Your puppy is the best and bravest little dog in the world? Fine! Nevertheless… You can never completely trust even the cutest puppy. Because young dogs always do something unobserved.
With a puppy run, you can keep control over curious little bullies when you are not being watched and still offer as much freedom as possible. This makes living with a new dog much more relaxed in the first few weeks.
Here you can find out everything about the usual dog playpen models, their advantages, and their weak points. Because also offer for adult small dogs.
TIP:
- AmazonBasics Pet Pen
- FEANDREA puppy run
- zoom undo outdoor enclosure
- Yaheetech outdoor enclosure
- MC Star Puppy run
- What does a puppy playpen bring?
- For whom is a dog run useful?
- Buying a guide for a good dog run
Amazon Basics Pet Pen
Product Description
- 8 fence elements about 60-120 cm high
- Welded metal hinges
- Various shapes possible
- Optionally with or without a door
- Stainless
- Foldable
- Indoors + Outdoors
- Incl. ground anchor for outside
- Too wobbly for big dogs
Solid grate run for dogs, which is available in different sizes and variants. The connected elements make assembly particularly easy. Weight, stability, and price are in the solid middle range, compared to heavy metal playpens or fabric kennels.
FEANDREA Puppy Run
Product Description
- Stable execution
- Non-slip floor gliders
- Various shapes possible
- Foldable
- Powder coated metal
- Indoor and outdoor
- Plastic caps
- Door panel
- Processing is not quite accurate
Here you get 8 heavy fence elements with dimensions of 77 x 100 cm (W x H) each. Some customers complain about rust spots despite the outdoor coating, but otherwise, there is little to complain about.
Zoomundo Outdoor Enclosure
Product Description
- Up to 120 cm in height
- Door panel
- Stable stand
- Easy assembly
- Indoor and outdoor
- Incl. ground anchoring
- Processing is not quite accurate
Here you also get 8 solid fence elements 60-120 cm high made of powder-coated metal with rounded edges. Here, too, individual users complain about not quite fitting connection elements and rust when used outdoors.
Yaheetech outdoor enclosure
Product Description
- Up to 100 cm in height
- door panel
- Rustproof coated metal
- Indoor and outdoor
- Incl. ground anchoring
- No sharp corners
- The door may need to be re-oiled
This puppy run doesn’t have to hide either and consists of 8 solid metal panels. Due to the maximum height of 100 cm, it may not be suitable for very large puppies.
MC Star Puppy run
Product Description
- Light
- Foldable
- Incl. transport bag
- Great as a spacious folding box for on the go
- With removable roof
- Pop-up construction
- Price-performance ratio
- Can only be used as an octagon
- Small footprint
- Too unstable for medium-sized dog children, especially since the mesh of the doors is easily punctured
- Not escape-proof
- Odor
I have a comparable room kennel for my smaller dogs as a place to sleep in case of illness. From my own experience, however, I can confirm that such solutions give more leeway as a folding box on the go, but are not escape-proof enough without supervision.
Nevertheless, I can imagine such a puppy run made of fabric as a wonderful addition for small puppies on the go.
What does a puppy playpen bring?
Most dog walkers are used by puppy owners.
For first-time dog owners in particular, it can make the training process to become a pleasant housemate easier if the new four-legged friend has as few opportunities as possible to practice unwanted behavior.
Puppies are lively and only have mischief on their minds!
You also want your four-legged friend to learn as quickly as possible during their first year together, for example, how housebreaking works, how to calm down, or what you can and can’t chew on with your sharp puppy teeth.
Especially in the first few weeks after moving in, you should always keep a close eye on your puppy and guide him to make good decisions. On the other hand, you want to teach the little dog not to always be able to be there.
Because sometimes, as a new dog owner, you have to shower, cook, clean, take out the garbage or fetch the post, etc.
And even with the first exercises in staying alone, you want to know that the puppy can’t do anything. A puppy playpen can help teach the young four-legged friend to be busy on their own. He should also learn to be able to sleep without a cramped folding box.
A dog playpen serves to limit the scope of your four-legged friend if you cannot look after him for a moment. On the other hand, the puppy finds its peace here in its own child-free zone, for example.
This way you can relax and let your puppy out of your sight and know that he is in a safe place, cannot mess around, and only has access to safe chews and toys.
Because it is often counterproductive (and now even forbidden in some Scandinavian countries) to lock your scratchy or overtired dog in a narrow folding box and let it romp around there.
