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Peanut's Mom

As of September, I will be going back to school after my summer off, and originally I was only going to be gone 4-5 hours, so we had planned to just crate Peanut (who will be 5 months) by that time. However, my program just got a new director and it is looking like our schedule may change quite a bit, with me being gone more like 7 hours and we are not quite sure what to do with the little guy now. I have looked into dog walkers and daycares, but since we live in the city they are a bit pricy, and that combined with a tuition increase will make things somewhat challenging for us--not impossible, but definitely challenging. Unfortunately, we are unable to come home during lunch and don't have anyone that can drop in on him.

So, my question is do you think we can leave him in his exercise/play pen with access to his potty pad for that long? He is getting pretty good at peeing on the pad when he is in the pen, but I don't want to undo that by not being around to reinforce him. Also, he is not as good with pooping, and sometimes will try to eat his poop, so we would definitely need to work on that before we leave him.

I am interested to hear if people think this would be OK, or we just need to suck it up and go for the dog walker.

Thanks SO much in advance!

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tzukeeper

I am gone for 10 hours each day, 5 days out of the week. Only 3 of my dogs have the run of the house while I am at work. These 3 are very well behaved and use their potty pads if they need to go, but they usually don't go at all. The others are in ex-pens in a basement bedroom. They each have a crate with soft bedding (the crate has the ex-pen attached to it and I had to remove the door of the crate so they wouldn't accidentally close themselves in it), a water bottle, potty pad and a few very select toys. They do fine! What's sort of interesting to me is that when I am home all day they retreat to these areas and sleep. My dogs are always glad to see me and suffer no adverse affects from being home alone. I however suffer from extreme separation anxiety....I miss those little furfaces sooooo much :( Your furbaby should be fine while you are gone. The bonus to the situation is the welcome home you get when you walk through the door :)

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Peanut's Mom

Thanks, that is good to hear it may be a possibility! Were you starting the exercise pen for that long even when they were as young as 5 months?

PS: that photo of your baby is too adorable! Reminds me of a little affen I had growing up!

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Luna

Tracy's idea is a good one, but remember that you do need to consider the flooring your ex-pen sits on: if it's something that can be soiled it most likely WILL be soiled, so needs to be non-porous and easy for you to clean.

In all honesty (and I say this because I know many people don't approve), we solved the problem of dogs that simply couldn't "hold it" by putting them all in generously-sized crates with coated 1" wire floor grids. The pans underneath are lined with pee pads and changed as often as needed: some dogs never "go" in their crates, others eliminate freely. This is NOT raw wire (as you will see in puppy mills, etc.) , but rather expoy-coated heavy-duty stuff that doesn't in any way injure the feet. Each dog has a comfy bed, water bottle or bowl and toys. The grate flooring keeps feces and urine away from the dogs and makes clean-up easy.

If you think this option might work for you, you can purchase a 3' X 3' Midwest Puppy Playpen from any number of sources. I won't tell you they are cheap, but they last for decades, give your dog lots of room, keep him or her safe and make cleanup easy. They also give you peace of mind as you don't have to worry about the dog getting into trouble or damaging your home while you are gone. Ours are happy to go back to their crates and pens to sleep at night after being out all day, and don't mind being there when we aren't home during the day.

JMHO

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Peanut's Mom

Thanks Pam...the ex pen sits on linoleum that is unrolled on top of our carpet, so that is not an issue. However, your other suggestion is interesting...forgive me if this is a dumb question, but if we keep him in that pen and allow him to potty in there, do you think that will that undo our housebreaking with the pad? So far he does not seem the type that goes in his crate, he has only done so once and that was in the first day or so that we got him. Also, I would hate for him to try and hold it and make himself uncomfortable..

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Luna

Well, an ex-pen is essentially a huge crate without a top, so it's not much different than a puppy playpen (which is essentially a really big crate with a top than can be on or not). I personally have not had any issues with dogs on grate still pottying in the house as long as they aren't on carpet. For some reason, on carpet my gang think it's a peeing free-for-all, which is why they get to stay in the kitchen! However, you need to remember that I have a LOT of dogs competing for pack order: when we just had a few there simply were no "accidents" in the house.

The majority of my dogs were fully housetrained within 2 weeks of their coming home: it was harder training 4 puppies at once but we "got 'er done" by the time they were 5 months and life is lovely. The only reason they pee on the carpet is that I have a Lowchen that is simply un-housetrainable (many of them - like their cousins the Bichon Frise - are that way) and three girls who fight over pack order. If I drop a dish towel on the floor, there is a race amongst the girls to see who can get there and pee on it first!

With a single puppy, you shouldn't have a problem.

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tzukeeper

That little man in my signature photo is Sailor and he came to me at 8 weeks after I had started working full time. He is now 15 months old. He has always been kept in an ex-pen attached to a crate. He is fully puppy pad trained but also knows to go outside using a puppy door when I am home. My puppy doors are installed in storm doors and are only accessible when I am home. Beware though...some pups can climb out of an ex-pen. My little girl Emi can scale a 5 foot fence in a matter of seconds :o

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Peanut's Mom

So, I have checked out the midwest playpens and they seem like they may be a decent option, as one will still cost a good amount less then a month of dogwalking! The main reason I am hesitant to leave him in his current exercise pen is that he is very into playing and eating with his poop if it is not picked up right away. Are the openings in the grate mainly large enough for his feces to drop through? Is it possible to somehow designate part of the playpen as his potty corner, even though he will not have his potty pad and holder?

