Suggestions for Exercise Pen Floor Mat? Please Help!

[James Donovan]

Hey everyone!

I purchased the MidWest Exercise Pen at the recommendation of the breeder & it being the top rated exercise pen online. I have yet to put this bad boy to use, as I get my puppy on Thursday! I am curious if anyone has any suggestions for some sort of floor mat/blanket/pad/etc that will protect my hardwood floors from being scratched. I would prefer something that is machine washable, just in case there is an accident. I'm not sure if I will utilize the full space of the pen, but it would be nice to have something large enough to cover the entire enclosed floor (roughly 48"x48"). 

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the MidWest Exercise Pen, here it is: MidWest Exercise Pen

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

It wasn't pretty, but I put a tarp down on the floor. I did have a blanket I bought for Maci, I put it ontop of the tarp to make it softer and to absorb in case of an accident.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I put down plastic sheeting and then used an old bedspread or comforter (had several things to switch out just in case :)  Tara was not one that chewed bedding or blankets though but it might be an issue if a puppy likes to chew fabric. 

[James Donovan]

I found a highly rated pet blanket that is waterproof/stain resistant/washer&dryer safe, and has a cute puppy pattern on it too! Going to give that a try. My wife and I will have 5 consecutive days to be with him all the time, and after that we will be having my brother and/or mother-in-law stopping by to hang out with him and let him out to go potty, so I'm not as concerned with the "accidents" as I am protecting the floors. The "accident" protection is just a bonus! Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Just be wary -  my 1-year-old labradoodle, Belle, has eaten fabric since she was a tiny puppy. I can't keep any kind of dog bed or soft surface in her pen or crate, except for her stuffed doodle, which she seems to think is a relative.  For the pen, to protect the floor underneath, I asked a local flooring store if they ever discarded linoleum remnants.  They kindly cut a remnant to the correct size for me, without charge.  It doesn't have a cute puppy pattern on it (in fact it is quite uniquely ugly), but it washes easily, not so much because of accidents, but the pen is where I perform major mud removal jobs when Belle come in from playing in her digging pit. Oh, what fun is in store for your family! Enjoy your new puppy.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Great idea, Andrea!

[Nancy & Echo]

I got linoleum from the local flooring store too.  They asked how big of a piece I needed.  They now only gave me the piece free, but it is wood-patterned so blends in with my hardwood floor.  I'm now using it under my grooming table since Echo learned to climb out of the expen quite quickly, about 2 weeks after I got her.  (She is a mini ALD, <5 pounds when I got her, and my ex-pen is 2 feet high.)

[Christy&Riley]

We put plastic down in the middle of our family room with a Berber carpet remnant on top. Our pen was plastic.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I raise pups in a pen and I go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a 6' x 9' piece of vinyl flooring that comes in a roll--it works perfectly and is not expensive. I recommend it to all my puppy owners and they think it works well. You will not want a lot of fabric on the floor as the pup will pee on it --if it absorbs liquid like the ground does, they will use it. Believe me. Any bedding should be in the crate because the pup will not go to the bathroom where he sleeps. Just make sure the crate is not too big or he will use part of it as a potty--just enough room for curling up and going to sleep.

The other problem with a pen is that if the dog does have to go out, you will never get to him in time unless you are in the pen with him--so it does make housebreaking harder--and they will want to be with you, so you can't go too far. I would use the pen after potty time is completed and stay close by so the pup does not get lonely---any naps happen in the crate with the door closed--so that when they wake up, you can take them right outside. If you are away for several hours and leave the pup in the pen, the pen will become the bathroom (puppy pads will just get shredded and won't work if you are not there) so the pup should be in the crate and someone should come every 2 hours to let him out. 

Good luck!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Or get in with him.  We used to do that with our granddaughter.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

What about a car mat - the kind that goes in the cargo area of an SUV?  WeatherTech is the brand we bought for our car.

[Karen C]

Our 10 month old doodle is a heavy chewer but we have had great success as a puppy with purchasing a large welping pad off of Amazon and putting a vinyl table cloth underneath. The welping pads are water resistant but we used the tablecloth too just in case. As our doodle got older we had to remove the table cloth because he would try and chew it when he was out of the pen in the house occasionally and didn't want him eating the plastic. By then he was potty trained anyway so we didn't need it. The welping pads are thick and washable which is why we went with those.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

What about those interlocking garage-floor tiles?

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Garage-Flooring-Interlocking-Ti...