# Question About Ex-Pen Set Up



## MayBTheresHope (Feb 25, 2013)

One quick question about ex pen set ups....I know many of you have the Iris pen with 2 ft wide panels. I bought the Iris pen with 3 foot wide panels. In terms of establishing better potty habits, would I be better off returning it and getting the 2 foot wide panel pen that can be configured to a 2x4 space? She does well with peeing on pads in her 3x3 space, but not pooping. Would this help?


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Or use something to block part of the space with. You have to go small enough for it to work to start with, and gradually go up in size. I can't remember a case of 2x4 not working.


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## MayBTheresHope (Feb 25, 2013)

Thanks, Tom....this is what I was thinking. I like the 3' x 3' b/c the fence is short and I can reach over the top to get her out easily. But.......I want her pad trained! :thumb: There is one at a bargain store for $40....this is where I got the other one, too. I'd better go grab it straight away!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MayBTheresHope said:


> Thanks, Tom....this is what I was thinking. I like the 3' x 3' b/c the fence is short and I can reach over the top to get her out easily. But.......I want her pad trained! :thumb: There is one at a bargain store for $40....this is where I got the other one, too. I'd better go grab it straight away!


You can never have too many ex-pens. I have 3, and we still find uses for them. We've barricaded Kodi out of rooms while painting, away from "his" blueberry bushes so he couldn't "self pick", and as a place to put friend's dogs when we get together to run agility on my course.


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## MayBTheresHope (Feb 25, 2013)

Well the expen at the store had no door, so I guess I will be ordering one online. In the interim, I put down 2 pads in the current expen and added her crate instead of just the dog pillow. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Here is what I came home to this evening...on the positive side, some of it ended up on the pad. I guess that is some progress.









And here is the guilty party after her bath....


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MayBTheresHope said:


> Well the expen at the store had no door, so I guess I will be ordering one online. In the interim, I put down 2 pads in the current expen and added her crate instead of just the dog pillow. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
> 
> Here is what I came home to this evening...on the positive side, some of it ended up on the pad. I guess that is some progress.
> 
> ...


I think part of the problme may be that she runs out of a clean place to go. Kodi would NEVER use a pad that wet and dirty. He refuses to step on litter that is dirty at all.


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

How could you be mad with a face like that, Mom!


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## MayBTheresHope (Feb 25, 2013)

sandypaws said:


> How could you be mad with a face like that, Mom!


I know, right? She is such a sweet little mess!



krandall said:


> I think part of the problme may be that she runs out of a clean place to go. Kodi would NEVER use a pad that wet and dirty. He refuses to step on litter that is dirty at all.


I totally agree. The puppy pads are horrendous. Her paws get wet whenever she pees. Sometimes she tries to pee with her back legs up in the air. How cute is that, yet sad at the same time?

Any thoughts on better pads? I set her pen up differently today. I bought a thick hard plastic mat to put her pen on top of. I put her crate in the pen for the first time to make it a bit of a smaller area. I put in two puppy pads anchored down by the pen and her crate (no frame...the frame I have is too tiny). I am sure that the her feet will get wet when she pees, because of the lack of absorbance from the pads that we are using (have tried several types from local pet stores...all of them are awful).

I am also trying to decide between a UGO Dog litterpan and a Rascal Dog litterbox. I like the ability of the UGO Dog to be expanded, but I don't know if she would take to the grate. I also worry about the grate because her poos, though formed, are still soft. Sigh. The Rascal Dog looks attractive because of the high sides and it has a grate or no grate option. If I can find a decent pad, that might be the best one to buy. It seems small though.

I'd love to do pine litter in one of them because that is the litter we use for our cats and it is wonderful. I just don't know if Miley would take to it, but if I can get her to use the grate, I could just have pine pellets underneath. So many options and unknowns. I wish the boxes were something that I could buy local and that they were not so expensive. I will have to get at least two for our two story house.

Okay, here is today's expen set up.....I love Miley's expression in this photo. It looks like she is saying in a pitiful voice, "You aren't going to leave me in here, are you?"


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MayBTheresHope said:


> I know, right? She is such a sweet little mess!
> 
> I totally agree. The puppy pads are horrendous. Her paws get wet whenever she pees. Sometimes she tries to pee with her back legs up in the air. How cute is that, yet sad at the same time?
> 
> ...


I've never had a Ugo-Dog, because we have never used pads. But I really like the Rascal Dog. WE have the large ones, as Kodi wants to make a circle before pooping, and won't do that if he has to step on anything he deems dirty. We use Equine Pine horse bedding pellets most of the time, though we sometimes use hardwood wood stove pellets too.

The Rascal Dog comes with an attractant spray that might help Miley figure out what the litter is for. Otherwise, you could just put a pee pad in the bottom, and slowly put more pellets on top of it, until she accepts the pellets without a pad underneath.

But if the problem is her dislike of a dirty potty, the only thing that's going to help is to have someone come in and clean her pads or litter box once or twice a day (and maybe take her out for a short walk/potty break) until she's old enough to hold it. It's really tough trying to potty train a puppy when you"re out of the house for long periods on a regular basis.


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

It seems to me like she's trying to do it right and then ends up stepping in it and dragging it about and creating a mess.

I use a Ugodog and really like it. Brody has no problem peeing and pooping on the same tray, however he does tend to pee on one side and poop on the other. Outside, he wants to go in completely different areas, far apart. I only have one tray and I line it with potty pads, but I clean up the poops right away. If I had been leaving him where I thought he'd need to poop more than once, then I think 2 trays would work much better. It's nice because he isn't stepping in his pee. Brody has pretty good poops, firmness-wise, so clean up is very rarely an issue. ON the odd occasion where it is, I just spray what's stuck in the grates off in the tub and disinfect with bleach. I know lots of people think that's gross, but honestly, people have no problems putting poopy babies in their sinks or tubs, so to my mind, what's the difference?

