Does anyone use raised puppy pens? We have one that we built years ago, but I was wondering if anyone knows where I could purchase one already made? I have searched a few kennel manufacturers, but none of them have what I'm looking for. TIA!

Ryan's has raised puppy pens. There prices are good, but shipping could be an issue. Here's the URL for the pens:

http://www.ryanspet.com/ryanspet/productList.asp?categoryCode=3002&startItemCnt=1

I use Central Metal pens. As with the CM crates, they last forever but they are very heavy. I have 2 of these pens and won't use anything else. One of the pens is about 18 years old and still in great shape.

We got this one:

http://www.cagesdirect.com/midwest-puppy-pens-48lx48l-p-814.html

for the rescue for our litters that come in. It's awesome.

I just remember them in Doctor's Pet shops and some puppy mills around here and in Missouri use them. Easy to just pull out the paper underneath to get rid of the excerement. I would never use one. We use a large plastic doggie bed filled with balsam chips and before a few days have gone by the puppies learn to use it as we are there when they wake and put them in the box and in less than three days they go there. But to each his own but work is part of puppy raising. Ellie

Laura, at what age do you transfer pups from box to pen?

TIA

I agree with Ellie. I don't like the wire crates for the pups. I think those cages frustrate the pups. My pups have about a 10' x 6' area with papers or wood chips in one end. JMO

You're right, to each his own. But when my pups get too big for the whelping box, would you suggest I just let them trip over each other instead of putting them in a bigger enclosure? I have been using the one I have for years and my pups love to spend their days in it. It's much bigger than the whelping box and they have a lot more room to romp and play. If that alone constitutes a puppy mill, then thank you for enlightening me because I had no idea.

Don't get your wires crossed, I just said that puppy mills and Dr Pet Shops use them as easy clean. Try not to read into it. Ellie

When mom doesn't want to go into the box to nurse anymore. With this litter it got to a point that Libby didn't want to go in. So I switched them to the pen and took them out to nurse her about 3-4 times a day.

She was happier because she didn't have to go into the whelping box and I was happier because the pups stayed cleaner.

I've done newspapers and wood chips. My puppies eat both. This works for me. They get a lot of time out of the pen either playing on the deck outside with all their climbing toys or if the weather is bad, in the kitchen on the pergo.

Tried it,, have one here,, would give it away

How big is your whelping box? My is 4x4, so a 4x4 pen isn't any bigger. Is your pen bigger than that? I wouldn't think that would be big enough for puppies to play - I open up my whelping box with an x-pen, so their area is about 8 x 10.

I use the raised Central metal puppy playpen , BUT I add an ex-pen to it, sometimes I add two ex-pens , according to the litter size. The reason being , that I think the raised puppy playpens TEACH the puppies to poddie in their crate/sleeping area. If you add the ex-pen by attaching it w/clips and put newspapers in the ex-area , they learn real quick to not poddie in their crate. I find that at 8 weeks , the puppies are nearly crate trained , and they did it all by themselves !