Doggy Playpen For Housebreaking?

[Michelle Rodriguez]

Our little girl comes home in less then two weeks!!!! :) So I am in full preparation mood! :) Since I am going to be caring for the puppy on my own for the first few months with my two little ones who are 3 and 19 months old, I was thinking of using a doggy play pen for housebreaking instead of using only a create and letting her have full range of the house. This way when I'm getting my work done (I work from home) I can have the puppy in her play pen with all her toys and enough room to run and play around while the kids play around in their own space. 

Have any of you had success with using a doggy play pen for housebreaking? Did they enjoy having a larger space to run and play as oppose to just having a small create (I will still be using a create for sleeping so that will also be in her playpen space) What playpens did you find worked best for your doodle?

[SoSa]

We had a play pen, but our puppy hated being in there. He also had accidents in there all of the time, which I guess is good to contain the mess, but for me, I felt that he needed to learn to let me know he needed to go out and the only way for that to happen, was for him to be able to reach the door. We tethered him to the sofa leg in our family room, right by the sliding doors we use to take him out. I moved my office to the kitchen table which is also near the sofa tether and the door. This way, I could keep an eye on him and get him out asap when it looked like he needed to go or every 20 minutes or so. He soon learned to knock on the door when he needed to go out. The first couple of weeks, we did have accidents, but now he consistently knocks to go out and no longer have a need to tether him for potty purposes.

[Elizabeth Boychuk]

So I've had both a great success and a great failure with this approach. I used a pen for Cooper, our goldendoodle who is now 4. I'd keep him in the pen during the day when I couldn't be fully watching him, and I'd use a crate for the night-time. This worked beautifully with him - he liked being in there and I kept his food, water and toys in there too. I think it really helped him with learning to not destroy things around the house. 

When we were about to bring our new puppy home (Howard, a mini aussiedoodle) I prepped the same way. We setup a pen and expected to just fall right into the same easy routine we had with Cooper. Well, Howard HATED the pen. He went totally ballistic when we put him in there and would poop all over himself. After a couple days of trying to be patient, I just realized that he was not doing so well in having that much open space so we moved to using a crate exclusively with him. He still cried in the crate initially but he would settle a lot faster and I think he felt more comfortable in a smaller space. 

So I guess my comment to you is that I personally think the pen is a great idea and far better than just letting a puppy roam free, but every puppy is different and will have different needs so just be prepared to adapt, if need be. I also am home all day so that helped me get Howard outside for pee/poo breaks a lot but I've also known other people who will use the pen with pee pads inside as more of a 'long-term confinement' option. 

Congratulations on your new baby! You must be so excited and I'm sure you're going to have a wonderful time with her :).

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

The playpen never worked for us but I'm sure you'll hear success stories about play pens, too. What worked for us was what my vet advised: keep his leash on in the house, tether him to you (carabiner) and let him follow you all over. That way you're able to read his potty signals and he will learn what is allowed and not allowed, and thus he is trained to the whole house. This freaked me out at first cause Cesar Milan says do not let them have free reign of your house, but since he was tethered to me and constantly learning, it worked really well. I didn't stray far from the exit/potty door for very long, though. He got tired quickly too, just from following me all over. :) Also, if you cannot closely supervise, then crate him. After a while, I put up gates and separated from him but still closely supervised. Gates are lifesavers! Good luck n have fun!!

[Michelle Rodriguez]

That sounds like a good idea! I think I might go this route and have her be my shadow :) Did you have any issues with him chewing on anything he wasn't supposed to since you didn't confine him anywhere? I definitely plan on getting a few gates too since my kids are still very small, mainly my 19 month old, so I don't want his toys to get mixed up with the puppies toys.  

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Never. I sprayed bitter apple in anticipation, but since he was so closely supervised, he never even had opportunity to chew anything inappropriate. That's a benefit too, if they never practice/have opportunity for bad behavior, then you never have to break it! They learn quickly what's allowed (yes! Good boy!) and what's not (eh eh!) so it was a great way to go. Unfortunately, it IS tiring. And with little ones too you'll need extra patience :) fortunately pups learn and grow up quickly. I'd suggest this cause you set them up early for practicing good behavior. Get the pea sized treats ready! :) best,

[SoSa]

Same here, I still have a full bottle of Bitter Apple. He has not chewed any furniture, baseboards, etc. Like Cindy, we are always on Ace like white on rice.

It is indeed tiring, exhausting, frustrating, but it's necessary. Antlers, Kongs and bully stick are sanity savers, especially the bully sticks.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

:)

[Christy&Riley]

Because you never know when a puppy will drop and go, I always felt like I was on high alert. To give us some peace, we laid out a piece of plastic and a remnant rug in the middle of our living room. We put Riley's crate inside a dog pen on the carpet. Then, when we needed a break, we would put her in the pen with her toys to keep her out of trouble. We took her out frequently to avoid accidents. Unfortunately, the pen only lasted a couple months as she began climbing/jumping out. Eventually we learned her "signal" that it was time to go out. She will walk by the front door and put her nose up towards the handle. If you don't take her out, she will start walking in big loops by the door then in front of you. If you still don't pay attention, she will periodically stop and stare at you. We tried the potty bells and that was a disaster. She just wanted to play with them.

Congrats on your new furbaby!

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

I can just imagine her staring at you with those adorable eyes, Christy, lol!

[Christy&Riley]

I just wish I knew exactly what the eyes were saying. I can only imagine...

[Roz Liberman]

I brought Scout home when he was 14 weeks old. He had been allowed free range but had used a doggie door.I wasn't sure what to expect. From day one, I used gates to keep him in my den area which is wood floors and is where my dog door is. Scout adjusted to that right away and used the doggie door right away especially when trying to keep up with my 3 year old dog. At first she'd get upset when I left the room, but she's adjusted now as long as I'm not out of site too long. He had never been in a crate, but from the start, I kept him in there when I left the house along with Nikki, my other dog. They are very content in there even though Nikki had been free prior to Scout's arrival. At night I allow Nikki to stay out but keep Scout in his crate which is in my bedroom. He has never minded it , but on weekends if I want to go back to sleep after our early morning "potty" time, I have Nikki go in the crate with him, and then they are both fine at going back to sleep. I feel really lucky that his training has gone much easier than I had anticipated. I highly suggest gating off a small safe area where you'll be a lot of the time, a doggie door, and a crate for when you're gone and for bedtime. Good luck; consistency is key but just enjoy it all!