A young dog should learn to find peace on its own. Soothing rituals are better here, such as putting the dog in its puppy playpen and giving it sturdy chew toys or a frozen food toy to calm down.
By the way: Even the first dog is sometimes happy when he gets a break from his annoying new “little sibling”. Interactions should always be observed closely at the beginning or, if in doubt, the dogs should be housed separately without supervision, i.e. put the puppy in its own area.
In addition to accessories such as a good collapsible box and puppy separating grids, a puppy playpen is a temporary training aid until the little dog has learned to calm down, respect boundaries, and behave in a civilized manner around the house.
In many cases, the breeder has already made do with fence elements and thus gradually expanded the puppies’ exploration radius around the whelping box or delimited the play area outside with fence elements.
Because a puppy run is of course not only a good help indoors but can also be used outside in the garden or on the go. For example, if the garden isn’t completely fenced off, or if you’re visiting relatives and friends and you know that you’re too distracted to look after your young dog.
Different models of puppy enclosures, therefore, serve different requirements such as stability or play area.
For whom is a dog run useful?
In addition to being used as a puppy playpen for puppies, a dog playpen is mostly used by owners of sick or disabled dogs. Because it also offers these dogs more freedom than a folding box, in which even a large dog can often hardly lie down stretched out.
Here are just a few areas of application for a dog playpen :
- For incontinent dogs, you can cordon off a separate area, especially at night, and layout absorbent mats.
- Senior dogs with dementia can be accommodated more safely in a dog playpen.
- Dogs during the convalescence period that are not intentionally kept quiet in a confined crate will have more freedom in a small indoor dog run.
- Blind dogs are sometimes grateful when they are given a safe area to orientate themselves in.
- It can help unsafe foster dogs or animal protection dogs to temporarily observe everyday events from a safe area.
A dog run is usually quickly set up and quickly folded up again.
A run made of fabric differs from a folding box only in terms of size and shape or is even less resistant due to the metal rods.
With a dog run made of metal, the integrated floor pan is missing.
Tip: Put some washable and waterproof vinyl sheeting under the indoor puppy run for the floor. So your floor is safe from dirt even in the event of a small accident!
What belongs in a dog playpen?
The dog should be offered these things in its playpen:
- Water in a non-tilting water bowl
- Dog bed/folding box as a place to sleep
- Employment, e.g. robust chews, food balls, licking mats
In the case of toys, it is a good idea to exchange or rotate them every few days so that old toys become exciting again. Balls of paper and cardboard rolls are also suitable.
You should avoid pee mats, except for medical reasons. Because your puppy should learn to pee outside and not inside (unless that’s the long-term plan…). And activity toys should be as little destructible as possible. For example, splintering chews and cuddly toys with squeakers are far too great a hazard if left unnoticed.
Buying a guide for a good dog run
Depending on the temperament, dog size, or purpose, there are a few criteria that you want to pay attention to before buying a dog run:
Which freewheel exercise suits your dog?
First, you should think about how strong the fence elements of the dog run need to be. Because once the little one has learned how to escape his running pen, of course, he will!
The dog should either not have any ambition to gnaw, climb, jump over, or tip over the grid elements. That probably only applies to very, very calm puppies. Of course, it’s even better if the dog can’t do it in the first place.
- For large puppies, we recommend a stable metal puppy run with fence elements that are as high as possible. Because long-legged puppies in particular are otherwise encouraged to jump.
- For small puppies, a puppy enclosure made of lattice elements is often sufficient.
- For quiet puppies, a dog run made of fabric or a really generously dimensioned folding box may be sufficient.
- Ideally, you should no longer need a “room kennel” for adult dogs.
The problem here is usually that a large dog will easily jump over the largest indoor dog fences from a standing start. If you still want to keep such an escape artist safe, then realistically you only have other solutions, such as a spacious, covered outdoor kennel or a dog sitter, until staying alone works better.
How big is a dog run?
Most puppy gates are sold in packs of 8 items. Depending on how you set them up, there are different base areas (octagon > square > rectangle). The advantage of this modular puppy gate is that you can theoretically connect several packs together.
Let’s assume that this is the norm, ie that you would like to temporarily house your dog or puppy here when you are not being watched.
He should have enough space to occupy himself and to play.
In addition, there should still be space for a water bowl and a dog bed or a collapsible box as a resting place. For a small puppy, the usual 2-3 m 2 is enough. However, big dog children outgrow this quickly, don’t forget that!
