Pet pen vs crate

Scueva

New member
Sep 27, 2012
738
22
Chicago, IL
Bulldog(s) Names
Duchess
So I was wondering if anybody has used a pet pen.
http://www.petsupplies.com/item/iris-plastic-pet-exercise-pen-63-x-63-x-34/192193/

Duchess currently uses a 36" plastic crate but she is only 6months and I'm sure she will grow out of it soon. I'm also looking to get a new bully boy. So I thought that a play pen might be better for them to hang out in during the day when I'm not home. Duchess is crate trained and I would crate train my new bully before allowing them to be in their together while I'm away. Anybody have any experience with these? Are they sturdy enough to hold a bulldog!? Would it be better to allow them to be together when I'm away. Or should I just crate them separately? I just feel like duchess is already on her 3rd crate which is 36" and Im thinking she could use a bigger one already! Any thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 

JAKEISGREAT

.................
Mar 25, 2011
14,802
1,155
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Jake
We have used the wire Xpens ..they are great because they can be used tons of ways. Plus..I prefer wire to plastic. If you are going to crate them, I would get 2 wire crates and put them side by side. Instead of getting multiple crates, get a 36 inch wire crate with a divider that can be made bigger as they grow. The plastic crates are actually much warmer and don't have the air circulation that wire ones do. Walmart has great ones and at prices much better than pet stores.
 

linwhite

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Sep 24, 2012
605
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Tallahassee, FL
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Guido Zamboni - EB, Zoltan - Shortybull, Zeva - Frenchie
Attach the kennel pen to the crate. You can use zip ties from the electrical dept at Lowes or Home Depot. Then she'll have her kennel and more room to move around in. Once any Newbies are crate trained you can run the pens between the 2 crates. Get the pens from Amazon. Midland are usually the least expensive I think.They are much less expense there I've found. Unless your bullies can jump over stuff you can get the 24" high ones. They all are 8 2' panels regardless of height. I used them to fence my back yard. I had to put a fence support post every 6 to 8 feet but they've held up well.
 
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Scueva

New member
Sep 27, 2012
738
22
Chicago, IL
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Duchess
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Thanks for the input. I never thought to ziptie the crate to the play pen. That's a great idea because they can have their own space or play in the pen!
 

Davidh

Head Pooper Scooper
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Mar 21, 2011
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Katy, Texas
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[MENTION=6209]Scueva[/MENTION], the x-pens are great to give them more room to play in, but I would not let them play together in it all day while you are not home to supervise them, as they will play together and may get too rough with each other and no one around to monitor it. They need their rest when they are young. We let our pups play together for short periods and then give them a break and nap time. When you buy another crate for your bully I suggest getting the wire crates, as the plastic ones, bullies tend to get too hot in them as there is not enough air flow in them. We have an x-pin set up for our pups when they are small and once they get a little bigger, like around 10 weeks old we put them in their own crate to sleep in and stay in while we are gone.
 

elearn

Bully lovin' gypsy
Community Veteran
Jul 31, 2012
1,207
53
Northern New Jersey
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Herman
I have an xpen attached to Herman's crate. Herman spends more time in his crate than the x-pen, but the benefit is that you can leave the crate door open and put the water and food in the pen instead of the crate. It will take up a lot of space but it's a great set up. the midwest pens do come with some little snap fasteners you can use to attach to a wire crate.
 

sheshistory

Moderator
Jul 11, 2010
3,395
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I just need to add one more point to this discussion - be careful using a pen with a puppy. I made is SO much harder on myself by giving my puppy the extra space because he became used to going potty in the house because he could poop or pee in one corner and lay in the other corner. So if you're going to use a pen, I would use it AFTER you have completed potty training to avoid mixed signals.
 

