Hey guys,
Dex is almost 17 weeks now. We got him about a week ago and he is doing great in his crate, getting regular outside exercise, and socializing. I have noticed a lot of people here have ex-pens for their dogs and I am just curious what their uses for them are and what the benefits are?
Since Dexter loves to be out of his crate and around us when we are home (hates being locked up when we are around), what would be the use of an exercise pen?
I am still not sure why he is crated when you are home? He should be with you?
^ i think you may have misunderstood, i think the dog is with them when they are home (not in his crate), so the OP is wondering what people use ex-pens for, since that would be similar to crating when you are home, which the dog would not like and they do not do. at least that was my take on it. and i don't use ex-pens, so i cannot give any answer to that.
Our ex-pen is stretched across the opening from our living room to our dining room. We also use it at lure coursing trials and fun days a lot.
-Nicole
We mainly use ex pens at shows or coursing trials, although we do have a top which we use as a barrier, like Nicole. We also have one up now as ALL of our girls decided to have a spring season and can't stay with their boy roommates, and 2 don't get along so need to be separated.
Terry
Ex-pens are excellent ways to controll unruly plants. I keep many of my plants in ex-pens. Oh, that also keeps the hooligans from getting to the plants …. side benefit.
@JoT:
Ex-pens are excellent ways to controll unruly plants. I keep many of my plants in ex-pens. Oh, that also keeps the hooligans from getting to the plants …. side benefit.
Ha!! They are also an awesome way to protect new grass growth in the yard 
Bet they could protect a Christmas tree too!
I do think it is important for dogs to be able to be comfortable in a crate while people are home. I am pretty sure Pat agrees. There will be times where dogs may need to be crated when humans are home. But, obviously that should be a rare occurence, not the norm.
^agreed. when there are repairmen coming in and out, i always keep suki in her crate, even though i'm home. i don't want her accidentally slipping out, and i'm sure the workers would not enjoy her "help" with their tasks.
I am still not sure why he is crated when you are home? He should be with you?
Huh? I never said he is crated when we are home… in fact, he never is. I know he hates it because I tried to get him to take his nap in there once when getting him adapted to crate training. Key word: once. He hated it - He spends 99% of his time with us.
Anyways, I was just curious as to if I should be buying one, since I read somewhere that others put the crate inside of the ex-pen. The whole point of this question was that he is out with us all of the time when we are home, and therefore I don't know what it is used for since I know every other basenji owner also keeps their pup out when they are home.
Thanks to those that answered the question! I guess he has no use for it!
I use an expen for Jet the trying when we are not home. it gives him a little more room than a crate.
Oakley uses an ex pen instead of his crate at home. He is too destructive in a crate and he seems to do better when he has more room. It has a top so he can't get out and I am able to keep his water bowl in there with reasonable expectations that it won't be tipped:rolleyes:
My dogs are not crated unless in the car or in a hotel room..but it is good for the b's to know they are OK in a crate or x-pen. There are times you will need to keep them contained.
I have used a xpen attached to, or encircling a crate, for a puppy that needed to have a spot to be able to potty during the day, while no one was home.
I've used an xpen for lots of things:
a) area for a puppy before they were potty-trained (big enough to include a crate an litter box)
b) outside dog containment unit for picnics, lure course events, spending time outdoors on the deck up North. It's great because they can hang out with all the people but are safely contained.
c) I block off all of the areas of the basement we don't want the dogs, and
d) and on top of that created a dog-training area in the basement that is pretty sweet, if I do say so myself. :rolleyes: You can only see a part of it in the picture, but it is a 12x12 area in the basement, that I recently expanded to a larger area. That is the cool thing about xpens, they are pretty adaptable to a lot of spaces.
