# That Little Pipsqueak!!!



## emichel (May 3, 2012)

To continue the saga with Benjamin -- 2 days ago I bought a 24 inch high expen, and set it up in my bedroom with all of his supplies. Things were going better, but from taking all the good advice from some of the very exerienced people on here, I realized that I was still giving him too much space. He was still missing the paper sometimes, and it was too much "freedom" for him to have his bed, food, water, toys, and potty area all available at once. I made it smaller and just put in his crate and the newpapers for pottying, with only a few inches of space in between. I put him in it and watched, and it was hilarious! It was like he was plotting a jailbreak, trying to dig under it and jump over it. Then he settled down a bit and sat in his crate. I took the opportunity to go in the other room and do some stuff on the computer. He started barking and yapping, but I ignored it, then all of a sudden he was right at my side, bouncing up and down wagging his tail! I can't believe that little 9-week old pipsqueak was able to get over a 24 inch enclosure! I mean I knew he would outgrow it soon and I would need a taller one, in fact that was what I was looking for online when he busted out! I put him back in just so I could finish up what I was doing, including this post, figuring I at least had a few minutes before he could get out, but he did it faster the second time. Then I popped him back in there in his crate, with the door closed. He is mad, and lettimg me know it. Jeesh, what a handful! Don't get me wrong, I love the little guy with all my heart. He has so much spirit and energy and determination, and I know it will serve him well in life, but seriously... :frusty:

So, until I get the 30 inch one I just ordered -- now I think maybe I should have gotten 36 inches, but we'll see -- I will have to lock him in the bathroom if I have to run to the grocery store or something.

Here is a picture of him plotting his jailbreak.
-- Eileen


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

Oh my gosh! You have got a clever one. Do you have childproof latches on your cabinets?

ound: Thank goodness he is so CUTE!


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

ha ha I feel for you. I'm sure he'll be up on the furniture in no time, too!!

Lucky for me Brody wasn't/isn't a climber or jumper. I don't think he'd make much of an agility dog. Heck, when we walk to my car in the morning, when we go through the parking lot he walks around those cement parking blocks rather than just go over them!


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## emichel (May 3, 2012)

Not yet, Pam, that is another thing I will have to think about. I don't see how he could open them, but knowing him, he could find a way. Tracy, Brody just has the philosophy of "work smarter, not harder". ound:

Benjamin was quite happy to stay in his crate and enclosed area as long as I was near him watching TV in my room. I have so much to learn, I know, but feel that I've already learned so much in the past week. I didn't go in the bedroom until he stopped crying and yapping, then when he was quiet I went in but did a couple of other things first, then knelt down and petted him through the grating. He just lay there quietly for a while, then fell asleep. Success!! :whoo:

-- Eileen


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

LOL ... healthy, strong pup you have there that's for SURE!! 
My Tillie also jumped right out of her x-pen, first time I left her. She WAS 14 weeks old at that point (that's when we got her) but she was only 3.2 lbs, a tiny thing... up and over the x-pen... sigh... we went straight to crate training and thankfully she did just fine!
BUT I wasn't training for an indoor potty....
At 2 yrs old she can easily jump 3-4 ft, straight up onto something without a running start .. she would have been an incredible agility dog if we had accses to training facilities here and IF I could keep up with her!


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## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

It is possible that Benjamin is not as good a jumper as Tillie, but he could be getting on top of his crate first and then jumping over the ex-pen from there.

In any event, you do not want him jumping down from this height until after his skeleton has finished growing - at least a year. He could hurt his joints or his back.

he is adorable, and that makes it hard not to laugh at him when he shows up when you thought he was secure in the ex-pen. "Look how talented I am!! Aren't you proud of me?"


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## LindsC (May 28, 2012)

Wow, I am lucky, mine hasn't even thought about jumping the 24 inch yet, he's been home for two weeks and is 11 weeks old today. Oh boy, I might have something to look forward to!

How big is benjamin? So cute!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

LindsC said:


> Wow, I am lucky, mine hasn't even thought about jumping the 24 inch yet, he's been home for two weeks and is 11 weeks old today. Oh boy, I might have something to look forward to!
> 
> How big is benjamin? So cute!


Not necessarily. Kodi is 3 yrs old, he IS an agility dog, is percectly capable of jumping out of his ex-pen, but he has never challenged it. It has as much to do with personality as jumping ability. Some just seem to respect boindaries more than others!


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## Pixiesmom (Jul 31, 2008)

They are determined little stinkers. I had to get a top for Pixie's ex pen. She could scale it with ease.


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Sounds like you have your handsful , Misty is a crate escape artist, she has to be in a pet taxi when we go to class, she tore up two soft sided crates, the wire crates she would chew and scratch, the taxi works for us, hope you find something.


