Why Should You Use an Exercise Pen?

A lot of the time, our clients already are using crates for housetraining their pups.  We also encourage people in the "Zen Dog Pack" to also put a exercise pen (or ex-pen) into play.

An ex-pen is a collapsible, portable pet enclosure made of wire, plastic or mesh panels that opens up into a rectangular, circular or oblong playpen for dogs.  It's a great tool to use for training, indoor containment — at home and while traveling — and makes housetraining easier.

Let's talk about using an ex-pen for housetraining first.  The portability of the ex-pen is something to really exploit here.  Let's say your puppy has fantastic bladder/bowel control in her crate; place her crate inside the ex-pen with the crate door open so she can move freely from her cozy crate to her ex-pen.  Now, under your watchful eye, you can teach her that her ex-pen is an extension of her crate and is another area to keep unsoiled.  Rather than leaving her crated for long periods of time, use the ex-pen to give your puppy more controlled, supervised freedom.

Ex-pens are also excellent for containment.  While you're teaching your puppy the rules of your home — don't gnaw on the coffee table, don't steal the dirty laundry, don't tug on the TV power cord — why not use an ex-pen to create a safe-puppy zone?  Instead of running from room to room after her, plop your pup into her ex-pen with some favorite toys, preferred chews and a comfy cushion.  

Stop bratty behaviors!  When your friends come over for a movie marathon, prevent your puppy from jumping up by teaching her to sit in her ex-pen before coming out to say hello.  If you're playing Tug-of-War in her ex-pen and she gets too amped up after a round or two, rather than getting frustrated, calmly leave your puppy alone in her ex-pen.  In both scenarios, she'll quickly learn what she needs to do in order to hang out with people.

Think about both your puppy's needs and your home layout before buying an ex-pen.  A lot of ex-pens can be reconfigured into large-scale room barriers, which are incredibly useful for open-plan homes.

For more information about Housetraining and Tools for Training, please visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Photo from Rover Pet.