# Exercise Pen Set Up



## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Ok, so I'm getting ready to leave tomorrow so I finally took the exercise pen I bought out of the box... and it's HUGE. I live in a one-bedroom apartment which means, no room for a six-panel pen. So I brought it down to four panels. This gives a 33x33in. area for the puppy when I'm not around. This is my problem.... this isn't really that big at all. My pee pad by itself takes up a large amount of space! Not to mention the bed, which takes up even more space! :frusty:

I'm sure I should have thought of this earlier, but even if I had set it up earlier, I would still have the problem of no space for the ex pen... so not really something I can help. :doh:

Anyway, my current set up looks like the picture. My question is, should I just take the bed out (which is big, but I do think it's very comfy so I wanted to keep it) and put a blanket on the floor (not very comfortable) or is there some other way I should set it up? Is it ok to have the water bowl where it is or not since it's hard to get to (need to go through the pee pad to get to it)?

Ok, I know these are probably really stupid questions, but I'm just at a loss here. Thanks for any help with this!


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Pretty good although I would take the Pee Pad and move it right in front of the bed.

Derek


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Really? I never would have thought that... then again I've never used pee pads before and have no idea as to their placement. Thanks for the advice Derek!


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I think that is good. Keep the bowl and bed farthest away from the pee pad. I would put some stuff animals in the bed since the bed is probably over sized for now. You will find out if you have a havanese that doesn't really like the bed or one that does. Dora likes cool surfaces and would prefer to lay on the cold tile. I have seen her in her dog bed like 3 times in her life!

Amanda


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Thanks Amanda! Yes, I have plenty of stuffed animals to add to the bed while he grows into it. I have no end of stuffed animals for him.


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

When your hav get's up from sleeping stand infront of the pee pad so that the puppy will walk towards you and they will be autimatically on the pee pad.

Tom Kings Program....Pretty effective...I wouldn't want to take all the credit.

Derek


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

not sure if you have a crate or if this is possible with that set up. A lot of people hook the crate to their xpen and create more of a den sleeping area. Might be another idea if you are trying to get more room in a small space!

Less than 24 hours to puppy time!

Amanda


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Yeah that's a great plan...give the hav a little Den area and a roaming spot as well as a litter area.

Derek


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## Beamer (Jan 29, 2007)

I have the same x-pen as you, but i leave it at 6 panels (double size) I feel bad when I leave him in there since its not much room.. I think Beamer is ready to graduate to a full room or 2 at this point!


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Sure go for it Ryan...give him a little bit more room. He might not cry as much if he does already whe you go out.

Derek


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

I do have a plastic crate and I'll try putting it in there to see if it creates more space. Hopefully it will.

Freeway, hopefully he will be trustworthy soon so I can give him a room to stay in... until then, he will have to deal with the expen. At least he won't have to be in there by himself for long periods of time since I live so close to work that I can come home at lunch.


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## Beamer (Jan 29, 2007)

:biggrin1: Lina..

A fellow fulltime worker! Good stuff.. My wife an I work fulltime aswell. We have our parents come by to feed him and to let him out for a couple hours a day. Or sometimes I take him to one of their homes for the day.

Getting #2 shortly.. so I better start planning on where they will be staying.. I might 'convert' a spare room in the basement into 'the dog' room. I was going to renovate it and put in a new bar and pool table.. but i guess my priorities changed.. lol


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Insted of a square set up perhaps try a more octagonal shape. This can creat more central space as well.

Derek


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Hey Ryan I like the idea of a Bar...for our own guys day sort of...LOL

Derek


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Derek, thanks for the recommendation, but I just don't have the space for an octagon (or even a hexagon). It will just have to be the square. I'm starting to think he will be fine since he really won't be there for more than 3-4 hours at a time.


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Yeah for that long it should be fine for the square shape for now. I wouldn't think you would need any more space than that for now. Sounds like your getting plenty of good advice here on the forum....Keep asking as much as you can....always a plentiful amount of good advice and sound judgement here.

