A dog pen or park is a tool that you can use as a support when it comes to educating your puppy, limiting his space at a given time or protect him from some dangers, among other uses, since one of the main advantages of having a dog pen inside the house or in the garden is, without a doubt, its versatility. In addition, many of them can be easily folded and transported and are ideal for providing our furry friend with a comfortable and pleasant space where he can relax. If you have a pregnant dog, building a pen where she can feel safe with her puppies will be essential for her well-being and, of course, to keep the little ones isolated from any risk.
Now then, it is important to learn how to use the pen correctly, because if you use it, for example, to punish your dog or to lock it up for long hours while you are not at home, it can end up becoming a very negative element for the dog and seriously affect its quality of life. If you still do not know this product or are curious about it, you cannot miss this article on our site in which we show you how to make a homemade dog pen, we explain what it is for and how to use it correctly, keep reading!
What is a dog run or dog park for?
Before delving into the functions of this tool, it is essential to explain what it is exactly. When we talk about pens or parks for dogs, we are not referring to cages or carriers, but to wider spaces delimited by panels or barriers generally mobile and that do not have an upper cover. In most cases, the fences that make up the corral are independent and fit together, so that we can use a different number of fences to enlarge or reduce the size of the corral according to our needs. These structures are usually plastic, fabric or metal, although we can also find them made of wood, glass and other materialsmore aesthetic. The choice of material will depend, in addition to our personal preference, on the place where we are going to place the corral, that is, if we plan to use it only inside the house or if we are going to place it in the garden or outdoor spaces. In the latter case, the barrier material will have to be strong enough to withstand changes in temperature, rain or wind.
It is very important when buying or building a dog pen to get the size right. The cages or carriers offer the animal enough space to stand up, turn around or, at most, take a couple of steps forward, but the pens must be much larger, since the objective is that the puppy or adult dog can play and move freely inside. Likewise, we must buy or manufacture fences with a sufficient height to guarantee that our dog, once it has reached its final size, will not be able to jump or climb them, as it could escape or injure itself.
Dog Run Uses
As is evident, the main function of the pen is to keep the dog or dogs in a delimited area, preventing them from temporarily accessing other areas. In this sense, the installation of a corral in your house, patio or garden can be very useful in some aspects, such as:
- Ensuring Dog Safety Limiting the dog's space in certain situations may be a necessary action to keep the dog safe. For example, if you are cleaning with products that may be toxic, if you have plants, cables or dangerous objects at home and you leave a puppy unattended or if you have a garden that is not fenced and there is a risk that your dog will escape.
- Training a puppy Dog pens are very common when there are puppies at home. Getting your puppy used to staying in this space, turning it into a quiet and pleasant place for him, can help you when teaching him, for example, to relieve himself in a specific place or to tolerate being alone from time to time.
- Practice behavior modification exercises Some exercises used to treat certain behavior problems may include the use of playpens or playpens canines as a tool to support therapy, although never as a substitute for it. The most common example is the treatment of separation anxiety. In this case, the pen can help you in promoting the dog's independence. It is important to note that this type of use, in order to be beneficial, must be supervised and guided by a professional canine ethologist or educator who works with empathic and respectful methodologies with the animal.
- Make the introduction between two or more animals When you add a new furry one to the family and you already have a dog at home, the presentation between the two should be done in a gradual and structured way. To do this, you can use physical barriers, such as removable doors or a pen, to keep the animals separated while they observe and sniff each other the first few times, thus ensuring the safety of both. If you want to know all the guidelines for introducing two dogs, we recommend that you read this other article: "How to introduce two dogs?".
- Provide an optimal resting place Another of the great uses of the dog pen is to establish a quiet area where the dog can rest, play or eat knowing that you will not be disturbed by anyone and, therefore, feeling totally calm and safe. This is very important, especially in the case of dogs that live in homes with a lot of noise (children, other animals, frequent visits, etc.), since, at times, they can feel stressed. In addition, if you manage to establish this zone of calm, the dog will probably use it as a refuge if he is afraid of, for example, storms or fireworks, managing to relax more easily.
How to make a homemade dog pen?
Dismountable dog pens can be easily purchased at specialized stores, although depending on their size and the material the fences are made of, their price can be somewhat high. A good option to save and avoid having to transport the pen from the store to your home is to build it directly at home using simple materials. For this reason, we are going to explain how to make a dog park at home.
Before you start making the fences, you must decide how wide and tall they will be depending on the space you have and the size of your dog. On the other hand, it is important that you select the most suitable material If you are going to locate the pen in an outdoor patio or in a garden, we recommend using materials such as wood or metal mesh, while if the pen is going to be inside the house you can opt for something lighter such as plastic mesh or fabric.
