Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my parents bought these gate things which shapes into a box. it is about 3ft by 3ft wide. the reason they got it is because in about a week i will start school and no one will be able to watch her that much. so we don't want her running around and pooping everywhere and eating random things. so basically its her bed in there with a few toys, and the floor is lined with house training pad. also her food/water

This sounds like an x-pen and is a VERY excellent idea!

Smart parents.

.
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tabitha
Kayo, Kahla, and Dante'

hmm but will this mess up where she normally goes potty? cause when shes out of her pen, she goes pee on this pad near our tv.

also u know how some say that u should put a dogs food at one end and potty area at the other. well everything is pretty compact in there

She's getting older. She probably doesn't need food in the ex-pen with her (Chihuahua owners correct me here if I mispoke- I have larger dogs).

I would put her potty pad in the pen with her and maybe you could try litter box training her and have a litter box in there for her instead.

Most dogs sleep when we are away. As long as she has a comfortable place to sleep and another place to do her business, it's big enough for her while yo uare gone.

You may even want to eliminate putting toys in there for her because dogs tend not to play when confined anyway and there can be some hazards with toys when unsupervised.
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PHReign
Email me: HReign@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">PHReign@pethobbyist.com
Dear dog,
I can not buy anything larger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to your fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straigt out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing more than doggy sarcasm.

hmm my pup sometiems walks on her own poop . will this cause her to be traumatized like if she was left in a crate with her doo doo?

I think that's why training her to use a litter box might help out here.

No, it will not "traumatize" her to walk around this way, but it's just very messy and will make housetraining a lot harder.

A litter box (unlike a piddle pad) has high enough sides where the dog doesn't wander through it without a purpose.
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PHReign
Email me: HReign@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">PHReign@pethobbyist.com
Dear dog,
I can not buy anything larger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to your fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straigt out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing more than doggy sarcasm.

my doggy has escaped so many times from her area . i wake up and she is right next to me walking around in my bed. does this mess up training when she gets out? i tried covering the top with cardboard and something to weigh it down, yet she manages to get out!

is it bad to leave her in there for long periods of time? sometimes people in the house just cannot watch her so they leave her there. she still cries a lot

sigh my chi keeps banging her head on the cardboard used to cover it and she eventually gets out

Sounds like this really isn't working. She's already gotten out multiple times and now she's going to be very persistent to continue to do this beahior- potentially to the point of getting hurt.

A kennel that is safe and secure really is the best place for a puppy if it can't be supervised. Each puppy is so different, but I would try not to keep a puppy in a kennel for longer than 10 hours a day. Yet, some puppies really need to be in there while we are at work and at night, so that's tough and puppies do need a lot of sleep so crating a tired puppy is not a problem.

You are just going to have to do your best and for now, the ex-pen is just not working. Gradually give th pupy more freedom and use your instincts. YOu'll know what is right.
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PHReign
Email me: HReign@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">PHReign@pethobbyist.com
Dear dog,
I can not buy anything larger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to your fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straigt out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing more than doggy sarcasm.

Hi Jerome -

I agree, while the pen is an excellent idea it seems your little girl is quite the smart one and that either a real x-pen lid (that can be latched on) is needed or another option is needed.

A safe place is key to protecting your little girl. When I was in Jr HighSchool (almost 20 yrs ago) I was doggy sitting my gramma's Chi. Taffy stayed in my bedroom with my dog while I was at school. However, one day I came home and somethng was wrong - her face was all swollen. I couldn't get a hold of anyone to help me so I ended up getting to the vets office all on my own. Thankfully they were good enough to help her even though I had no way of payment at that time. It turns out she had somehow gotten behind my desk to a power cord and chewed on it, we were VERY lucky she survived. We thought my room was completely puppy proof, but she proved us wrong! It was an ugly learning experience but one I will never forget.

I take puppy proofing a room and home to extreme measures now and if a puppy can not be watched, even for a few minutes, then they go back to their crate or the leash gets put on and tied to my belt.

As to how much space is needed, here is a picture of a huge crate that I used for my girl LaVie when she got really old and could not be left loose. Her pee pad went on one end, her crate in the middle, and her second bed in the far end. She had food and water available at all times. On occasion she would step in her poo but not that often. I would clean her crate and give her a new pee pad at least twice a day, sometimes more if it was needed. The crate is large enough for a Great Dane, we called it LaVie's palace.

LaVie crossed the rainbow bridge when she was almost 16 years old. I've also included a picture of her.

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tabitha
Kayo, Kahla, and Dante'

lol she manages to climb out somehow, so my parents covered part of the top with box. now it should give her more of that den feeling