The exercise enclosure shouldn’t be too big either.
Because the puppy should keep quiet here and not get too worked up in whining phases, nor should such an outlet serve as a substitute for activity and exercise!
All in all, of course, you need less space for a small dog than for a large one.
The usual sizes with 8 fence elements are usually more than sufficient for indoor areas to safely accommodate puppies of large dog breeds until basic everyday training and house training can be done without this help.
How stable does the puppy playpen have to be?
The fence elements of the indoor enclosure should be stable.
Choose a dog playpen that is heavy enough not to tip over if the dog leans against it, jumps against it, or has his wild 5 minutes. For medium to large puppies, you should therefore prefer a dog run made of metal!
A fabric dog playpen is of course comfortable and light, but it only really stands up to small or quiet puppies. A wild puppy, on the other hand, will hop away with the whole fabric box or will quickly make its way to freedom with its sharp claws and teeth.
A heavy indoor kennel for the dog is then only transportable to a limited extent. Nevertheless, if in doubt, I would advise larger puppies to buy a separate, lightweight solution for on-the-go.
| Model | Weight |
|---|---|
| AmazonBasics Pet Pen 9004-24B (8x 106.6 x 60.9 cm) | 12.1kg |
| FEANDREA puppy run (8x 100 x 77 cm) | 21.3kg |
| zoom undo puppy run (8x 100 x 77 cm) | 22.3kg |
| Yaheetech puppy playpen (8x 100 x 80 cm) | 21.4kg |
| MC Star Puppy runs foldable (fabric kennel) | 2.5kg |
In order to be able to set up the playpen outside, appropriate pegs or anchors should be included in the scope of delivery.
Tip: If the dog pen is too wobbly for you despite the fastening elements usually supplied, connect the individual elements again generously with cable ties.
How would you like to use the puppy playpen?
Most of you are looking for a boundary to house the pup indoors. If you want to be able to use the playpen outside or on the go, the puppy enclosure must be correspondingly versatile :
Does the puppy enclosure need a door element?
Built-in doorways in high puppy fences are primarily intended to allow you easy entry. A door element in the playpen for puppies is therefore not really necessary. If you would like to ask the puppy into his room kennel through a built-in door, then make sure that the entrance is as flat as possible so that he is not encouraged to jump unnecessarily.
What area should a puppy run have?
First, you should consider what is most practical for your living space. Because it often makes sense to place the fence elements of the puppy playpen in a corner of the room. On the other hand, the puppy has more leeway with a more rounded outlet. Most enclosures offer 2-3 m 2.
Should the puppy run be usable in the garden?
Before you buy it, consider whether you will be using the dog playpen outside or inside. Because that has a significant impact on how stable the run must be and which floor attachment makes sense.
Which dog playpen is transportable?
Due to their low weight, puppy enclosures made of fabric or lattice elements are more suitable for being folded up and taken with you. Heavy metal solutions with a net weight of around 20 kg are of course much more stable in comparison.
How robust does a puppy run have to be?
The run for your little four-legged friend should be resistant to the sharp and pointed puppy claws and puppy teeth. You should also make sure that the puppy playpen is stable enough so that the fence elements do not tip over when the dog jumps or leans against it.
Is it a dog-run escape-proof?
Even if the manufacturers make an effort, no one can guarantee that. Basically, you should make sure that the dog cannot climb or jump over the fence elements in enclosures that are open at the top.
For example, vertical struts offer fewer climbing opportunities than horizontal ones. Sliding locks on door elements or zippers on fabric boxes should also not be accessible to the dog.
The roofing of an outdoor enclosure should always be made of solid material. Fabric roofs can be damaged by the dog without supervision and then used as an escape aid.
How expensive is a puppy run?
You can get a fabric puppy enclosure for small dogs for €25-50. Stable solutions for large puppies usually cost around €100.
How high does the puppy playpen have to be?
Puppy enclosures that are open at the top are available in heights of approx. 60-120 cm. A puppy should not be tempted to jump over the fence elements of the outdoor enclosure. And as soon as a puppy can put its paws on the edge while standing, it can use it to pull itself up.
For large puppies, the following therefore applies: As high as possible! Here the puppy run should be 1 m high or even 1.2 m high.
What material should a dog run have?
There are puppy enclosures made of fabric, plastic, or metal. A fabric dog playpen is lightweight and portable, but will only stand up to quiet little puppies. A metal puppy run is usually better and more robust.