Oh My!!! How'd she get out?!?!
 

so before i leave this morning, i take typsy out to use the bathroom, where she promptly goes #1 and #2. then i put her in her pen and say goodbye. 4 hours later, i am at the front door and i hear whining from what seems like right inside the door!! i'm like wow, that ex-pen must be right at the door, i didn't realize it was that close!!

so i open the door, and there she is, wagging her little nub and so excited to see me!!!:Puppy2: i'm like what the...?!? :eek:

she must have jumped over the top of her pen!! i had absolutely no idea she could jump that high!!! she struggles just to get up on the 17" couch and the pen is 24"!!! i remember that i put her in there for sure and the door was still locked when i checked it. so i went looking for damage. although she has a pee pad in the bathroom, she used my shower mat as her pee pad :doh:

it doesn't look like she caused any other damage, but i have got to get this potty training thing under control. i've started to take her out first thing in the morning, so we seem to have that routine down. if i do that, she doesn't go on the pad in her crate, which i don't think she likes using b/c she tries to cover it up.

i think i'm going to have to try to crate train her. i was only gone 4 hours and she went twice!! i want her to be able to hold it for at least a little while and i don't know of another way to get her to do that. any suggestions would also be appreciated.

btw, the smallest kennel i could find for her has waaaay too much room in it, it would allow her to relieve herself in the back and then curl up in the front ... how can i prevent her from doing that? :confused:

I had the crate to big problem with my older dog. We used a plastic milk carton to take up space in the back. We used that b/c we had it on hand and it fit to size. They do have divider walls for some brands of crates. Im not sure what type you have so maybe you can see if it's an option for your type.

ooh that's good. i don't know if a milk carton will fit, but maybe i can stand up some pieces of cardboard in the back....

There have been others in the past that couldn't figure out how their pup was escaping the Xpen. They videotaped the escape and it turned out they were climbing like Spiderman and not jumping. You might want to consider putting screening over the top of the Xpen to prevent her from being able to get out in the future.

If my memory serves me correctly I believe they used some type of wood to make a frame and attached window screen. Worked like a charm. ;)

aaaaahhhhh!!!! yes, climbing, now that i look at it, it makes sense!!! they are such clever little buggers!!! :animal36

thanks for the tip!!!

Remember not to leave her collar on her in the crate cause if she's climbing up it, she may get stuck by the collar. Have fun keeping up with this little spider girl.

thanks!! the spider doesn't yet have a collar (only a harness). i have been having trouble finding one b/c her neck is only 7"!!! :eek: i found one breakaway collar, but it's $20!!! and there's nothing special at all about it. needless to say, i'm still looking....:rolleyes:

Did you check some of the venders on here for collars? They have some cute soft ones, I've seen. Glad she has a harness. I only put a collar on Ted for tag purposes....just in case he makes the BIG ESCAPE.

A fitted sheet placed over the top usually works fine.

When I had to use a larger crate for one of my little ones I took one of those square decorator pillows that I had and shoved it in the back of the crate. It was tight enough that it couldn't fall over and filled the space tightly so they couldn't get around it.

If you have her in an expen and you put a crate inside that can be an escape route too. I had a little girl that would climb on anything that was in the pen including toys and if that gave her enough height she would launch herself over the pen.

I had the same problem with Soph. She's almost 6 pounds but she's got such a scrawny neck. I have to get her cat collars to find them small enough. Found her a really pretty pink one with crystals on it. And since it's a cat collar, it's got the breakaway thing on it. as well as a bell, both of which I love. $7 at Petsmart in the Feline section.

That's genius! I would have never thought of that. It gives her privacy, and gives you peace of mind. I'm just glad Kaji listens about not leaving his pen. ;)

I bought the 24" high pen for Max the first day, and the second day I had to buy the 48" high pen. :p

The wire pens are more difficult to climb than the plastic honeycomb.

If you decide on a crate, Walmart has wire crates with a divider wall to adjust the interior size.

Good luck!

double post

that's a great way to go!! i love it.

i actually went to the feline section there and they were restocking, so they were all out of cat collars, of course!!! i'm going back this week!! should be a good selection....

i got a wire pen but she seems to have little difficulty with that. i tried a fitted sheet, but b/c my sheet was too big and/or the shape of my ex-pen is really strange, there was too much slack in the sheet to make it work effectively, so i decided to put flat cardboard boxes on top. we'll see if that works.

i'll see what walmart has with the crates, thanks!

also, last night i got her to go in her ex-pen voluntarily!! i did it with treats, which she'll finally eat. she's so smart, she tried to figure out a way to get the treat out of the bag i was holding, and then how to get it from out of the ex-pen without actually going in, but when she couldn't do it she just went on in. her personality is hilarious!!