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## emichel (May 3, 2012)

What's a pet taxi? I just ordered a new soft sided carrying case. After our adventure on Tuesday when he pooped in his carrying crate -- it's just an old one I've used for my cat -- I was unable to get the top off if it to clean it out, so realized I needed a new one. Now I know I need to be at least one step ahead, if he demolishes that new soft sided one. What is this pet taxi of which you speak?  He's actually very even tempered and placid in some ways, so maybe I won't need it, but I want to BE PREPARED. LOL.
-- Eileen


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## marlowe'sgirl (Jun 17, 2010)

The Laughing Magpie said:


> Sounds like you have your handsful , Misty is a crate escape artist, she has to be in a pet taxi when we go to class, she tore up two soft sided crates, the wire crates she would chew and scratch, the taxi works for us, hope you find something.


OMG! I am thanking my lucky stars. Compared to this my little guy was an angel when he was a puppy. The worst we had was a demolished roll of toilet paper, a few magazines, a trash bag torn to bits. These were all our fault for leaving them in his reach, which he diligently taught us the extent of. We've also learned to keep stuff out of our cat's reach. Unattended food will be knocked off the counter or table to be fed to our Hav. He is still quite the shoe stealer. Those in the habit of removing their shoes while they watch tv, will look down to discover that their shoes are nowhere to be found; and neither is our pup.


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

A pet taxi is just a travel crate that is hard plastic, with a stainless steel door.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I saw Benjamin again today at puppy playtime. He was so cute and fearless playing with the other puppies (large and small). I can't believe how big my Emmie (6 lbs) seems next to him. They played well together; running and rolling around, just two adorable furballs!

- Jeanne


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

The Laughing Magpie said:


> A pet taxi is just a travel crate that is hard plastic, with a stainless steel door.


Yeah, they have various names, depending on the maker. But all the ones I've seen are pretty easy to take apart at the side seams for cleaning. (or to remove the door, a we've done with the one he sleeps in in my office)

Just be careful if you buy one. Some designs are definitely better than others. The one in my office is a Petmate Kennel-Cab. I got it because it had the biggest ventilation holes, which I thought was good, and I thought the little compartment on the top might be useful. (it really isn't<g>) Unfortunately, it also has a couple of serious design flaws. First, the opening is rounded, which forces the door to swing shut, meaning that if you try to leave it open for the dog to go in and out, they can't get back in. Second, the pieces that attach the top and bottom are flimsy plastic flaps that open too easily. I would never carry the crate with a dog inside it.:

http://www.petco.com/product/111729...-Kennel-for-Pets.aspx?CoreCat=FamilyCrossSell

Mine is tan, not blue, but you can see the connection pieces between the top and bottom. That's what you want to avoid.

The one I now use for trials (and general travel) is called a "Classic Kennel":

http://www.petco.com/product/11074/Petco-Classic-Kennel.aspx

This one has a square opening, so the door stay open if you want it to, and the top attaches to the bottom with sturdy plastic wing nuts. Even if one DID break, it would be easy to replace with a metal wing nut from the hardware store.

There are other brands available too, and many are fine. Just look out for design flaws so that you don't end up having to replace it after you've owned it for a short while!


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## ShirleyH (Sep 13, 2009)

Everest is next!  Karen is right--has lots to do with personality. Keeper doesn't climb, nor does he go down the stairs to our lower level which most dogs would do. We've never taught him to do it and believe me we wont.

Keeper's Mom


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## emichel (May 3, 2012)

Thanks, Karen, I'll check out that 2nd one you mentioned.
-- Eileen


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## emichel (May 3, 2012)

MarinaGirl said:


> I saw Benjamin again today at puppy playtime. He was so cute and fearless playing with the other puppies (large and small). I can't believe how big my Emmie (6 lbs) seems next to him. They played well together; running and rolling around, 2 adorable furballs!
> 
> - Jeanne


Thanks, Jeanne, it is so awesome that we are in puppy playtime together, and Benjamin loves it! I think he truly is fearless, which is both endearing and alarming. Some of those puppies were too high for him to even sniff their butts! ound: If I didn't trust those trainers so much, I never would have allowed him in there. We're always glad when Emmie shows up, and it is so fun to watch those two little fluff balls tumble around together. See you next week. :wave:
-- Eileen


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

The kids will have fun again next week at puppy playtime! 

I'm really happy with the crate I purchased from "Doctors Foster and Smith" and other stuff I've bought from them.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3307+10627+16017&pcatid=16017


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

krandall said:


> The one I now use for trials (and general travel) is called a "Classic Kennel":
> 
> http://www.petco.com/product/11074/Petco-Classic-Kennel.aspx
> 
> ...


The one I have looks just like this. It's a dark blue. Brody is too heavy to be carried in it anymore though, the handle will fall off! He still really likes it and can get up and turn around in it, so I haven't got him a bigger one. When he was little (before he was fully vaccinated) I would carry him to and from the car at my apartment in it and then use it for his crate at work.

It comes apart really easily for cleaning, but doesn't come apart on its own. Also, when I flew with him, I was able to take it apart and nest the pieces together and put it in the bottom of my suitcase with all my clothes in it and around it and it basically didn't eat into any of my packing space which I thought was great. I didn't trust him not to chew threw his soft sided travel/airplane carrier when he was little, so it was really nice to be able to bring the hard crate with me.


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