Researching what I need to prepare for a 9 week old Am/Brit lab. Those of you who've done this before I hope you can lead me in the right direction. (Sure my answers are out there on the forum but I find no search field) Crates: lMidwest iCrate 42". Dislike the negative reviews on Amazon --sharp edges, my dog got his paw caught, door latch poorly made. Is this the go to crate or are there better models. I like the divider idea so the pup and grow into the crate. Indoor pens: for the first maybe 6 months I'd llke to have an indoor pen. I live in the midwest where it gets cold and we have snow on the ground till April. I find Midwest and Oxgord as two brands. Concerned as the little guy grows these pens may be too flimsy. Appreciate feedback. Has anyone made a pen? The more I learn the more questions I have. Funny how that happens.
Hi there and welcome to the forum! The search box at the top isn't very intuitive. If you click on the down arrow and go to "advanced search" it works a bit better. There have been a couple of short threads before about puppy pens you might find useful. Can't comment myself. I used a 42" crated which we divided using a bed/mat arrangement (though that was before the forum taught me that wasn't good!) Plenty roomy. It was a Pets at Home own brand which I think is just UK based, and it was fine. http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/n...dor/labrador-puppies/9895-thoughts-on-dog-pen http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/need-help-with-your-labrador/labrador-puppies/246681-puppy-pens
Hello! A very warm welcome! Most (but not all) people here are from the UK - although we seem strong in Australia too these days. Most of the brands I use probably aren't available to you - I'm in the UK. But we have a healthy and growing US forum membership, so hopefully someone will be along with some advice soon.
Hi and welcome to the forum. I bought my crate from amazon.co.uk. In the UK and France it is branded as Ellie-bo but looks the same as the iMidwest crate on the US site with 2 doors. I bought the 24" crate for Juno as a puppy which lasted her to around 4.5 months. I went for the smaller crate rather than use dividers, it was easier to move from the kitchen to the bedroom for the first nights and also into the car. as a puppy Juno just had a jumper of mine to snuggle up to and a couple of pieces of vet bedding to lie on. I never had any problems with her toileting in the crate. From 24" we moved up to the 36" and then the 42". The larger ones I bought the mattress to go in them and now use them in the back of the car for he lie on. Can't advise on indoor pens as I never used one.
Thanks for the advice. And yes, I'm not UK base but U.S. I'm now leaning towards the Ellie-Bo pen which in the U.S. is marketed under the BestPet Playpen brand. Great looking pen with at a reasonable cost. Thanks MaccieD for the comments on the crate size. I may eventually need the 42" size crate but hauling that size out to car when I'm off to the market doesn't seem to make sense when he's just a pup. Besides when the lab matures the larger crate may be unnecessary.
Welcome! We never used a crate, but when Pongo first arrived we made a den for him to sleep at night in the cupboard under the stairs - we removed the door and made a slatted gate to replace it. It was brilliant for him and he enjoyed it. The most useful thing that anyone pointed us to as a preparation for puppy was vetbed - it is FANTASTIC stuff, soft, fleecy, washable, indestructible. We still use the bit we bought back then.
If you want to use a pen for as long as six months you'll need a taller one than ours. Twiglet climbed out of hers at 14 weeks!
Boogie, you're correct. I realize now that at 6 months he would be way too big for the pen. I would hope that supervision and proper training will not necessitate the need for the pen at that age and size.
Twiglet was out and in a normal bed from 14 weeks. We made sure all wood was liberally (and often) coated in things she hates the taste/smell of, like bitter apple spray. Fortunately we don't have exposed wires But my Tatze is still in her crate at night (2 and a half years old) and she loves it.
Welcome Alphadog : Nice to see more people from US. I am from Chicago suburbs . I did buy Midwest icrate 42 inch with divider . I was scared and worried after reading the reviews too. But, every crate o researched had some flaw or the other , finally decided to buy the most popular one and made sure I kept a close eye on Rocky when he was in crate . I did not find any issues with crate and Rocky loves it . I plan to use it all through his life so divider really helped when he was a puppy. Now , he has top paw orthopedic bed inside the crate and usually has the door open still sleeps there. Hope it helped. I did get a puppy pen - North states playyard , I was looking for only few months out of it and it served its purpose until Rocky jumped out of it at 16 weeks By then, he was reasonably potty trained so I did not need puppy pen anymore , he would be in crate when I left for an hour . i had a post on all the items I bought for new puppy. Will have to search.
Some more ideas here - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/10-things-to-buy-for-your-new-labrador-puppy/ The mid west crate is one that a lot of people using the main site buy. Folks are usually pretty quick to tell us if there is a problem with something they buy that they saw listed on the site, and we have had no bad feedback about either Ellie Bo or Mid West - yet
