I have a big exercise pen for the boys. Ricky can scale a baby gate. but this is much taller. It's so big that it takes up the whole kitchen even. I usually just put it up in the kitchen, but I've also used it as a gate in the kitchen so they have the whole kitchen to run around in. I love the exercise pen because I can shape it the way i want it.
9 hours is a really long time to leave a puppy alone...it's a long time to leave any dog alone. Sectioning the pup off in the bathroom or a room, IMO, is way better than keeping them locked in a cage for that length of time. Do you hae a dog walker that can come by and walk her once a day or a doggie daycare she can go to??
Definitely make sure everything dangerous is up in the bathroom...the tp, the toilet brushes and the toilet cleaning chemical etc etc...make sure the toilet seat is down too and that she can't eat any rugs you leave around. I am sure she will get bored and want to get into michief...add a puppy that's teething in there and you could have a chewing frenzy. I personally wouldn't leave anything to chew on in her cage unsupervised unless it was something like a kong toy. The kongs are great because you can put something like peanut butter inside so they can try to lick that out, but they can't bite a piece off and choke on it.
She's probably not sleeping well at night because she's snoozing all day and when you get home "it's playtime"! You could try to put a clock in with her to mimmick moms heartbeat?? It may sooth her. You could also leave the tv or the radio on for her.
You could also look into getting a Ritchell Pen with a top on it so she cant climb out. If I had a puppy, that is the pen that I would be getting. They have a big pen and I love that they've got a part that's a designated potty area...and it's made out of wood and is a lot nicer looking than the metal pens. It's a bit more expensive than a regular crate, but I think it's well worth it. |