Derek


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## Sunnygirl (Jun 1, 2007)

I have the 6 panel ex pen with a two panel extension, but when we first got our pup, I used only 4 of the panels because I didn't want him to have too much room. I had his plastic crate, his litter box and his water bowl in there. I left the crate door open so the pup could get to the litter box. It was just fine when he was small. I initially had a soft crate pad in the crate, but Nico preferred lying directly on the crate floor. Now that he's bigger, I have all 8 panels set up, but frankly, when he's in there Nico spends most of his time in his crate and for the most part doesn't use the rest of the space.

Edited to add: One thing you might also consider is getting a small piece of vinyl to put under your ex pen to protect the floor.


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Yeah good idea...Nice call on protecting the floor "Sunny". When we had the Cardboard litter box for Radar he soaked right through it and stained the parquet floor underneath.

Derek


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Lina,
The pens looks good, just missing some squeeky toys! My guys love the squeeky ones. If you find the pup doing his business off the pee pad, put pee pads under the entire gated area. You might have to tape them down. After a few days, take one away and so on, until your left with one pad. 

You might also try sleeping in an old T shirt and putting it in there while you are gone. Some pups like having the smell of you around. There's also a snuggle puppy you could try. It's a stuffed animal the pup can curl up to wth a heart beat. Helped my guys their first week here. Might also keep a TV or Radio on while your at work. 


Good luck! Hope we can both make the next NJ playdate!


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## MopTop Havanese (Sep 25, 2006)

I think your set up looks great, especially for a young puppy. You can always expand it as he gets older. I think the pee pad is in an ok spot. if you put it right in front of the bed, he will be walking thru pee/poop each time he gets in/out of the bed!
And the idea of linolium is a great idea, I got a "scrap" piece from Home Depot for around $10, it worked great!


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

We used Linolium for all three, and as they grew and the pen got smaller & smaller, we just cut it to the size we needed, then just threw it out. it is so easy to clean, and less chance of damaging the floor.
Laurie


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## Melissa Miller (Aug 2, 2006)

I think its a good size too! They really dont need that much room. When your not there, they just lay around. I wouldn't worry.


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## dboudreau (Jan 12, 2007)

That is the same ex-pen that Sam used, it worked out fine with the four panels. Everyone else said what I was going to say. Good luck with your pup.


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

I just had an idea. Perhaps we need to have pics of our various ex-pen set ups and how we began setting them up when we first brought our little furbabies hom..... either for training or perhaps if there was some sort of elavorate creations we had for when we left the house and needed to give our Hav something to keep them occupied.

Derek


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I don't have a picture, but the only thing different that I had in my pen were bricks. I used bricks to create steps for the pup. This gave him different textures on his feet and helped him when it came time for the real steps. I was lucky because none of my guys were climbers!

I also threw in the end of toilet paper rolls.


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## radar_jones (May 6, 2007)

Great idea. It also helps for grinding down their nails to prevent them from getting too long. It can also help get them used to walking on concrete.

Derek


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Okay for a second there I was like hmmm I don't think bricks would be good for them to chew on!!! Good idea for steps especially with hearing all the scary things that can happen to puppies who jump!

Amanda


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

I think your set-up looks perfect. As someone else said, just add some toys. Though nothing he could chew through while you are away. So I would say chew toys rather than squeaky toys. Chewing on a favorite chew toy is a great way for a puppy to re-direct any stress he might be feeling at being left, and of course, he is teething probably. And also add his favorite blankey from the breeder's or something with your scent on it, as someone else suggested. You can put that on the bed.

I really strongly prefer leaving a puppy in an ex-pen set-up like this to a crate during the day when you're out or busy. I just finally put Biscuit's away2 mos. ago at 8 mos, and he now has free roam of a big family room-kitchen with no problem.


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

Lina said:


> Derek, thanks for the recommendation, but I just don't have the space for an octagon (or even a hexagon). It will just have to be the square. I'm starting to think he will be fine since he really won't be there for more than 3-4 hours at a time.


Lina,

Do you have room for a rectangle (w/ the 6 panels = 2 panels on the long sides and 1 panel on the short sides)? It would increase the area by double as Kubrick gets bigger. For now, while he's small, your setup looks great!


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