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during the day

Unless you have the pup in a well secured area, I wouldn't. A lot of people use crates with an x-pen, and that'# the best of both worlds- the pup is secure, but has a place other than it's crate to play/toilet. Trouble is some are quite flimsy, and if you have a bold pup, you might need to make it sturdier somehow.
 
If I use the crate during the day I close it. They both sleep in closed crates at night. When they were pups we kept the crate open inside the x-pen and it worked great. As Lisa says...before sure it is sturdy and safe.
 
We had a lovely xpen for Rio that billy made from some wire fencing. She was only a tiny pup though, and was very safe in it. After we got Tandie I talked about getting it out again (for after her operation) but my OH had a dream that she hung herself trying to get out of it. Not sure this would even be possible but it's been relegated to the garden shed and there it shall stay for the forseeable future.

Sorry about that aside Lily... don't mean to put you off them! They're an excellent idea for young pups. Just ours was a bit flimsy for an adult dog, we thought! Very easily made. I know Linda posted photos before of a lovely one her OH made for Darby. This is the one we had for Rio... so we would leave the side door on the crate open and she used the xpen as a run.
resize_P9140014.jpg
 
That looks like a great contraption! what a clever idea! I do admit that the holes in the fencing look a bit large..purhaps large enough to fit a tiny head through...That dream would have been enough to put me off too. I bet the frame is sturdy and there are other materials that could be used to contain a little one.

hmmm....I bet the wood that is used for hanging vines would work...like for trellises. It is cheap cedar that comes in panels at the home centers (in the US they are sold at Home Depot or Lowes..) That may even be sturdy enough for an adult :D
 
thats what i thought as its closed during the night i should leave it closed during the day. i am currently but i mean for when i need to leave her for longer hours during the day. she is still peeing in her crate but only when i go to her in the morning & not during the day. i'm hoping once i start walking her & her bladder gets stronger with age, this may stop....
 
hi

pm ... ive moved her crate to the bottom of the stairs incase i just dont hear her but i doubt it as i hear everything... i'm hoping once i can start walking her , she'll get into a better pattern & hold her bladder the older she gets. Pleased she dosent poo her bed though... :shock: that would be worse.. ;)
 
I leave the door of the crate open only:

When I can see what is doing Lia! and every time she has just make wee wee or poo.

I read in a book of an Spanish canine ethologist that you have to do three phases with the crate:

Step 1 : Dog in the crate.
Step 2 : you take the pup to the loo. If he pees, you can let him free for two hours. If he doesn't, half an our more in the crate.
Step 3 : when he is free for a few hours then you have to suggest the pup go to the crate for a rest.
Then go to the step one again. With this tecnique every time you take out the puppy you take him to the loo and he associates "going out of the crate" with "going to the loo".
The Book is "One more of the Family". The author is Oriol Ribas Recolons.

We are doing that with Lia and is going well. (We have some accidents at the time of opening the crate, if she can't arrive to the loo...)


(SORRY MY ENGLISH)
 
H'mm. Well I have a tale to unfold about crates and xpens.

I've been feeling a bit guilty about leaving Amber in her crate if I need to go out for a couple of hours during the day, since the small crate I'm using at the moment is lovely and snug- but it's literally just bit enough.

I got my xpen, braced it against the wall so that it formed a long run like Rio's pen above. It was further secured by the crate on the inside, and a tall dresser on one side- nice and sturdy. I removed the crate door and slung a huge duvet cover cover the whole contraption and went off, devoutly hoping the whole thing would stay up.

Well, it did.

I just hadn't bargained on Amber's climbing genes. Dratted pup had managed to somehow climb out of it! She's only four months old, and the pen is at least a metre high! :yikes :yikes

But at least the xpen stayed firmly in place. Thank goodness for small mercies(!)
 
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