Puppy Pen

Pam I saw your question on what to do with a puppy for 8 hours while you are at work. First let me show you how they are raised.

This is the K-litter (XBox – Maika litter) at exactly 3 weeks. They are raised indoors and are only outside during the day when someone is home with them.

Their pen indoors has definite areas for sleeping (blankets and crates) and eating. They are naturally inclined to do their “business” furthest away from their sleeping eating area, and so the potty area is also defined. The entire pen is fair game for fun and games, and the crates become fun things to climb on and sleeping on top of them is a way to proclaim you are totally cool.

The area not covered with rugs and blankets is covered with wood shavings or wood pellets. The wood pellets do a better job of absorbing liquids, they turn to sawdust and give off a pine scent when they become wet. The shavings do a better job with dog stools, they stick to it, easy to clean up and do a better job of containing the “duty” to one place.

The small plastic pool with the blanket is for Maika to hop into to get away from her kids when they get to be too much.  once the pups start climbing into the escape pool it comes out. The mother dog then starts teaching the pups to nurse nice or do not nurse at all…they have teeth now. The small crates have the doors removed so it is always easy for them to go in and out.  I throw special treats in the back of the crates so they get rewarded for going inside. That is when their mother hasn’t used her paw to fish out the goodies I throw in there.  The pups like to sleep in them. The only thing missing from these pictures are toys and chew things.  They have to come out when Maika goes in because she destroys them.

I use a very similar set up for raising my pups 8 weeks and older that I do not want to leave kenneled outside.  For adults that I want to keep inside but will be gone for a longer stretch of time, I also use this set up but instead of wood chips all over I use the small kiddie pool as a litter box.

The rule of thumb for how long a puppy can be left in their crate before needing a potty break is their age in months plus 1.  So a 2-month old pup can go 3 hours before needing to go out.  For the first week (actually a little less but just count on a week) they will be waking you at 2 am to go outside.

Something you can do at home when you are gone for a long stretch is use a laundry or utility type of room, set up a crate, drinking water, something heavy that will not turn into a play toy, or a bucket on a hook, and a litter box, or newspapers.

An outdoor kennel with shelter, shade and plenty of water is also an option if it is well protected, say inside a yard with a privacy fence, whihc is locked and also a lock on the kennel.

The most used option is to have a trusted friend or neighbor come over mid-day and take your pup out to potty and play.