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Old 10-07-2007, 07:09 AM
 
Location: Beautiful place in Virginia
2,679 posts, read 11,695,441 times
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I am considering getting a rescue dog. I still have to fill out the application. Instead of a crate to keep him out of trouble or an entire room, I was considering a play pen. How secure are dog pens for dogs so that they have enough freedom to move around, play and be comfortable but not get out and get into trouble? Are there pens that are 'modular' whereby the crate can be interlocked with the play pen so that the pet can sleep or feel safe in it?
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Old 10-07-2007, 01:45 PM
 
Location: St. Augustine, Florida
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I don't really know anything about the doggy play pens, we have never used anything like that, we have always used their crates. Unless you're going to have the dog home alone for a very long time everyday or almost everyday, I would suggest just using a crate. Dogs sleep most of the day anyway, so the only difference is that they are sleeping in their crates instead of somewhere else. I have never heard of a doggy play pen where you can have a crate interlocked with the pen, but that sounds like a good idea if you're going to be gone for a very long time. That way they have their crate to sleep in and feel safe in, but they can also walk around a bit if they want to. I would be worried about the dog getting out of the pen though.

My husband and I own three APBTs and anytime we aren't home with them and every night they are in their crates. Basically whenever we can't be right there to watch them, they are in their crates, just to be safe. They are great dogs, very well behaved, but they get very bad separation anxiety and the will tear the house up if we leave them out when we go somewhere. We aren't necessarily worried about our stuff getting messed up, we can replace stuff, we are more worried about our pups getting into something and getting hurt. Anyway, I'm home pretty much all day with them, so they aren't in their crates too much during the day, they only get put in their crates if I have to go somewhere. But, like I said, they sleep in their crates every night. We have a crate for each of them, big enough for them to stand up and turn around comfortably, but not too big. We also have their crates close enough to each other for them to see each other and they are in our bedroom close to our bed, that way none of them feel alone when they are in their crates.

I would definitely suggest using a crate. Of course it took each of our pups a little while to really get use to their crates, but once they did, they loved being in their crates! Now all we have to do is say "go to your crate" and they just run right to their crates. We will even catch them just going in their crates on their own during the day to nap. As long as you walk your dog before you put him in his crate and walk him when you take him out of his crate, having him in his crate, say while you're at work, wouldn't be a problem at all.

The play pen thing sounds like a good idea, as long as the crate is in there for your dog to be able to get into and as long as the pen is really secure. Again, I would suggest just using a crate though, unless he will be alone for a very long time, all of the time.

Good luck with everything!
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Old 10-07-2007, 02:20 PM
 
Location: Beautiful place in Virginia
2,679 posts, read 11,695,441 times
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What is a reasonable time for a pet to be left alone? Is 7-8 hours excessive? I have heard of some leaving for 12 hours which is insanity!

Would a Bichon be able to bust out of a pen? I was curious.

If I decided to just have a partition in the house where he or she would be in the house, like a kitchen, how do I prevent him or her from chewing up the wood of the fine cabinets? LOL!
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Old 10-07-2007, 04:09 PM
 
Location: West Virginia
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Why not talk to the rescue...the dog you get might already be out of the puppy stage..may well be house trained. & a small dog left alone is not as bad as a big dog depending on the size of the house. Small dog like a Bechon could be litter or at least paper trained.
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Old 10-07-2007, 04:30 PM
 
Location: St. Augustine, Florida
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Quote:
Originally Posted by titaniummd View Post
What is a reasonable time for a pet to be left alone? Is 7-8 hours excessive? I have heard of some leaving for 12 hours which is insanity!

Would a Bichon be able to bust out of a pen? I was curious.

