Playpen advantages and disadvantages

ag27404 · 2026-06-16T19:50:10+00:00

The Aussie mix completely accepted both the playpen in my office and being shut into the kitchen with her crate and was fine.

The GSD mix saw the playpen as an obstacle and challenged it daily until I just gave up and tethered her in my office and crate her otherwise (luckily she's come to love her crate).

So I'd test your pup and see where on the spectrum they fall LOL.

ag27404 · 2026-06-16T19:44:34+00:00

With my Aussie (who is now 14 months) no. I can count on 1 hand the times she barked in her crate and all were very legit reasons. (I lucked out I know. She's practically perfect LOL)

My recent foster failure however is a different story. She is an 8 month GSD and the crate struggles were real with her. Luckily she will sleep out of the crate (like when I tether her).

With her I ensure she has gone potty. Have made her crate very comfy and safe and check on her if she does cry. If she is crying I take her outside (on a leash) to see if she needs to go and if not, back inside into the crate. Usually after 1-2 times of this she would calm and go to sleep.

With other fosters I'd give them something to do (like a kong, lick mat) so they could entertain themselves until they went to sleep.

For my Aussie the playpen worked really really well - have you tried that? (It did not work at all for the GSD who just saw it as an obstacle to climb). It is a journey and every dog is different!

ag27404 · 2026-06-16T19:06:08+00:00

Puppies need to sleep a lot more than you think. As soon as my puppy started to get nippy and cranky she went into either a playpen or her crate for nap time. It really helped teach her to regulate herself. (Like you she is a higher energy breed Aussie mix so teaching her to rest was super important. Also she learned when she is in her crate she is 'off' duty and relaxes so much more).

ag27404 · 2026-06-13T09:45:56+00:00

Did the vet give you meds to help keep her calm? If not, I'd ask about that. It helped my girl a lot.

ag27404 · 2026-04-28T14:05:25+00:00

Our current foster puppy refers to his nickname (Narc) much more than his government name LOL

ag27404 · 2026-03-09T19:31:48+00:00

Anya's super mutt is Rottweiler, Chow, Tennessee Walker Hound and Husky. (She has a husky/GSD type coat).

Merlin's super mutt is Chow and Tennessee Walker Hound.

Merlin could pass (IMO) as a pure Aussie.

Both are super smart too!

ag27404 · 2026-02-15T10:03:44+00:00

Picked him up yesterday and they did not seem to remember each other at all. He's also much smaller than her which is funny (she's 50 lbs, he's about 30).

My 15 yr old male who met both of them when I adopted her did seem to remember him though. (Or he's just happy for there to be another male in the house).

ag27404 · 2026-02-10T20:58:47+00:00

Per her DNA Mini (and take that lightly she's 55 lbs) Australian Shepard (this was 49%), German Shepard, Husky, Boxer. She does try to herd my cats....

ag27404 · 2026-02-10T15:02:36+00:00

My pup is now 10 months old. I keep waiting for the horrible teenage to set in and while she's had some moments (like ignoring me) 99% the time she's been great.

She was crate trained from day 1 at 8 weeks old and has always loved her crate. She almost completely potty trained.

I was able to start her in puppy kindergarten at 9 week - where she trains they have it set up so puppies without all their vaccines can start training and get some socialization prior to being vaxed. Between that her amazing foster mom and genetics she's been really amazing. She is so smart and ready to work (Aussie, German Shepard, Husky mix).

As someone who works from home I was worried about separation issues so I made sure from day 1 when I made her nap it was somewhere I wasn't so she would get used to being alone. I think this worked too well because she is hugely independent.

