Often, breeders are faced with questions that they did not expect when purchasing that same family favorite - a puppy. One of these questions is where and how to buy an enclosure for small dogs in an apartment, what should it be like and what does it look like?
You might think that an enclosure is absolutely useless, but in fact, such a design can be very useful. Let's consider a number of issues related to the purchase and installation of an aviary in the house, as well as how to make it with your own hands.
Why do we need home enclosures for dogs?
In addition to destruction, there are some other reasons why the use of metal pens is 100% justified
- dog pregnancy and puppy care period;
- protection of furniture and belongings from damage during the owner’s absence;
- safety and adaptation of the puppy to a new home and separation from its mother, while it is still difficult for him to get comfortable on his own;
- dog illness if there is a possibility of infecting other pets or family members;
- if the owner decides to take the pet to the dacha or nature, so as not to worry that the dog may run away or be attacked by other dogs.
Operating an enclosure for puppies in an apartment: how to train an animal
Having installed the enclosure, you need to make sure that the animal gets used to this structure. Otherwise, your pet will be stressed. To begin with, the finished cage needs to be left for some time in a room with the door open. This is necessary so that the dog understands that the structure is not dangerous for it.
After some time, you need to put a toy that the animal likes most, or a favorite treat, into the puppy’s enclosure in the apartment. Perhaps not immediately, but the dog will go into the cage for this item. At this moment, she definitely needs to be praised. After some time, during games, you periodically need to throw a toy into the enclosure so that the puppy brings it.
When the animal gets used to it a little, you should bring it into a cage and keep it in an open enclosure for several minutes. If the animal is able to stay behind the fence for 5 minutes, you can close the door briefly. After this, the animal should be released and be sure to be praised and treated.
To ensure that being in an enclosure does not bring distress to the animal, it is necessary to accustom the dog gradually
With the help of such simple actions, you can accustom your dog to a longer stay in a homemade enclosure without traumatizing its psyche. If you don’t want to make a playpen yourself, you can always buy it in a store.
Important criteria when choosing an enclosure
Material
A playpen for dogs should be made of durable, harmless material that the animal cannot chew or break, as well as be comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.
Home enclosures for dogs are made of metal, plastic, fabric (awning) and wood.
- For greater reliability, you should choose cages made of high-quality stainless steel. When choosing, you should pay attention to the coating of the product. For example, a zinc-coated enclosure is non-corrosive and harmless to health. Among the disadvantages is the risk of damage to the floor.
- Plastic models are the lightest, most inexpensive and easiest to maintain, but it is worth considering that it will be easy for an animal to move or chew through the walls.
- Fabric fencing (awning) is best suited for temporary use, because... has a tendency to quickly become dirty. This model is inexpensive and easy to transport.
- Wooden models are environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing. Among the inconveniences of use are the likelihood of elements being chewed and difficulty in cleaning.
Versatility
It is important that the playpen can be easily assembled and disassembled; in this case, it will be convenient to take it with you to the country, on trips, or just when visiting.
Functionality
A big plus will be the possibility of non-standard use of the playpen, such as the possibility of converting it into a room divider or a protective fence. The design with different configurations will help you adjust the pen to the size of the room.
Distance between rods
Another important factor when choosing a fence, which depends on the size of the animal; for small breeds you should not choose a design with wide cells; the pet may damage its paw. For puppies, small dogs and cats, the optimal distance will be 2-4 cm, for large breed dogs 6-10 cm.
Difficulty in installation/assembly
Most modern home enclosures are easy to assemble and disassemble. No tools are required for this. Manufacturers pay attention to this point, and this should be indicated in the product characteristics.
Cage weight
The weight of the playpen determines whether the dog can move it. Many manufacturers offer a ruler to match the size of a dog with a suitable enclosure. It is also worth paying attention to the weight depending on the purpose of use. For transportation, you should choose an enclosure with the least weight.
How to make a sleeping place for a dog with your own hands
To increase the comfort for your pet in the enclosure, in addition to the bedding, you can install a soft bed. The easiest way to make it yourself is to sew it from an unnecessary sweatshirt.
List of required tools and materials:
- threads and thick needle;
- scissors and pins;
- a sweatshirt and a pillow of the appropriate size;
- padding in the form of pieces of fabric;
- fabric to cover the sleeve joining areas.
An important element when arranging an enclosure for a dog is a soft and comfortable bed.
Helpful advice! As a filling, you can use a special filler, which is sold in sewing stores.
The procedure for sewing a dog bed:
- The sweatshirt is turned inside out.
- The collar is sewn up, but not to the very end. There should be a small opening left.
- The sweatshirt is carefully aligned, using pins a straight line is drawn from one armpit to the other and stitched. After this, the pins need to be pulled out.
- The sleeves are sewn to the sides of the sweatshirt. You don't have to go all the way to the end.
- The sides of the bed are formed by filling the sleeves with pieces of fabric or filler.
