# How long are ex-pens used for?



## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

From what I've been reading here and there it seems most recommended to have a regular crate and an ex-pen, possibly with it's own crate in it or attached to it. 

I'm trying to figure out how long we would use the ex-pen for. I can't imagine it would be very useful once the pup is a bit bigger by 4-6 months. Couldn't they just knock it down? I feel like I'm missing something.

How do you use the ex-pen for your dog?


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I don’t think an ex-pen is really necessary. I have one, but I can’t remember the last time (or the last dog) I used it with.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

I sold mine, and honestly I rarely use a crate.


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

I currently have a small dog so our GSD pup would need to be crated if we are away until older when they can be 'free' together. Or maybe just have a separate room for when we're out.

I'm just having a hard time figuring out the ex-pen thing. I've seen youtube vids of people using it as a play area for their pup. Ian Dunbar's book says to use it as a 'long term confinement' area for when out but I don't see how that plays out with a GSD beyond 4 months of age.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Nora has already dragged her crate across the room. I can only imagine what she’d do with an ex-pen!


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

dogfaeries said:


> Nora has already dragged her crate across the room. I can only imagine what she’d do with an ex-pen!


That made me chuckle, such determination, and initiative! Those paws were made for moving.


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

dogfaeries said:


> Nora has already dragged her crate across the room. I can only imagine what she’d do with an ex-pen!


Lol, she does look like a really strong girl!


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

I bought one for Cion but only used it twice. It was pretty useless inside.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

I sold my ex pen years ago. Found it less then useful. I had a 4x6 portable dog run that had a roof panel that I set up in my spare room for pups. Loved it. Put it on a 4x8 sheet of plywood with lino stapled to it for easy clean up and to protect the flooring.
But the thing is that the more room you give pups to toilet in the house the more work it is to house train, so it ends up being counter productive.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

The only way I have successfully implemented one took as much training as teaching the dog house manners and a solid place command.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

dogfaeries said:


> Nora has already dragged her crate across the room. I can only imagine what she’d do with an ex-pen!


When Cion was hungry he would throw his crate around.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

Bearshandler said:


> When Cion was hungry he would throw his crate around.


Hahaha... Got video?

Valor jumped up on the dog room counter (all 4 feet) grabbed his bowl, ran into the living room with it and threw it at me tonight. I wish I had video.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

David Winners said:


> Hahaha... Got video?
> 
> Valor jumped up on the dog room counter (all 4 feet) grabbed his bowl, ran into the living room with it and threw it at me tonight. I wish I had video.


We all love Valor so much. I’m not showing Nora this post.


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

Sabis mom said:


> I sold my ex pen years ago. Found it less then useful. I had a 4x6 portable dog run that had a roof panel that I set up in my spare room for pups. Loved it. Put it on a 4x8 sheet of plywood with lino stapled to it for easy clean up and to protect the flooring.
> But the thing is that the more room you give pups to toilet in the house the more work it is to house train, so it ends up being counter productive.


The only place I would have enough space for that would be the basement and I'd feel bad having my dog down there by herself. 

It seems like it's not really practical.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

David Winners said:


> Hahaha... Got video?
> 
> Valor jumped up on the dog room counter (all 4 feet) grabbed his bowl, ran into the living room with it and threw it at me tonight. I wish I had video.


Not of that haha. I think I should set up a 24 hour camera to catch some of these antics.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

GS2020 said:


> The only place I would have enough space for that would be the basement and I'd feel bad having my dog down there by herself.
> 
> It seems like it's not really practical.


What do you do with your dog when you’re gone?


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

Yes! I would love to see some of these videos. Whew, you all have got me a little worried.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

dogfaeries said:


> We all love Valor so much. I’m not showing Nora this post.


I love puppies! I love the challenge and the craziness. I love to watch them grow and to help shape them into good dogs. I love that he took the initiative to retrieve and throw his bowl at me. Those are a lot of dots to connect for a puppy brain.

