Hi there..and congrats on your new puppy. What has worked with zero stress for me was to put everything in the playpen, except food and water. I leave the flap open all day..she's got 2 cozy beds in there to suit her mood of the day, lol. The toy box with 1/2 of her favorite toys. She started going in and out for her toys to bring and play with me. She started to go in there for naps on her own, and when she was asleep I would zip her in, lol. She wakes up and just plays until I let her out now…then right outside we go, after that she's free. The good part is, that the one I have has a top that zips shut too, or I can leave it open. If I know we are getting a delivery or something…I zip her door shut and plop her in from the top…with a treat
Its really become much easier then even using the crate, which was a struggle. More for me then her, lol. Oh yeah..when she does bring me a toy to play catch or tug…I do throw it back into the playpen so she has to get it to keep playing. I hope some of these ideas help.