Brody would have just ripped up loose pee pads, so that wouldn't have worked for us at all, we definitely needed them under a grate where he couldn't get at them.

My next thought is regarding the size of the setup. I'm thinking it may be too small. There doesn't seem to be any room to play without stepping in pee or poop....or when she gets excited when she hears you come home, I'm sure she's running through her mess. I'm definitely not an expert on xpen setups as I don't have room for one in my apartment. I use a small set up at work (looks similar size to your set up), but with no potty area in there, he goes outside at work.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I think it will be an easy fix. It's a good thing that she doesn't want to step in it. Once that's lost, as with puppy mill puppies raised in it, I don't see how you fix it.


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## MayBTheresHope (Feb 25, 2013)

We had a better day today. She pottied on her pad (pee & poo) and didn't get into it. I bought the Four Paws brand of pads since they had really high reviews on Amazon. She did all of her business outside tonight and hasn't use the pads yet. We will see how she does with them tomorrow.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MayBTheresHope said:


> We had a better day today. She pottied on her pad (pee & poo) and didn't get into it. I bought the Four Paws brand of pads since they had really high reviews on Amazon. She did all of her business outside tonight and hasn't use the pads yet. We will see how she does with them tomorrow.


YAY!!!


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## MayBTheresHope (Feb 25, 2013)

Okay....the Four Paws pads suck, too.  She pees one time and it spreads out over 2/3 the entire pad and seeps onto Miley's paws. She pees large quantities at a time, so maybe it is just my pup? I can't imagine the problems having a larger puppy would cause...even if you did get the x-large ones. Am I the only one that has this problem?


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

If I was to raise another puppy I would try the Ugodog. Zoey was started off with washable pads then i switched to a litter box but didn't give it enough time. The sisters were eating the pellets. Now Zoey gets mixed up and will pee on any throw rug or bath mat. I like the fact that the Ugodog has a different texture. Maddie as a puppy needed more run for her poos maybe that's whats happening with your pup. I had a fenced in court yard and she would run back and forth along the fence then would go. Tom told me about a tray at home depot used for mixing concrete? or something . I bought it for the litter box and it worked good.I wish I had given it more time because piddle pads are expensive.At that time I didn't know about the ugodog.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

MayBTheresHope said:


> Okay....the Four Paws pads suck, too.  She pees one time and it spreads out over 2/3 the entire pad and seeps onto Miley's paws. She pees large quantities at a time, so maybe it is just my pup? I can't imagine the problems having a larger puppy would cause...even if you did get the x-large ones. Am I the only one that has this problem?


 I have bought several different brands and they all are not that great.What ever happened to the days when we just used news paper? I'm about ready to go back to the washable pads and put news paper under it. I just buy 100% cotton mattress pads and cut them up. I wounder if cloth baby dippers would work.


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## MayBTheresHope (Feb 25, 2013)

Suzi said:


> I have bought several different brands and they all are not that great.What ever happened to the days when we just used news paper? I'm about ready to go back to the washable pads and put news paper under it. I just buy 100% cotton mattress pads and cut them up. I wounder if cloth baby dippers would work.


I was afraid that this might be the case. I am still going to either get a UGO or Rascal and try the grate with Miley. Too bad that they don't make side panels for the UGO. That is my only hesitation since it could be doubled for more poopy dance room. Sigh. She does like her poopy dance.


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## Odieo (Jan 1, 2013)

Suzi said:


> I have bought several different brands and they all are not that great.What ever happened to the days when we just used news paper? I'm about ready to go back to the washable pads and put news paper under it. I just buy 100% cotton mattress pads and cut them up. I wounder if cloth baby dippers would work.


I use washable ones pee/whelping pads..you get them for $7 each (when I got it was $5) on Amazon and they have been amazing, they absorb very well and they are dark brown so you can't really see the stain and puppies feet aren't wet either. here is a link:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/EZwhelp-Washable-Whelping-Puppy-Pad/dp/B003B3W6C8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1364408912&sr=8-2&keywords=whelping+pads"]Amazon.com: EZwhelp Washable Whelping & Puppy Pad 20" x 27": Pet Supplies[/ame]


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## MayBTheresHope (Feb 25, 2013)

Odieo said:


> I use washable ones pee/whelping pads..you get them for $7 each (when I got it was $5) on Amazon and they have been amazing, they absorb very well and they are dark brown so you can't really see the stain and puppies feet aren't wet either. here is a link:
> Amazon.com: EZwhelp Washable Whelping & Puppy Pad 20" x 27": Pet Supplies


Thanks! I will look into these


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## DebW (Jun 11, 2013)

I haven't tried them yet, but I discovered a place in Wisconsin that sells used hospital incontinence pads re-fabricated into washable doggie pee-pee pads. I just a received a box of them. I'm enthusiastic about them because a) they're cheap (2 for $5), b) they're recycled and washable, c) they're large (I'll be cutting them down for my use, and d) they're manufactured by people with disabilities. It's a win-win-win-win!

But I have to repeat - I haven't actually tried them yet. In fact, I haven't even opened the box. Hope I'll be as enthusiastic after I actually try to use them.


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## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

I experimented with pee pads and hated them because the babes shredded them, the grass contraptions I also didn't like because they chewed on the plastic grass. With two holders I cut up some rubber mats that fit perfectly in both and the problem was solved for me as there were no edges for them to get. Easy to rinse off and pick up poops immediately off of. They are house trained but I still have a rubber mat in a holder in their sleeping pen in case of emergency.


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