Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I know this topic has been addressed in previous posts (which I read through), but I am still a bit confused/unclear on the x-pen and crate arrangement.
I am getting my puppy in a few weeks!! (he will be 2-days shy of 8 weeks) and am in the process of setting up the house. We live in an apartment building (5th floor with an elevator) in the city. We are purchasing a wire crate:
and also considering the x-pen: Find this Iris 8-Panel Indoor/Outdoor Pet Pen and more dog pet pens at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better..
The crate will be used when we are not home, at night, and occasionally during the day when we are home (so he doesn't associate the use of the crate with us leaving). I liked the idea of the x-pen so that he does not have full run of the house (I've read that is better to confine them to one room and then slowly introduce them to the whole house). So I guess I will allow him to be in his x-pen while we are home but doing things (like cooking, cleaning, etc.) but of course take him out of the x-pen to play with us throughout the day. At night, I plan to have him sleep in our bedroom in his crate - which would mean moving the crate from the x-pen (the dining room) to the bedroom. Will moving the crate confuse him?
How do I set this up? Does the crate go in the x-pen? Does the x-pen have to connect to the front door so he can let us know when he wants to go out? *I am going to try to completely potty train him outside: for the first 2 weeks I will bring him outside every 40 mins so he does not have the chance to go inside (yes, this will be a challenge being I cannot just walk outside, but instead have to call the elevator and wait...). Very open to suggestions on this, but I really would like to get him used to going outside only (of course I anticipate accidents inside - which I will not scold for).
Part of me feels like x-pen is making things more complex....sorry for the long winded questions :doh: !!
thanks so much! :wave:
I am getting my puppy in a few weeks!! (he will be 2-days shy of 8 weeks) and am in the process of setting up the house. We live in an apartment building (5th floor with an elevator) in the city. We are purchasing a wire crate:
The crate will be used when we are not home, at night, and occasionally during the day when we are home (so he doesn't associate the use of the crate with us leaving). I liked the idea of the x-pen so that he does not have full run of the house (I've read that is better to confine them to one room and then slowly introduce them to the whole house). So I guess I will allow him to be in his x-pen while we are home but doing things (like cooking, cleaning, etc.) but of course take him out of the x-pen to play with us throughout the day. At night, I plan to have him sleep in our bedroom in his crate - which would mean moving the crate from the x-pen (the dining room) to the bedroom. Will moving the crate confuse him?
How do I set this up? Does the crate go in the x-pen? Does the x-pen have to connect to the front door so he can let us know when he wants to go out? *I am going to try to completely potty train him outside: for the first 2 weeks I will bring him outside every 40 mins so he does not have the chance to go inside (yes, this will be a challenge being I cannot just walk outside, but instead have to call the elevator and wait...). Very open to suggestions on this, but I really would like to get him used to going outside only (of course I anticipate accidents inside - which I will not scold for).
Part of me feels like x-pen is making things more complex....sorry for the long winded questions :doh: !!
thanks so much! :wave:
