I'll keep it brief. The crate I bought (resizable) no longer goes up enough for my boy (4.5 months) to stand in comfortably. Do I purchase a larger crate. or is the Playpen sufficient... As I understand it the point is to prevent urination or deification indoors. He does neither while in his crate or Playpen. Also as it stands he only sleeps in the crate at night. He has a bed in the PlayPen where he sleeps during the day when he chooses. Thanks again you fine people!
Sorry, but I had to laugh at the though of a crate preventing deification Some dogs love their crate and find it a safe place. If yours is one of them, I’d be inclined to get another crate. Otherwise, the pen should be fine. The good thing about carrying on with a crate is continued accustomisation to it so that if you need to use one in the future (after surgery, when travelling etc) he already has that bit ticked off.
Just a thought with the playpen as they get older - and bigger. Molly managed to collapse hers on top of her and it is a good solid make, I must have had it on an unsteady part of the ground. Molly rushed off into a corner and was mighty reluctant to go in there again, unsurprisingly
The choice is yours. I struggled a bit with a playpen, my young bitch was the size of a small horse though! I transitioned to a larger crate with both my pups, which for me worked well, and as they were both happier with crates worked well for them too. My dogs travel a bit with me, so having them comfy in a crate is useful.
I agree with @snowbunny. Some dogs love the crate. My Tatze is one and still sleeps in her crate at night - she whines if we don’t close the door Keir was out of his crate and just had a bed in his pen by 12 weeks. He’ll soon be just in the kitchen in his bed, he’s six months old. So it’s entirely up to you what you do overnight and what suits your dog. Once the pup is clean and dry the crate’s purpose is to prevent chewing of furniture etc (if you have a chewer) or as a safe, happy den .
Maisy did the same as Twiglet, escape artists! So I now use part of the pen (the bit with the door in) to block a doorway to the room her crate is in. She then lies against it and watches what is going on. A crate is handy for Maisy to sleep in as I know she is safe in it and not destroying anything, she is not bothered about it in the daytime though. If your fella is happy in a crate I would get another larger one as it might be handy to pop him in it and know he is safe and out of mischief.
My OH built a much sturdier pen than it was possible to buy and for Oban we put homemade, again sturdy, gates on the kitchen. The crate with door open was inside. My Vet is not a fan of crates for too long containment, unless it's huge and more like a pen. He blames too long crating in a crate of the usual size (just enough room for dog to stand up, lie down and turn around) for joint disorders, urinary problems and neuroses. Huge caveat here: Puppies can ruin your kitchen and seriously harm themselves. Oban did not but a pen is likely the better idea.
Red has never had a puppy pen - we did buy one but felt it wasn’t stable enough and sent it back. She has always had a crate and we bought a much bigger crate when she was about 9 months old so she can stand up and move around - it’s very roomy. It’s in the kitchen which fortunately is large so it looks ok. She sleeps in there at night (door closed), goes in there when we have to both go out (door closed) and chooses to go in there when we have our evening meal (door open). When I am making kongs, she chooses to go in there and either snoozes or watches me. I like it ‘cos I know she’s safe in there but also because I know she likes it. My older dog never had either but she has the whole of the utility room to herself at night and when we both go out.
As usual SnowBunny, Thank you kindly. Frankly all respondents... Thank you, I will purchase a larger crate and keep it going, BUT... I will also 'play by ear a bit' and see what he's capable of. No two dogs are alike right?
Cooper still has a crate in the kitchen, but it is never closed. She has not actually been crated for 2 years. We used a playpen in the kitchen when she was crated at night in our bedroom. (Same goes for Tilly) Either dog could have gone over the playpen, but they never did. Right now we use sections of the playpen to close an 8' wide opening in our front deck, to keep the dogs from leaving the porch if we let them out there (in the summer the front door is open most of the day). It is a 30" high pen, and Cooper could clear it like a deer if she chose. It is not as solid as the one Twiglet was climbing over, and maybe that stopped them. I prefer the playpen in the daytime once the pups are pretty well housebroken. We only used it for a few months and then they had the run of the house anyway.
