Dog Pen
When you first start to think about buying equipment for the time when your puppy is ready to come home you should seriously consider a dog pen. Dog pens are versatile and extremely useful for a variety of reasons and you will still find use for it once your dog is fully grown.
When your puppy is young you will use it mainly as a dog play pen. A place where your puppy can run, play and be part of the family. You can move it to whichever room the family is in so that the puppy feels like he’s joining in while not actually having access to things which he could damage, such as wires. The pens are made of very lightweight metal so that they are easy to move around without risking hurting your back.
Another use is for house training your puppy. If you place a small dog kennel within the dog pen then your puppy will consider all this area to be his ‘patch’. He will, therefore, do his best not to do his business in the pen or kennel. You will need to take him outside very regularly and give him lots of praise whenever he goes to the toilet in an appropriate place. Always make sure that he is taken out of his pen about half an hour after a meal or else you’re just asking for trouble!
Dog play pens can also be used in slightly different ways. Some people use them as a gateway across a door opening so that the dog is kept within a certain room but has free access to the room itself. Once your dog gets bigger the pens can double up as outdoor dog exercise pens. This will allow your pet to enjoy the sounds and sights of the outdoors without risk of escaping or digging up the garden. Of course, unless it is a galvanised dog run it will need bringing indoors during bad weather or overnight as otherwise it could rust. The galvanising process helps to protect metal from corrosion and so if the metal has been treated then the pen is safe to leave outside in all weathers.
If your dog is to spend any length of time in his pen then it is best to keep a dog kennel in it. This way he can escape bad weather and also has somewhere to go when he just wants to lie down and relax.