I just had a PM conversation about a puppy jumping up and how to stop it. Valor jumps up sometimes. He's a puppy and he's getting better but it's not something I'm going to hammer into him because he's not dangerous about it and it's kind of fun for our household.

If he threw his crate across the living room, I'd be incredibly proud


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

GS2020 said:


> Yes! I would love to see some of these videos. Whew, you all have got me a little worried.


I had a Great Dane pull a ceiling fan off the ceiling. GSDs are easy 😜


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

Bearshandler said:


> What do you do with your dog when you’re gone?


I've been really lucky with my current dog and my last dog. They were both adult rescues and were already really good in the house. So, I've never needed to crate. We have a crate but it really just sits there and collects dust. He'll run into it if the vacuum is running or something but that's pretty much it.

I've also only ever had one dog at a time. So we'll be going from 1 to 2 with 1 being a small 11 lb dog and 2 being an 8 week old GSD puppy.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

GS2020 said:


> Yes! I would love to see some of these videos. Whew, you all have got me a little worried.


They only do what they’re allowed to, at least in the house. You might run into some creative things from them, but most aren’t that hard to manage.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

GS2020 said:


> I've been really lucky with my current dog and my last dog. They were both adult rescues and were already really good in the house. So, I've never needed to crate. We have a crate but it really just sits there and collects dust. He'll run into it if the vacuum is running or something but that's pretty much it.
> 
> I've also only ever had one dog at a time. So we'll be going from 1 to 2 with 1 being a small 11 lb dog and 2 being an 8 week old GSD puppy.


The GSD probably won't hide in the crate from the vacuum. It's a great way to proof "leave it"


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

GS2020 said:


> I've been really lucky with my current dog and my last dog. They were both adult rescues and were already really good in the house. So, I've never needed to crate. We have a crate but it really just sits there and collects dust. He'll run into it if the vacuum is running or something but that's pretty much it.
> 
> I've also only ever had one dog at a time. So we'll be going from 1 to 2 with 1 being a small 11 lb dog and 2 being an 8 week old GSD puppy.


I always crate mine when I leave, especially the young one. Aside from the random acts of destruction, I think I’ll come home to the aftermath of a “disagreement” if I leave them alone for too long. That comes down to personalities though.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

David Winners said:


> I had a Great Dane pull a ceiling fan off the ceiling. GSDs are easy


I second this! Raise a few Danes and GSD's seem really easy.


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

I'm excited to see what kind of fun things this pup will do!


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## chuckd (Jul 16, 2019)

We use our ex-pen everyday and twice on Sunday.... to corral stuff that we don't want Roomba to get tangled up/stuck on. 

When we got Bogan at 9 weeks, we did use it all the time when we were introducing him to Gunnar. That was about 3 weeks, or so.


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

chuckd said:


> We use our ex-pen everyday and twice on Sunday.... to corral stuff that we don't want Roomba to get tangled up/stuck on.
> 
> When we got Bogan at 9 weeks, we did use it all the time when we were introducing him to Gunnar. That was about 3 weeks, or so.


We've been kickin around the idea of a Roomba but I've always resisted because I wasn't sure if I could manage the floor stuff all the time, but that's actually a great idea!


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I use my Xpen all the time, and a child play yard. But I don’t use them to contain the dogs. When my older dog was a puppy she destroyed everything she could reach. She ate a camera bag, stuffed animals, and got into all my supplies. My friend found a child play yard and an Xpen sitting out by someone’s curb and let me borrow them. That dog was a tiny little thing and still managed to lift the pen and escape. So I opened them full length and used one to separate my home office and another to keep the dogs from chewing electric cords in my family room. I put them away when she was old enough to stay out of things. Then I got another puppy and he did the same thing. He was able to walk the xpen across the floor, tip it over or jump over the top. So I again used them to divide rooms. I never put them away and I probably should give them back to my neighbor if she wants them.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I use crates for confinement and x pens to block off areas after they are house trained and when I am home. They don't contain a healthy GSD (pup) well


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

I have only been fostering small dogs over the last couple of years and the x-pen is used for about three hours to make sure that everyone has a chance to meet and greet in a controlled manner. For some reason, little dogs have a ton of leash aggression. The x-pen takes some of that issue away and gives me a good idea of how they will do.