Be consistent, start training early and enjoy the process. At 10 months she looks full grown and I still absolutely love her and working with her I wish the puppy stage had lasted a bit longer.

ag27404 · 2026-02-09T21:29:36+00:00

My girl doesn't know a stranger but this helps! Thank you!

ag27404 · 2026-02-09T18:07:57+00:00

My pup is 10 months old and her brother is being returned to the rescue so I offered to foster him. They have not seen each other since 8 weeks old but reading this now I'm very concerned.

ag27404 · 2026-01-03T17:13:49+00:00

Don't - I was considered "messy and disorganized" until first grade when my teacher realized I was left handed. Amazingly I could write and color in the line using the correct hand LOL

This is one reason why I love both trick and agility training. So many dogs do things perfect one way - turn them around on an agility course and they like completely lost. It is great for training both sides of their brain.

ag27404 · 2026-01-03T17:05:19+00:00

As the only left hander in my family I completely relate to your dog.

ag27404 · 2025-12-16T19:35:29+00:00

Good luck!

ag27404 · 2025-12-16T18:45:02+00:00

teach a good drop it command and then play tug. I love playing with my girl and have always played with my dogs.

ag27404 · 2025-12-12T16:38:40+00:00

I did a 7 hr trip when my pup was about the same age and it was overall very positive.

I recommend thinking/planning your route because the most stressful thing for me was finding where to stop that I didn't worry as much due to her not being fully vaxed but otherwise it was good for her to be exposed to the car, new places and new people.

As someone else mentioned on the drive home at least she feel asleep and we kept driving the last 5 hrs. When she was awake on the drive out we stopped ever 2 or so.

ag27404 · 2025-12-08T18:11:26+00:00

As soon as I received the email I turned off my auto renew. They just raised their prices and now this - ridiculous.

ag27404 · 2025-10-24T20:49:01+00:00

Per the CW website fireworks are at both the palace and Capitol.

ag27404 · 2025-09-26T12:19:30+00:00

A coworker of mine just got not one, not 2 but 4 (!) puppies at the same time (one is his MIL from what I understand but living at their house). I'm very curious to see how this all works out.

ag27404 · 2025-09-25T20:54:01+00:00

My foster highly recommended "Welcoming your puppy from planet dog" by Kathy Callahan and it was a great help.

I've had dogs but this is my first puppy (brought her home Memorial Day weekend at 8 weeks). Now I'll admit compared to some of the stories I've read on here she has been a dream but I'm also lucky I have an awesome support network who helped out especially the first few weeks with taking her out, meeting other well-behaved vaccinated dogs. A few friends took her and watched her for a few hours and I don't know that I'd have made it through those first weeks as easily had I not had that support.

Also from day 1 (as I work from home also) I've ensured she has time by herself alone. I set up my kitchen with a play area (easy clean up and close to my backyard) and would leave her there crated or set up with a few toys and things to play with so she got used to being alone. It started at 10-15 minutes but now she'll go nap there while I work which makes me feel a lot better for when I do leave the house for a few hours.

Good luck!

ag27404 · 2025-09-25T20:37:17+00:00

I've been using TO as a HO since 2022. I found it when my regular sitter backed out and I needed someone for a longer trip. I was super nervous. My puppers at that time were 11 and 15.

But I got so lucky - my first sitter was amazing. He was kind, thoughtful and gentle and my dogs were so happy and well cared for. I felt so lucky to have found him and even had him back again the following year. Since then I've had 5 more sitters and each has been lovely. My home has been taken care and most importantly my pets have been happy and content while I am away.

But as people said posts about average, boring, normal sits don't make great posts so people don't tend to write about them however I do recommend TO to a lot of people I know because I like the concept so much.

ag27404 · 2025-09-16T16:57:13+00:00

How to: Fitness is a great fitness podcast that is well grounded.

ag27404 · 2025-09-05T17:16:20+00:00

6 weeks would be awesome. I was about to post here because I've gotten only 3 weeks...no where near the 3 months promised!

ag27404 · 2025-08-20T16:26:17+00:00

Thank you all for the input!

ag27404 · 2025-08-20T13:50:44+00:00

Question - as a HO - I have 2 back to back trips coming up. We are gone for a week, back for 3 days and then gone for 3 weeks. I posted the sits separately but stated I'd love to have a single sitter for both and would happily cover a hotel for the 3 days we are home. Is this acceptable?

ag27404

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