If I decided to just have a partition in the house where he or she would be in the house, like a kitchen, how do I prevent him or her from chewing up the wood of the fine cabinets? LOL!
A lot of people have different opinions when it comes to how long it's okay to leave a dog in their crate. I would say 7-8 hours max. Our pups are in their crates all night long which is normally 7-8 hours and they are fine, so I don't see what would be so different during the day, you know? Like I said before, dogs sleep most of the day anyway. When we go somewhere and leave our dogs in their crates we normally aren't gone longer than 3 or 4 hours, but there have been times where things came up and they had to be in their crates for 7-7 1/2 hours, and they were absolutely fine. I do think that the dog should get some energy out and go potty before they go in their crates though, especially if they will be in their crates for 6, 7, 8 hours. If we are just going to be gone for a couple hours we will let our dogs out to go potty and go for a walk around the block, but if we are going to be gone for much longer than that we will make sure they go potty and we will take them on a pretty long walk, a decent jog or take them for a normal walk and then play with them for a while before we put them up. We also make sure to walk them right when we take them out of their crates, to get out any built up energy! But yeah, I would say 7-8 hours is fine as long as they go potty and get some exercise before they go in their crate and when they come out of their crate. As far as leaving a dog in a crate for 12 hours, I'm with you on that, that's insane!

As far as a Bichon being able to get out of a pen, I'm sure they could, it all depends on the pen. You'll need to make sure it's tall enough, so he wouldn't be able to jump over it or climb out of it. You would be amazed at how high dogs can jump! lol! I'm 5' 3" and my dogs only come up to my knees, they are not big dogs, they are medium a breed, but they can jump 6ft easily and our male can run up the side of our house, 8feet 4inches, and get a stick or toy off of the roof!
TinyPic - Share The Experience!â„¢
TinyPic - Share The Experience!â„¢

APBTs are terriers and working dogs though and they are very athletic. I don't really know anything about Bichon, except for what they look like! So, I really couldn't tell you if they could get out of the pen or not. Again, I'm sure that would all depend on how tall the pen is and how sturdy it is.

Now, if you decide to keep him in the kitchen (or another room) I would suggest that you make sure all of the counters are cleared off, just to be safe, you never know what they could get into! lol! I would also get those child safety hooks on all of the cabinet doors, so he can't get any of them open. To keep him from chewing you can get this sour apple spray to spray on whatever you don't want him to chew on. They sell the spray for chewing at most pet stores and it works very well. It would also be a good idea to make sure he has plenty of toys, bones and stuff to keep him busy.
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Old 10-07-2007, 09:52 PM
 
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Have you thought about doggy daycare? That will give your new potential friend time with his/her friends and you won't need to worry about crating her all day long.
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Old 10-07-2007, 10:09 PM
 
Location: Beautiful place in Virginia
2,679 posts, read 11,695,441 times
Reputation: 1360
I haven't thought of doggy daycare but I will research it.
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Old 10-09-2007, 10:47 AM
 
Location: St. Augustine, Florida
1,930 posts, read 10,149,887 times
Reputation: 1038
Petsmart has doggy day camps, I haven't ever heard how it is, but I have heard that the Petsmart doggy hotels are nice, so I would assume that the day camp would be nice as well. I'm not sure if you have a Petsmart close to you or not, but that might be something to look into? PetSmart PetsHotel
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Old 03-15-2010, 09:36 PM
 
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I too, thought the more room the better...more humane...but you (and I) would be wrong. Like pitbullmommie stated, big enough to walk in, turn around and lay down. That is what EVERYONE has told us...from all of the research we have done, to the Vets. We were told, if they have more room, that will give them room to potty as well as lay down, and usually the purpose of crating is to help in training...although my dog loves hers and will go in there just to lay down during the day (door open), as well as sleep at night. I was told it's a "cave" thing that goes back to when all dogs were wild. It makes them feel safe.

We are in the process of getting a new addition to the family and although we just bought another crate for at night, I'm looking for a playpen for during the day (I work from home), so that I can keep an eye on her while I work, but yet not have to worry about her messing the carpet.
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Old 03-16-2010, 02:31 PM
 
6,497 posts, read 11,767,413 times
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One thing about pens: Well, dogs in pens. Some learn to actually climb out. At adoptions, we have all our dogs in pens, except for the climbers, who are in crates.

I use crates at home for their naps and meals, except for one dog who I put in a pen because she is blind and constantly paces around the house all day. She has more room in the pen to move around as she needs too, while containing her messes and keeping her safe when I'm not home.
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