- The pillow is placed inside the jacket through the bottom, which is then sewn up.
- The sleeve cuffs are connected and stitched together.
- The area where the sleeves join is decorated with a piece of fabric.
The finished bed can be placed in an enclosure so that your pet can relax and get some sleep.
The process of making a dog bed with your own hands from an old jacket
Advantages and disadvantages
Indoor enclosures for small breed dogs have a number of advantages:
- the playpen protects furniture from the consequences of pet games in the absence of the owners;
- saves cleaning time because you don’t have to search throughout the apartment for toys and pet waste;
- an aviary speeds up the process of training a dog to a tray or potty;
- the playpen is more spacious than the cage - the pet can play, sleep, eat there if you supply the appropriate accessories;
- The collapsible design allows you to take the playpen to the country house.
The main disadvantage of an apartment enclosure is the restriction of movement, which can negatively affect the pet if it stays in it constantly. Therefore, owners should let their dog out at least twice a day to maintain its physical and psychological health.
Placing a playpen in an apartment
What kind of walls should there be in the arena?
The walls of the dog house must be solid. Remember that walls with cracks or slatted walls are often the cause of injury in dogs. Also, the one-piece design will protect your animal from unwanted drafts.
The height of the walls should depend on the height of your legs. Make the walls so high that you can easily step over them, but at the same time, do not make the walls so low that your dog cannot climb over them. Usually, when making playpens, they stop at a height of 70 cm.
entrance and exit
The entrance is usually made in the shortest wall of the arena. The entrance door is installed at a distance of 20 cm from the corner of the arena. The lower edge of the door should be raised 18 cm from the floor, and the upper limit of the door should not be lower than the walls of the arena themselves. We recommend hanging the door on two high-quality hinges. Be sure to install two valves. One latch is not enough for dogs - they will definitely knock it out.
We recommend making a small threshold under the door to make it convenient for the dog to go out. The door can be made of the same material as the entire playpen, or it can be made of plexiglass. This way, you will be able to watch your pet, and he will see what is happening in the world around him - this is another step for the dog towards socialization.
Feasibility of use
A playpen for a dog is used in rare cases and for a short time. Therefore, buying an expensive design does not make sense. Many people prefer to make the enclosure themselves to save money. Regardless of whether the playpen is purchased or not, it must be made of quality materials. Otherwise, the owners will have to update it frequently.
However, if the pet was able to be toilet trained without any problems, or the adaptation process takes place without stress, then purchasing an enclosure will not be advisable. Before purchasing or making one yourself, you need to assess the condition of your pet and the possibility of organizing its personal space without an enclosure.
Floor
It will be good if you cover the entire playpen with a single piece of linoleum. The edges of the linoleum need to be let out and attached to the walls, thus creating a kind of trough. Thanks to this, you will protect the floor of the playpen from dog claws and urine leakage. Please note that you cannot make a floor from several pieces of linoleum. As soon as the dog finds this joint, it will begin to tear it apart and will not calm down until it ruins the entire coating.
If the room in which the playpen will be located is poorly heated, then the floor must be insulated. To do this, ordinary insulation is laid under the linoleum.
Special fur rugs are placed on the floor of the arena in which small puppies will live, under which a layer of absorbent material or paper must be placed. Thanks to this, the puppies will always have warm, dense and dry bedding under their paws. If you do not have the opportunity to buy such bedding, we recommend covering the floor of the arena with padding polyester blankets. As they become dirty, such blankets are replaced with clean ones, and the dirty ones are sent for washing. We recommend washing dirty synthetic blankets in a washing machine on a high temperature setting.
Proper care of the playpen
The playpen must be thoroughly cleaned every morning. During cleaning, there should be no animals in the playpen.
All rugs, rags and dirty newspapers are removed from the playpen. The floor and walls are washed with a damp cloth using disinfectants. If desired, after wet cleaning, you can treat all surfaces with a product that eliminates unpleasant odors. Remember that all cleaning products are toxic, so be sure to wash the playpen thoroughly so that no traces of chemicals remain. When cleaning, do not forget to ventilate the room.
After wet cleaning, you need to wipe the playpen dry and leave it for quartzing. To perform this operation, use a special UV lamp. After quartzing, the playpen is covered with clean rugs, rags and newspapers. The dog is allowed into the playpen only after the temperature in the room becomes comfortable after ventilation.
Ideal shape for playpen
A playpen for puppies that has the shape of a square or rectangle is considered ideal. The minimum dimensions of a dog playpen are 2 x 1.5 m. I would like to immediately note that the larger the size of the playpen, the faster your puppies will learn to go to the toilet in one place and play in another place.
If the playpen is small, then the puppies go to the toilet and play in the same place. And let’s also add that in this case the dogs will definitely get dirty in their feces. You understand that in such a playpen there will not be a favorable atmosphere of a cozy home for the successful growth and development of a pet.
