going to sit on the patio ... of course the girls want out as well.  So, I just set up the ex-pen on the patio and put both girls in it.  Problem solved.  

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

We also had 2 crates, a small one upstairs in our bedroom and an x-large one downstairs with a partition to expand with the pup's size. Both Lucy and Oscar were comfortable with both crates. Adorable puppies, btw!

[Judith and Addie]

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Hi Liz! We have two crates and he loves them both. One in our bedroom for nighttime, and one in the kitchen for when I go out. He is one yr old and we still use both. I love being sure he's safe when I'm not home (from chewing, ingesting something dangerous, etc.) and at night knowing that he's happy and safe too. Once he had diarrhea in the middle of the night and he whined for us to take him out. We knew immediately what he needed whereas if he weren't crated he might have done it on the floor! The crate was always positive and happy for him. So much so that he saunters up at 9 ish when we say, and puts himself to bed. He walks right into his crate and settles in comfortably. Very sweet. Good luck with your new lil one! Best, pS a playpen they eventually jump out of! ;)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We had one crate and if Ned needed to be crated, we put him there.  We kept it in our bedroom and transferred it to our RV when we went camping.  We also have an ex-pen and used it to block off areas to keep Ned on the tile floors.