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Carolina Girl

I used the playpen, crate, and pee pad for about 1 month. After that, Mowgli was completely potty trained and had no accidents in the house. He now goes into his crate when we leave the house and never has an accident in it. I work about 7 hours a day during the school year. Now Daisy is a different story.........there is no hope for that girl! She loves to pee on rugs, her bed, and anything soft!

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Luna

Only rarely does anything not fall through. Interestingly enough, I find that even in those cases mine leave it alone...and I have a house full of poop eaters!

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Mrs coggers

Hi has anyone any suggestion on procedure to toilet training my 10 week old puppy , as u take him outside and he will wee etc but when he comes in he still is hit and miss where he goes so just wanted some much needed advise ?

He is in a playpen during the day with a family member who goes round to feed , play and let him out , I always let him out upon arrival at home then feed him then take him back out again

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  • 2 years later...
baby

Tracy's idea is a good one, but remember that you do need to consider the flooring your ex-pen sits on: if it's something that can be soiled it most likely WILL be soiled, so needs to be non-porous and easy for you to clean.

 

In all honesty (and I say this because I know many people don't approve), we solved the problem of dogs that simply couldn't "hold it" by putting them all in generously-sized crates with coated 1" wire floor grids. The pans underneath are lined with pee pads and changed as often as needed: some dogs never "go" in their crates, others eliminate freely. This is NOT raw wire (as you will see in puppy mills, etc.) , but rather expoy-coated heavy-duty stuff that doesn't in any way injure the feet. Each dog has a comfy bed, water bottle or bowl and toys. The grate flooring keeps feces and urine away from the dogs and makes clean-up easy.

 

If you think this option might work for you, you can purchase a 3' X 3' Midwest Puppy Playpen from any number of sources. I won't tell you they are cheap, but they last for decades, give your dog lots of room, keep him or her safe and make cleanup easy. They also give you peace of mind as you don't have to worry about the dog getting into trouble or damaging your home while you are gone. Ours are happy to go back to their crates and pens to sleep at night after being out all day, and don't mind being there when we aren't home during the day.

 

JMHO

SS

Tracy's idea is a good one, but remember that you do need to consider the flooring your ex-pen sits on: if it's something that can be soiled it most likely WILL be soiled, so needs to be non-porous and easy for you to clean.

 

In all honesty (and I say this because I know many people don't approve), we solved the problem of dogs that simply couldn't "hold it" by putting them all in generously-sized crates with coated 1" wire floor grids. The pans underneath are lined with pee pads and changed as often as needed: some dogs never "go" in their crates, others eliminate freely. This is NOT raw wire (as you will see in puppy mills, etc.) , but rather expoy-coated heavy-duty stuff that doesn't in any way injure the feet. Each dog has a comfy bed, water bottle or bowl and toys. The grate flooring keeps feces and urine away from the dogs and makes clean-up easy.

 

If you think this option might work for you, you can purchase a 3' X 3' Midwest Puppy Playpen from any number of sources. I won't tell you they are cheap, but they last for decades, give your dog lots of room, keep him or her safe and make cleanup easy. They also give you peace of mind as you don't have to worry about the dog getting into trouble or damaging your home while you are gone. Ours are happy to go back to their crates and pens to sleep at night after being out all day, and don't

236-wPuppies.thumb.jpg.777468dfc1a5c6bbd

this one??.....

I think if u remove the top, tnis is what an x pen is,..

my handlers have this. .. 

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beebalm

Carrera has a big pen in our extra bedroom which we both on line.  It takes up most of the room. He has a place to sleep, his sippy cup, toys and grass pee pad.

We bought the brown pad that you lay under the whole area of his pen that is pee proof which is washable.

I also have a radio in his room when we go out and I turn on some music.

We tend to take him with us and put him in his car seat to the places he can go too.

When we put him in his pen he cries not wanting us to leave the house. It breaks my heart.  

Grocery shopping and out to a restaurant is when he mostly goes in his pen.

Oh but bed time he choses where he wants to sleep.

It is either in his crate right beside my bed side or the pen in the room across from our bedroom. He doesn't mine going in it at night because he knows we are across the hall sleeping. We have to be in hearing or viewing distance.

He loves to go up in his bedroom and play.  Sometimes I expand the pen open it all the way up - we bought the very tall wall pen didn't know if he would be a jumper before we took him home.  I think the lower pen would of been okay. 

So when he is in his bedroom playing he has the pen and the rest of his room to romp in :):) 

He is so cute he will be down stairs with us and disappear and go upstairs on his own and be playing in his room.  :) I just love this little guy so much!

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missy dawn

they  sound so much like  real skin children ,don't they ? .Love me some Carrera!!

Sheila

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