Setting Up Your Puppy Pen

Bring a new puppy home is an exciting time for everyone. But we must also remember, that it can be a scary time for the new puppy. Leaving their breeder (their mother and their littermates), the only reality they have ever know, and coming into a new house is a huge transition period. We must make it as comfortable as possible for them.

My last puppy pen set up.

One way I like to do this, is ensure the puppy has a safe and secure space for them to call their own. This will look different for every household, depending on your home and space, but I personally like a decent sized puppy pen with a crate attached, located in the central area of the home. 

This allows my puppy to experience the household, but feel safe and secure, and also prevents them from getting themselves into trouble roaming around a big house with little guidance, (even a small apartment is a huge new world to a puppy).

You can have multiple areas in the house set up to secure your puppy in, but I will primarily focus on the set up of one main area in this post.

These are my top considerations for my puppy pen set up.

1. Secure fence or railing.
   I prefer to use children’s play pens, as these tend to be more secure, and have vertical bars instead of grids (which clever puppies can quickly discover how to climb). They often sit more rigidly when set up, while puppy pens often hinge and fold in on themselves.
   
   Puppy pens are still useful, and I do use these as well, usually outdoors or for portable set ups, but for my primary puppy area I prefer something more sturdy.
   

2. A Crate.
   I really like crate training for my puppy, there are a myriad of reasons that crate training can be beneficial in our dogs lives, which I will cover in another post. I use a crate as my puppies primary bed/sleeping spot from early days - as I like to introduce the crate to my puppy quite organically. I will attach the crate to the puppy pen, and latch the crate door open so that the puppy can freely go from crate to pen. The crate will be the only area of the puppy pen where I place bedding, to encourage the puppy to choose this comfy spot to sleep.
   
   I will also use a blanket to cover the crate at times to create a cosy den. Often useful for naps during the day.
   

3. Bedding.
   On the topic of bedding, I keep it comfy, but simple. A cosy and sturdy crate mat that fits snugly into the bottom of the crate, and perhaps a little blanket. Nothing too soft and lumpy that can be easily chewed apart or destroyed. My puppies often won’t get a “dog bed” until they are much older, I think my current dog was around 1 before I gave her a bed. This is because I want to encourage my puppy to choose the crate, and I want to prevent then developing destructive habits with their bedding.
   

4. Toileting Area.
   I transition away from this as quickly as possible, but in the early days I will use a patch of grass (preferable real turf, not artificial) overnight, and for long periods of the day I know my puppy will be restricted to the puppy pen. I like to use real grass to encourage use of the correct substrate for toileting. I place the toilet patch at the opposite side of the pen to their crate - as puppies will naturally want to toilet as far from their sleeping spot as possible.
   

5. Enrichment activities and appropriate toys.
   Kongs, lickimats, long lasting chews, teething chews are all great enrichment activities I supply my puppy to encourage calmness in the puppy pen. I do not supply too many toys or activities that encourage hyperactivity, as I was my puppy to be calm and relaxed in the puppy pen (and eventually in the rest of the house)
   

6. Water.
   A secure water bowl that my puppy cannot dig in or overturn. Heavy bottomed ceramic bowls and hanging buckets are my preferred types of water bowl. But what works for you will come down to breed, size, and activity level.
   

7. Other considerations.
   Floor protection. I will usually put linoleum under my puppy pen area to protect my flooring from any possible accidents.
   Diffuser. A diffuser to use a dog safe, calming oil - this can help with any puppy smells, but also help puppy to relax. Check out Shy Tiger’s diffuser oils for a specially crafted product, I often use their night time oil for my puppies.
   Music & Sound. I also like to play calming music, sort of like white noise, it can help puppy to relax. I can also utilise the sound system to play common sounds I would like to acclimate my puppy to for socialisation & exposure. More on this in another post!

Feeling Safe In Her Puppy Pen

Puppy Pen Allowing Other Family Pets to Feel Secure

If you need assistance with setting up your puppy pen, or getting your home ready for a new puppy, please reach out to us, we would be happy to assist you!