Playpen?

mimiretz

Forums Enthusiast
As I've written before we now travel places by car with Oberon. He's perfectly behaved in the car and, at least so far, wherever we go; I'm sure at least part of that is because at 7 he's not a wild puppy anymore. He is not crate trained (no arguments about this, please -- we all do what we feel is best) but did get a crate for him before we took him on the first trip. He absolutely refused to have anything to do with it even when we put treats in it or a licky-mat with peanut butter.

Although we bring him almost everywhere we go when traveling and make sure everywhere is dog friendly there have been occasions when we've gone somewhere without him and left him in the airbnb alone with his licky-mat and a bed. He's been fine -- when we get back he's usually asleep and has never pooped or peed anywhere or chewed on anything or whatever.

At the end of August we're going to NY for our niece's wedding. Made reservations at a dog-friendly hotel. since the wedding will be several hours, and he's not able to join us, we've considered getting a playpen for him -- bigger than a crate and maybe he'll feel less "caged in" if there's no top. Any suggestions on size? He's kinda large for a sheltie, maybe 35 pounds now. Any specific recommendations or just general suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks!
 
As I've written before we now travel places by car with Oberon. He's perfectly behaved in the car and, at least so far, wherever we go; I'm sure at least part of that is because at 7 he's not a wild puppy anymore. He is not crate trained (no arguments about this, please -- we all do what we feel is best) but did get a crate for him before we took him on the first trip. He absolutely refused to have anything to do with it even when we put treats in it or a licky-mat with peanut butter.

Although we bring him almost everywhere we go when traveling and make sure everywhere is dog friendly there have been occasions when we've gone somewhere without him and left him in the airbnb alone with his licky-mat and a bed. He's been fine -- when we get back he's usually asleep and has never pooped or peed anywhere or chewed on anything or whatever.

At the end of August we're going to NY for our niece's wedding. Made reservations at a dog-friendly hotel. since the wedding will be several hours, and he's not able to join us, we've considered getting a playpen for him -- bigger than a crate and maybe he'll feel less "caged in" if there's no top. Any suggestions on size? He's kinda large for a sheltie, maybe 35 pounds now. Any specific recommendations or just general suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks!
Whatever you do… like an XPen, please try it out at home first to see how he reacts to it.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/go-pet-club-heavy-duty-exercise-pen-for-dogs

My boys are larger too! They are good at respecting boundaries like fences. But, that is at home! I don’t travel so I am no real help!
 
Whatever you do… like an XPen, please try it out at home first to see how he reacts to it.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/go-pet-club-heavy-duty-exercise-pen-for-dogs

My boys are larger too! They are good at respecting boundaries like fences. But, that is at home! I don’t travel so I am no real help!

We figured we'd get it now and put it up at home so when we travel in August he'll be used to it. What size do you use? We need something that'll fit in a hotel room
 
No help on the playpen - I guess you'd have to see if you can get an idea of floorspace available. Good thing with playpens, they are usually adjustable. If it was put in between 2 queens with a 'bulb' at the end there, he might not ever realize he was penned. Is he a jumper? I'd look at tall ones. My only suggestion.... when we travel - rental or hotel - I always bring a gate along as well. Just a safety in case someone opens a door unexpectedly.

Let us know what you find!
 
I totally agree on using an X-pen but trying it at home first. Our Elijah gave me a heart attack at an agility event where we had all 3 dogs in a pen under a canopy while we were volunteering. In between we'd go check on them and hang out, and there were fellow club members around them as well. As I'm sitting in the ring I hear a commotion and here comes Eli - by afternoon he'd had enough of being left alone and either climbed or jumped out of the 30 inch tall pen. I've never had another dog do that. We do have a couple of wire crates, especially for Meadow when she was a pup, but we don't use them as a rule.
 
We figured we'd get it now and put it up at home so when we travel in August he'll be used to it. What size do you use? We need something that'll fit in a hotel room
I have an x-pen I use at times with my dogs it’s approximately 10 feet long and 3 feet high…it sounds big but when configured into an octagonal shape it’s a good size for Finnie who is roughly 26 pounds and just over 16”. It also has a door so when it’s latched it’s easy to get the dog in or out (it has 2 clasps on it to keep the dog from nosing their way out). I find the 3’ is high enough the dog doesn’t try to jump out and plenty of room for them to move around. I bought mine second hand online so no idea of the cost of a new one.
 
No help on the playpen - I guess you'd have to see if you can get an idea of floorspace available. Good thing with playpens, they are usually adjustable. If it was put in between 2 queens with a 'bulb' at the end there, he might not ever realize he was penned. Is he a jumper? I'd look at tall ones. My only suggestion.... when we travel - rental or hotel - I always bring a gate along as well. Just a safety in case someone opens a door unexpectedly.

Let us know what you find!
I’ve heard stories of how a hotel employee checked the room and the dog escaped …I like the idea of the baby gate!
 
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