# Crate, Playpen or Combo of both?



## kal0828 (Jun 1, 2015)

Playpen, Crate or Combo of both? 



We'll be getting our 9 week old Maltipoo puppy soon, I'm having a hard time deciding on if it's best to start with just a crate, or an playpen with the crate inside. The playpen would need to be in my dining room, my husband works from home but does sometimes travel so I'm thinking on the days we'll be out for more then an hour or two I'd need to do the playpen with crate inside and pee pad on the floor. When were home I plan to use the playpen/crate combo with no pads and take him out every 30/45 min. 
Does this sound like a reasonable plan? 

What do you think would be best to do overnight? I'm not sure when there this small how often they need to go out overnight, his max weight is about 9lbs grown. 
1--Keep him in just the closed door crate in our bedroom and take him out when he is wakes/cries
2---Keep him in the playpen with crate door open in the dining room (not sure if we should leave out a pad or not?)
3--- Keep him in his crate with door closed in the dining room 

Thanks!


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

I would invest in both and lay out pee pads all over the entire floorspace of the pen, and place the crate in there with some comfy blankets for your puppy to sleep in.

Preferably you should be taking the dog out every hour or so for potty even at night, but sometimes it's just not possible for people to get up like that. It would be the most ideal though.


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## SirviRavenWind (Dec 1, 2014)

I think it depend on the pen and crate you wish to buy, some of them connect and some don't. You will most likely only need a small one have you looked at any? I would also vote to get both. Midwest makes good wire ones (and they have connectable ones).


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## missc89 (Jan 20, 2015)

Congrats on your new addition! You are going to have a lot of fun!

As for your question, I'm going to answer it in a few different sentences.

For myself, when I get my dog, for the night I am planning on having him crated next to my side of the bed until he gets a bit older.

During the day when I go to work (I will be working half days for about a month or so) I will have him in a blocked-off section of the house where he has some room to roam, toys to keep him busy, and has his open crate in a corner with doggy grass in another (*you can get hydroponic grass that is easily cleaned and that way you can avoid using pads as pads tend to confuse dogs with what they can and can not go potty on [rugs, carpets, pads, all the same to a dog]*)

*Golden rule of thumb for puppy bladders (if I remember correctly) is their age in months + 1 hour. If the puppy is 2 months old, it can generally hold it in for 2 hours, maybe 3. *

If you plan on "taking him out every 30/45 minutes" for potty breaks, I think that that is a bit much. If you meant taking him out of the playpen to spend time with you, I would use the umbilical trick (that is where you leash the dog inside and clip it to your belt loop, or around your waist, so that you and the dog are always together). At this age you are going to want to spend as much time with your dog as possible, and train him to be okay alone (Kikopup on youtube is a good resource for puppy training)

As for overnights, it's really what you want. I personally am going to have my dog in my room with me because I am eventually going to want the dog to sleep next to me all the time when he is older.

Hope that helps!


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## sondra (May 19, 2015)

You're making potty training harder on yourself by using the pads though. Crate the puppy. Nothing else- no play pen until house broken. Taking out every 45 mins is good- as soon as Puppy goes, praise and treat. Don't punish accidents you find in the house- Puppy has no idea why you are mad. It is far more effective to clip the leash to your husband's belt- since he will be home- to watch Puppy like a hawk. In the pen, the puppy will learn you only need to go outside sometimes. But in a crate, they will do their best to hold it until let out. And should be taken outside immediately!
Hope this helps! Pads are essentially an unnecessary step


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## kal0828 (Jun 1, 2015)

I agree using pads will delay full training but my concern is my husband does work from home but at some point will have to travel or we'll be out of the house for more then 45 min, I feel like a 10 or 12 week old puppy would have a hard time holding pee or poop in a crate for 45 min-1 hr? From what I've read it seems most puppies are unable to control there bladder till around 4 month so I'm thinking putting them in a crate will equal an accident? When my husband does travel and I have to go to work we will have a walker come in but that would equal atleast 4 hrs in the crate and I think that's unreasonable at the puppies young age? Thanks


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## missc89 (Jan 20, 2015)

kal0828 said:


> I agree using pads will delay full training but my concern is my husband does work from home but at some point will have to travel or we'll be out of the house for more then 45 min, I feel like a 10 or 12 week old puppy would have a hard time holding pee or poop in a crate for 45 min-1 hr? From what I've read it seems most puppies are unable to control there bladder till around 4 month so I'm thinking putting them in a crate will equal an accident? When my husband does travel and I have to go to work we will have a walker come in but that would equal atleast 4 hrs in the crate and I think that's unreasonable at the puppies young age? Thanks


Rule of thumb for puppies being able to hold it in is generally 1 hour for every month they are, PLUS one hour. Your 2 month old puppy should be okay for 3 hours, and if you get hydroponic grass instead of using pads, that will not confuse your dog.

This was written in my post - I went back and bolded/underlined the information


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I prefer crate. Crates are so useful in house training, and I wouldn't use a pen with pee pads unless I had no other option. Potty training will be much easier in the long run if you just take him out a ton and don't rely on pads. An 8 week old puppy should be able to hold it in a crate for 3 hours while they're asleep (not that they won't be able to hold it that long when they're awake and running around!) 45min-1 hour is absolutely doable. My 8.5 week old puppy pees like every 15min while we're home, but she can easily hold it in a crate for a couple hours.

For night time, I crate in my bedroom, but it's up to you. I know people who have crated in another part of the house and it was fine.


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