Next, we explain how to make some types of dog pens at home:
Outdoor Dog Run
If you have a garden or a plot of land with a lot of space, building a permanent wooden dog pen can be a great idea, as it will always be more resistant and safer than a removable one. To do this, start by clearing out the area where you are going to build the corral, flat the ground if necessary and mark the area where the fences will be placed. Remember to leave enough space so that the dog can move freely within the pen.
Once this is done, follow these steps:
- Dig holes about 60 centimeters deep in the corners and sides of the fence and insert themvertical wooden posts Remember that the posts will have to be more or less tall depending on the size of the dog, so if you are building a pen for large dogs, make sure that the height is correct. Enough that you can't jump.
- Cover the hole with concrete (mainly made up of cement and water) and let it dry for a day or two.
- Once this time has elapsed, make sure that the posts have been fixed well and place wooden planks, pallets or metal mesh between each of them to create the fence. To secure the wood to the post, you can use nails and, if you opt for metal mesh, you can also secure it with wire or cable ties.
- Don't forget the door! To build it, a good option is to add hinges to one of the posts and put a latch that your dog will not be able to open. If the dog is going to spend a lot of time in the pen, don't forget to place a cloth or plate as a roof in one part of it to provide shade for the animal or place a kennel inside the enclosure.
If instead of a garden with soil you have a patio with a concrete floor and you cannot bury the posts, you will have to place weights under them to make them rigid or buy special posts that have a base of lead.
Folding Dog Playpen
Generally, inside the house we have less space to locate the pen, so it is a good idea to choose materials that weigh little and are moldable, in order to be able to dismantle the fence easily and store it when we are not going to use it. Mesh or plastic panels are very affordable options. In addition, this type of pen is much cheaper, so if you are looking for a cheap and homemade dog pen, do not miss this step by step!
- Cut out several squares or rectangles of mesh or fabric of the size you want, keeping in mind that these will constitute each of the fences of the enclosed.
- At both ends of each square or rectangle, Place metal or plastic posts and attach the mesh or fabric to them. The mesh can be attached with cable ties, while the fabric can be glued or sewn around the post.
- Ideally, each of these posts should have a base of lead or other heavy material to keep them as rigid as possible and don't tip over if pushed by the dog.
- When you have all the individual fences built, add round screws and hooks to their sides that allow to join some fences to others quickly and safe.
This way you can easily disassemble the homemade dog playpen and move it around the house.
How to use the dog pen?
As we have seen, the dog pen can be useful for many things, but it is important to know how to use it correctly, otherwise, we can turn it into an unpleasant and uncomfortable area for the dog, which will resist when entering it.
The first thing to keep in mind is that, regardless of the use you intend to give the pen, the dog must always associate this space with pleasant and positive experiencesand working this association will have to be the first thing you do once the dog park is built. To achieve this, place the pen in a pleasant place in the house or garden, away from noisy spaces or passageways (such as the hallway or the kitchen) and place the dog's bed, its feeder and/or drinker inside it, if so. you decide and their favorite toys or snacks. When the dog is in the pen, you should never scold or bother him. This should be exclusively a zone of calm, entertainment, caresses and rest
Common mistakes when using the dog park
If your dog does not want to enter the pen or is restless or anxious inside it, even though you have followed the above instructions, it is very likely that you are committing (or have done so in the past) any of the following errors:
- Force the dog into the pen Nobody likes to be forced to do something we don't feel like doing or for which we are not ready yet, so once you have the pen ready, it should always be the dog who takes the initiative to enter it and investigate it. You can encourage him to do so by distributing bits of food inside him or getting in to play with him, but you should never push him or pick him up to enter or order him to enter using a serious and threatening tone, because you can scare the animal, which will begin to see the barnyard as an unpleasant stimulus. If your intention is to create a pen for puppies, we recommend you consult this other article: "How to train a puppy?".
- Leave him alone too soon If your intention is for the dog to be able to stay alone inside the pen for a certain amount of time (for example, while you go out to do the shopping or take a shower), you must teach him very gradually to remain calmly inside him. No matter how many toys and entertainment you leave in the pen, you can't expect the puppy or adult dog to accept being alone in there all of a sudden. If you don't get him used to it right, he's likely to get stressed every time you leave and he'll feel like he's cooped up and he can't go with you.
- Leaving him in the pen for too long The pen, like crates or carriers, should not be used to hold the dog for long periods of time, but as a tool for occasional use. The dog can get bored, frustrated or stressed if you leave it for a long time in a small space and end up developing behavioral problems such as separation anxiety or stereotypies. If you work and your dog has to stay home alone for several hours, it is best to get him used to being independent and tolerating loneliness as a puppy, providing him with enough environmental enrichment and removing everything that could be dangerous from his reach.
- Disturb the dog when he is resting in the penAs we have seen, it is important that the pen is a pleasant space where the dog He can retire to rest whenever he wants. All members of the family, including children, must agree to respect these moments and not to disturb or punish the animal when it is using its pen.
