yorkie at night
 

Hi YT friends,

Another question:

I usually leave Francis in an X pen when I'm at work, outfitted with toys, food, water, a pee pad and of course his crate with the door open.

At night, I crate him, but I'm wondering if that is necessary, since I'm not using the crate for potty training (I'm using it more for a den/retreat).

Should I just leave Francis out in the open over night? Has anyone out there been through a similar situation?

Thanks.

Its up to you since your not using it for potty training. I kept mine in an xpen at night

my personal opinion is to crate them on the floor next to your bed... Layla has been there since day 1 and she LOVES going in her crate at night still... it's a safe place.

Scooter never bonded with his crate. I, like you, work full time and leaving him in a small space with no play area for possible long periods is not my idea of fun. Plus, I did not use it for potty training purposes either because he picked it up so fast. I chose to use a puppy gate and leave him in a bathroom. I have slowly expanded his space now that he is getting older and I trust him on my nice wood floors. He went from just the bathroom to the bathroom and a small hallway. Now, he stays in my kitchen while I am gone.

As far as at night, some people may not like this idea but he sleeps with me. I did try to crate him at night in the beginning and it didn't work out. I live alone and he will sleep for a long time as long as he is close to me. I think more space is better so as long as you are comfortable with the xpen at night, use it. I, on the other hand, have no problems with Scooter sleeping with me but I do know that now that he knows what it is like, he will never go back to sleeping in his bed at night. He does have two soft beds, one at the foot of my bed and one in the kitchen should he chose to change his mind.....I highly doubt it but you never know.

Good luck!

That's where Scooter sleeps too, and when I say 'bedtime,' or if he gets really tired from a long day, he goes into his crate on his own. He loves it!

Our Mariah is 7 months old and is in an x-pen while we are gone during the day or can't closely supervise her. We also "put her to bed" in this pen at night too. She had no problem with it at all. She is pee-pad trained (they are in her pen) but she still gets into a lot of things she shouldn't - so I wouldn't leave her loose during the night without supervision.

Our 7 yr old bichon sleeps with one of the kids each night.

My puppy cuddles is 12 weeks old and she learned how to use a pee pad real fast. I just let her run around the whole house because if i put her up in her xpen she will not stop crying and she destroys her pee pads! I've tried putting her in her xpen at night and I couldnt get any sleep. So she just sleeps with me and she will sleep until i get up sometimes it's even 12 hours so i'm very lucky :). It's really up to you and if she knows where to poop and pee then it shouldnt be too bad. If she sleeps in her crate at night and doesn't cry you might want to stick with that, just so she gets use to it if you have to travel anywhere.

We bought this pack n play:

Attachment 232864

I have Desi's dog bed, a puppy pad and a bowl of water in it. This is what he sleeps in. He likes to be covered when he sleeps, so I bought a fitted crib sheet and I put that over the top and he sleeps all night without whining.

We've done this since the first night.

If he's quite happy at night I wouldn't change him love.
It will keep him safe and out of mischief too.

Hugs Shirl x x :bee:

x-pen
 

OK ya'll , I am new at this site and I am learning a lot. But, I still need to learn a lot more. What is an x-pen? Please smebody give me a clue.

An x-pen is an exercise pen. Ours is 8 panels which equals a 4' x 4' area. I keep Bailey in it during the day, too. I am considering adding another one to make it bigger for her during the day.

However, at night - Bailey sleeps in her bed (next to mine) which is gated off - to keep her from roaming at night. It is safe for her.

HI KARRIE, I AM SALLIE, TRINKETS MOM. I should have figured out for myself what an x-pen was but just didn't put it together. I thank you for the assistance. Trinket kinda runs the house. She hates being penned up and will bark and jump for hours if I try to close a gate on her. I bought a Komtfort Crate that air conditions and heats itself. It maintains the optimun condition for a dog's comfort. Unfortunately, it makes noise and Trinket is afraid of her shadow and any strange noises. Doesn't even want to go outside because I hung a small bell on the door, hopeing it would alert me to her being at the door. Thank you, again.

I used to use the crate at night but recently bought a small dog tent in which I placed his bed an blanket next to my bed. This works great as some parts of the tent is meshed so he can look out without getting out when he wakes up. I can trust that he will not wander during the night.