JeannieCO

Queenie
Mar 11, 2011
12,680
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Tip of the Mitt, Michigan
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Bulldog(s) Names
Emma, Charlie, Milo, Peekaboo and Jack
Personally I would get a crate not an xpen or plastic pen. Like the others have said get a crate (double door preferably) that has a dividers. You want to keep it realatively small during their potty training stages and that can last up to 6 months of age. Putting the two together all day is not a good idea like [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] said, they need their rest. Also, since Dutchess is potty trained already adding a puppy in the crate will confuse her most likely as the puppy is going to have accident until it can hold their bladder longer and longer. And if you had the two together when you're not around if the puppy has a pooper and a piddle, Dutchess is bound to step in it too.

One more thing on the plastic pen/xpen. I had Emma in one that I shrunk down and zip-tied it to Wilson's crate. We'll she had a big mess one day and I had to wash both crates. When I put it all back together here's what happened the following day cause I forgot to zip-tie it to the other one and had left Wilson out to finally roam like a big boy.

I have a camera so I was able to capture these pics from work on my phone. :laugh: Emma in crate at noon.
571E53B1-B6B7-4A10-AC1D-5D304075761A-236-00000032A0E9F05A.jpg


Where's Emma and her xpen :bigeyes: :bigeyes:
DA5843B0-BBF6-4AFB-85F4-71E9167273AC-236-0000003293E1C41A.jpg


Here's her xpen 12 feet away from where it was suppose to be. She escaped out.....:biglaugh:
FC5A891D-E63A-4908-A803-1EA5C458C603-745-00000080E3D446F0.jpg
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
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Jul 28, 2011
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Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
[MENTION=2014]JeannieCO[/MENTION] Well, she is a smart cookie and at least she did not make a mess and took everything with her and the xpen. :rofl:
 

maggies mom

New member
Aug 22, 2012
53
0
Bulldog(s) Names
maggie
I just need to add one more point to this discussion - be careful using a pen with a puppy. I made is SO much harder on myself by giving my puppy the extra space because he became used to going potty in the house because he could poop or pee in one corner and lay in the other corner. So if you're going to use a pen, I would use it AFTER you have completed potty training to avoid mixed signals.
I totally agree with this, I made the same mistake too! It is nice though if you have to do some things around the house to be able to put them in a pen with a few toys, it made me feel less guilty.
 

TonkaTruck28

New member
Mar 19, 2012
401
21
Alberta, Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Tonka
I just need to add one more point to this discussion - be careful using a pen with a puppy. I made is SO much harder on myself by giving my puppy the extra space because he became used to going potty in the house because he could poop or pee in one corner and lay in the other corner. So if you're going to use a pen, I would use it AFTER you have completed potty training to avoid mixed signals.

We've used the crate/ xpen combo for Tonka since 8 weeks. I crated him only at night til about 5 months and used the full combo while at work and all the time from 5 months on. I didn't think it was fair to essentially make him pee in his crate while we were at work because he was too little. We just got the little fake potty patch and put it in the xpen and he took to going on that right away, so no mess other than hosing that off after a 9 hour work day. It was great. He stopped using the potty patch at about 5 months all on his own and started holding it til we got home. I took the potty patch out at about 6 months and he has never had an accident. I don't think it hindered his potty training at all, but helped immensely. It still helped to teach him that there is a spot that you are expected to go, and when he got big enough that he felt that spot was too close to where he was sleeping he decided that outside was the only good place, all on his own!
 

mdn525

New member
Aug 2, 2012
191
2
Bulldog(s) Names
Petunia aka "Tuni"
I have a question for anyone who used the crate/xpen combo. What type of surface do you put the xpen on? Right now Tuni basically has her own room that we have her crate in, but if we added a xpen, it would be on carpet. Would it stay put on carpet? Also, is there anyway she could knock it over?...lol she's feisty.
 

TonkaTruck28

New member
Mar 19, 2012
401
21
Alberta, Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Tonka
[MENTION=5602]mdn525[/MENTION] We have a click together flooring for in a garage inder Tonkas pen. Also, it is attached to his crate So he has never knocked it over tho he has changed its shape lol
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1349707175.886606.jpg
 

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