Crate inside of Xpen

[browniemiss]

A few weeks ago, my husband suggested that we put the crate inside of the Xpen. I thought he was crazy. But after researching here, I found that it is actually done. Now that I think about it, it is a great idea. It would definitely save space b/c it seems like her stuff is all over our living room!

I would like to start doing this. So far, she has been crate trained and rarely has an accident. We leave her in there while at work and/or at night. She sleeps in there. She's in her Xpen at other times. Here, she eats, plays, lounges, etc. Sometimes, she will have accidents and pee/poop in there.

Tonight I put the crate in the Xpen just to see how she would do. I was wondering if I should leave the door open so that she can go in and out freely. Also, we usually leave newspaper and a small rug in there for her. She has pulled it all out to play with. Do you leave newspaper in your crates? Should I leave her toys out of the crate so that she learns that the Xpen is her play area? I plan to leave her food and water in the usual place in her Xpen. I just have to get this potty training thing down. I plan to buy a litter box tomorrow.

Thank you in advance!!

[amyann]

What we did was to put her blanket and a few toys in her crate but NOT the paper. She should not be doing her business in her crate. So, just put paper down in an area (in the Xpen) away from her food and water. Actually, her food and water should be closer to her crate. Sort of lay it out like a house. You know, you can do a lot of things in the bedroom (for her is her crate) and then go to your bathroom when you gotta go. My baby would get her toys out of her crate by herself if she wants to play outside of her crate and get it back again when she wants to play in her room.

[browniemiss]

Thanks a bunch!! This helps out alot!! I will definitely remove the newspaper.

Does your pup sleep in the crate or xpen at night? If you put the pup in the crate, do you close and lock the door?

[Laura]

When the pups were younger, I put my crate in the x-pen, food and water on a rug, pee pee pad, and toys in the crate and the extra play-space. I took the door off the crate. I did not latch the cage together and used the opening as a door (I thought it was easier than messing with the door). Then you can just slide it open when you want them to get in and out.

Now that they are older, I have taken the food and water out and I never close the x-pen. I have a bin on top of the crate to put leashes, harnesses, brushes and miscellaneous dog stuff in and I have a little basket in the cage floor where I load up their toys when I want to pick up. Of course they just start dragging them all out again.

[amyann]

Originally Posted by browniemiss

Thanks a bunch!! This helps out alot!! I will definitely remove the newspaper.

Does your pup sleep in the crate or xpen at night? If you put the pup in the crate, do you close and lock the door?

She sleeps on her blanket whick is placed in the crate. Actually, we use her hard carrier now instead 'cause it's warmer in winter. The door is left open so she can go potty whenever she needs to. She will not want to soil her crate but it's hard for a puppy to hold it. I tried shutting the door at first but I can never get to her in time in the middle of the night when she cry (she was in our masterbath at the time and it only take me seconds to get there ). I found it easier to just leave the door open for her.

My problem was she would only use the newspaper once unless it's dry up already. So I got up to change her paper if I heard any movement at night. Anyway, you could just set up a larger potty area at night to save yourself some trouble if that works better for you. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[NJYorkieFamily]

We don't have an XPen, but we keep our puppys crate in the downstairs bathroom. We had the wire crate, which he hated, so we're using the Vari-Kennel type with a soft bed inside - which he likes. We took the door off of the crate, so it's open at all times. Next to his crate is a puppy pad, on the other side are his food and water bowls. We bought a baby gate, and the bathroom door is gated at night (and when we go out). During the day, the gate is removed, and Brownie is free to roam. The past two weeks, I would consider him trained (fingers crossed) - he returns to the bathroom to do his business. (We also walk him several times a day, which he loves, but he will not go potty outside. He'll come back inside and head straight to the pad in the bathroom. Is this reverse training or what?) At night, he leaves his crate to go potty, but then goes back to sleep in the crate. It's the best thing we ever did, and he's happy too!

[Cherry]

I know there was another post similar to this one but I couldnt find it. Diezel is 10 months now and does not let me sleep at night. I can ignore as much as I can. My biggest problem is once I am up there is no going back to sleep.

Last night I tried putting the crate and wee wee pad inside the pen. But my boyfriend comes back with this cute smile on his face saying that Diezel was laying on top of his crate. As cute as it was I was afraid of him trying to jump over and really hurt himself. Ther are no points at the top of the pen but I still dont think it is safe.

Any suggestions would be great on a better set up would be great!

[peanut's mom]

I tried this when my pup was younger but as she grew she learned that the crate top could be used to escape the x pen .so i have taken dowm her crate.

[BabyFidgette]

Originally Posted by browniemiss

A few weeks ago, my husband suggested that we put the crate inside of the Xpen. I thought he was crazy. But after researching here, I found that it is actually done. Now that I think about it, it is a great idea. It would definitely save space b/c it seems like her stuff is all over our living room!

I would like to start doing this. So far, she has been crate trained and rarely has an accident. We leave her in there while at work and/or at night. She sleeps in there. She's in her Xpen at other times. Here, she eats, plays, lounges, etc. Sometimes, she will have accidents and pee/poop in there.

Tonight I put the crate in the Xpen just to see how she would do. I was wondering if I should leave the door open so that she can go in and out freely. Also, we usually leave newspaper and a small rug in there for her. She has pulled it all out to play with. Do you leave newspaper in your crates? Should I leave her toys out of the crate so that she learns that the Xpen is her play area? I plan to leave her food and water in the usual place in her Xpen. I just have to get this potty training thing down. I plan to buy a litter box tomorrow.

Thank you in advance!!

Well, I tried that, and this is what happened. Baby climbed on TOP of the crate and then proceeded to climb out of the xpen!!! Now she climbs out of the xpen!!! So much for the xpen...and I REFUSE to crate her all day while I'm at work. What I will eventually do is put some kind of cover on the xpen.