# Leave puppy in a crate or a playpen??



## Sneakers22 (Feb 12, 2016)

I am getting a goldendoodle puppy next week. 








I did a lot of reading and I have mixed feelings when it comes to either putting a puppy in their crate or in a play pen when I leave the house or am busy at home. People say you shouldn't put the puppy in the crate because they could associate negative feelings when in their and you want their home to be a safe haven/fun place to hangout. Having a play pen makes it easier for the puppy to play around and stretch out even when you are at home. 

This also goes for potty training since having a play pen would give the dog more space to soil the ground rather than inside their crate.

I personally would like to buy a play pen but only If absolutely necessary because the puppy I am getting was already 1000$ 

My ultimate goal is to potty train her and have her love her crate while I'm gone as well as when I'm home. Any thoughts on this matter?


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## rkj__ (Dec 15, 2015)

Crate training is a good thing for a lot of dogs and their owners. 
Yes, you do need to put some thought and work into ensuring that the crate is a positive place to be. You can keep the door open, and keep toys in there, so the dog can freely go in and out when you are around. You can serve meals in the crate as well, since most puppies love eating. If good things happen in the crate, and the dog does not get trapped every time it goes in, it likely won't hate the crate. Keep it lined with a nice soft blanket or towel to keep it comfortable. Skip dog beds, as young puppies often chew them to pieces quickly. There is tons of information online about crate training, if you want to do some googling and reading. If you have specific questions, feel free to post them here.

How long will you be leaving your puppy alone?
How long after bringing her home will you be leaving her alone for the longer durations?
How old will the puppy be when you bring it home?

It's often suggested to not leave the puppy in the crate longer than it can "hold it," and give it an option to not soil its crate. If you have to leave the puppy for longer durations of time, a play pen setup around the crate, with a puppy pee pad is a popular recommendation. However, using pee pads can make house training more of a challenge. 

Oh, and your puppy is super cute!


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I prefer the crate for potty training reasons. A pen is bigger and much easier for the puppy to pee in the corner.

I also think it's important to crate train dogs for a variety of reasons (travel, vet, etc)


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## SirviRavenWind (Dec 1, 2014)

I would get both, you are making an investment for you and your dog. They help a lot and you will not be disappointed if you train your pup to like the crate. I have 3 crates and a playpen--they did cost a lot but you want to have quality and I have had one for over 10 years and it is still in good condition. Like the others have said it is how you introduce and use it, it can be a good tool should you have to got to the vet or have an emergency.

I don't see it as cruel and you can make sure not to use it in a bad manner. I have found that if you feed them in the crate they become more comfortable and move from there. Mine never had issues but my breeders started crate training before I even brought my two cockers home, and my lab was trained from the previous owner.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

If you put the puppy in the crate for a little while when you are too busy to watch him, give him a Kong or something to keep him busy. I also always give my dogs a treat whenever I have to put them into the crate even when they are older and they all run into their crates when I ask them to go in.

If you have to be away for any length of time, I like to have a pen for a young puppy as they cannot hold it for long and you don't want them to ever have to pee in the crate. My newest pup is also a Golden Doodle and I had her in a pen overnight with newspaper down until she was not peeing during the night, then I switched her to a crate. She was no problem to housebreak, no accidents in the house but I make sure she goes outside after playing eating or any time she starts to wander around. If I could not keep my eye on her she either went back in her pen or she now goes into the crate or outside.


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## TSTrainer (Aug 6, 2015)

I use the crate at night and when I am gone (or can't watch her) for four hours or less, increasing the time as she ages (next month it will be five hours, then six, etc) until she can be in there for the duration of my work day (about seven hours). Currently, when I know I will be gone for more than four hours, I put her in a playpen with a pad. I DO NOT reward her for using the pad, I treat it like she's had an accident (don't react, clean up, carry on) but it is there to protect my floors and for her convenience. Her housebreaking has gone very well, she rarely has an accident anymore at four months old.


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## kdawnk (Mar 26, 2014)

I do both.
I have a crate for night time or leaving for short periods of time.
But I work full time and new 8 week old puppies sometimes have troubles holding it in for a full work day. So rather than having a puppy in her crate and laying in her pee I use a pen.

The pen is set up in my living room, a sheet of plastic laid down, and newspapers or some absorbent layer is put down on top of that.
Puppy is usually crated for the morning, I let puppy out at noon for a pee and play session, and then I put the puppy in the x-pen for the afternoon. I don't usually use the pen after puppyhood, I might if I had smaller dogs though. As they get older and larger the pen turns into a slightly larger dog crate and kind of loses it's purpose - to me.

ETA: I do it this way because it's harder to clean up messes in a crate and I want to do my physical best to set the puppy up to never have an accident in their crate.


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## Sneakers22 (Feb 12, 2016)

rkj__ said:


> Crate training is a good thing for a lot of dogs and their owners.
> Yes, you do need to put some thought and work into ensuring that the crate is a positive place to be. You can keep the door open, and keep toys in there, so the dog can freely go in and out when you are around. You can serve meals in the crate as well, since most puppies love eating. If good things happen in the crate, and the dog does not get trapped every time it goes in, it likely won't hate the crate. Keep it lined with a nice soft blanket or towel to keep it comfortable. Skip dog beds, as young puppies often chew them to pieces quickly. There is tons of information online about crate training, if you want to do some googling and reading. If you have specific questions, feel free to post them here.
> 
> How long will you be leaving your puppy alone?
> ...


Thanks so much 

I will end up buying a playpen but to answer those questions.........

I will be leaving puppy alone for 4-5 hours at a time daily. I just got a one week schedule and might talk to my boss about switching things up.

She will need to be left alone the day after I bring her home

She will be 11 weeks old when she comes home


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## duncan3 (Feb 10, 2016)

I would go with a crate. but a playpen would be good for when you were at home and busy. 

Here are a few things I did when I got my first dog, without my parents help. 
Now when i leave, he has free range to the house. and at night he can sleep anywhere he likes but 9 time out of 10, he goes to his crate.

1) The first few nights of putting him in his crate was rough. I slept on the couch with the crate right beside me. 
2) Putting a treat in the back of the crate, kong with peanut butter, to show that the crate was a good place. You go in the crate and get a treat. 
3) I would put in him in his crate while I was home and leave the room. If he cried, I would wait till he stopped then i would let him out. He would normally on cry for 3 minutes anyway. 
4) I didn't put a blanket, bed , or anything soft in the bottom of the crate until he learned to not use the bathroom in the crate. Lucky, he was potty trained in just a few days and to this day he has only ever used the bathroom in his crate one. 
5) I would take him to the dog park and let him run and play for a while and then when we got home, i would put in his crate and he would fall right asleep.


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## Sneakers22 (Feb 12, 2016)

kdawnk said:


> I do both.
> I have a crate for night time or leaving for short periods of time.
> But I work full time and new 8 week old puppies sometimes have troubles holding it in for a full work day. So rather than having a puppy in her crate and laying in her pee I use a pen.
> 
> ...


I ended up finding a deal for a nice size playpen. its worth the small investmest even if my dog doesnt like when she is older I can always break it down to use as house barriers or sell it all together if I really need to. I like the idea of using it when I am not home because I want the crate to never be soiled and have my puppy love going inside when she needs


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I would use both. Crate training is SO important. A playpen is fine when he's small but it won't take long until he's too big and he'll knock it over.


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