My resident dogs are a Toy Poodle, a Dachshund/Poodle mix and an Australian Shepherd. We just took in a fat Italian Greyhound/Chihuahua mix whose owner had COVID and was on a vent. She is off the vent now, but hospital beds are scarce and she was just sent to rehab for respiratory therapy. I can't think of a worse thing than to go through all that and come home to find out your dog was sent to a shelter and adopted out. So this 14 year old dog is with us until owner is home and able to care for her. 

We set the x-pen up in our living room and used it as a safe place to do introductions. I am so proud of my two little dogs who have been stellar. My Aussie is older and can be snippy, so it was helpful to see that behavior with the foster safely behind the x-pen. 

Other than that, I can't think of a time when I have used our x-pen. But! I am on the wait list for a GSD litter, so we'll see!
Sheilah
P.S. The new foster dog wailed until almost midnight and then we let her out of the x-pen and she got in bed with us and all was well. And amazingly enough? Our little dogs made room from her on the bed.


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

GS2020 said:


> From what I've been reading here and there it seems most recommended to have a regular crate and an ex-pen, possibly with it's own crate in it or attached to it.
> 
> I'm trying to figure out how long we would use the ex-pen for. I can't imagine it would be very useful once the pup is a bit bigger by 4-6 months. Couldn't they just knock it down? I feel like I'm missing something.
> 
> How do you use the ex-pen for your dog?


 I've never had one, but hats off to you if it works for a GSD puppy of 8 weeks - beyond say A week. They aren't strong enough to hold them! So yeah, 4-6 months...clearly not happenin! More like 9-12 wks, and not working after that!


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

Thanks all! I'll end up putting some of the other creative ideas on here with the ex-pen and stick to the kennel.


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## pfeller (Sep 10, 2019)

Maybe I'm a bit dense this morn. But what on earth is an ex-pen? 
Is it that open wire pen thing I've seen on pet websites?

If so, I can't imagine it working long for a GSD. Though, I do have a 36" tall GSD that respects the baby gates (kinda)


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

pfeller said:


> Maybe I'm a bit dense this morn. But what on earth is an ex-pen?
> Is it that open wire pen thing I've seen on pet websites?
> 
> If so, I can't imagine it working long for a GSD. Though, I do have a 36" tall GSD that respects the baby gates (kinda)


Did you mean 26"?


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## pfeller (Sep 10, 2019)

David Winners said:


> Did you mean 26"?


Nope, he is 36" at the withers. All legs and elbows. I call him my baby moose.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

With Hans, I used one until he was one and a half. He was respectful of it and it was great because I could leave the house and he wouldn’t be cramped in a crate.
Rolf? Oh my goodness. He would travel with it. I had to get rid of it when he was 3 months old.


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## chuckd (Jul 16, 2019)

pfeller said:


> Nope, he is 36" at the withers. All legs and elbows. I call him my baby moose.


I can't believe that no one has asked, so... Pics please!


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Like a Borzoi??


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

chuckd said:


> I can't believe that no one has asked, so... Pics please!


Yes, pics please!


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## pfeller (Sep 10, 2019)

chuckd said:


> I can't believe that no one has asked, so... Pics please!


Sorry didn't see this sooner, been offline for a while with holidays and such. I don't really have anything to make his size stand out though.


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## GS2020 (Sep 8, 2020)

Very cute!


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

pfeller said:


> Nope, he is 36" at the withers. All legs and elbows. I call him my baby moose.


Need pic from the side! What does he weigh?


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