Puppies spend a lot of time sleeping, but they’re frisky and full of playful, curious energy bursts in between those naps. Much like small children, young puppies explore the world with their mouths, which makes it easy for a puppy to accidentally nibble her way into trouble. It’s wise to create a small puppy play yard area where you can place your puppy to keep her safe and out of trouble when you can’t keep an eye on her. Whenever your puppy is in her play yard, give her a chew project or activity to help reenforce what you’d like her to chew. You want your puppy to have an outlet for chewing from the first day you bring her home.
We’ll discuss the basic of a puppy play yard first and then cover a variety of chew projects and activities that build on your pup’s natural foraging instinct to keep her occupied in a productive way.
What is a puppy play yard?
Also called a “short term confinement area” by Dr. Ian Dunbar and “Area P” by Jane Killion of Puppy Culture, a puppy play yard is a small contained area where your puppy is kept safe from chewing on the wrong things or otherwise curiously finding her way into trouble. Use fencing to make an enclosed area and place your puppy’s crate inside the area with the door open. You can also make the crate part of the wall by attaching it to the fence with zip ties or something similar.
What should I put in my puppy’s play yard?
1. An inviting crate
As previously mentioned, you should most definitely put a crate in your puppy’s play yard and make the crate as welcoming as possible. If your puppy likes beds, place a comfy bed inside the crate to make it an extra appealing place to relax. Covering the crate with a towel or blanket creates a den feel, which your puppy may find appealing. Keep in mind that a puppy will create her own game of tug-of-war with any fabrics she can reach, so it may be best to build her crate into the wall of the puppy play yard by attaching the enclosure to her crate with zip ties or something similar, allowing you to keep the crate covering outside of her play yard. Attach a particularly delicious chew to the inside of the crate to oblige your puppy to remain in the crate to enjoy it. A pig’s ear can easily be attached by drilled a hole and securing it to the back inside wall of the crate.
2. Potty area
Jane Killion recommends having a toilet area available for your puppy within the puppy play yard. If you choose to provide our puppy with a potty area, we use these pee pad holders with our litters and have had great success. Newspapers are less absorbent but can be placed inside of the holder instead of pee pads for cost efficiency. Wood shavings stick to puppy fur and make a terrible mess. A pee pad set out on its own will be playfully shredded rather than used as a toilet.
3. A project or activity (that will hopefully lead to nap time)
Before placing your puppy in her play yard, set her up for success by taking her outside to relieve herself and then spending a brief time playing with and/or training her. Puppies spend much of their time sleeping, so if you can exhaust some puppy energy it will help her settle into a chew project and then eventually drift off to sleep. When you put your puppy into her puppy play yard, provide her with a chew or project to keep her occupied.
What are some good, fun projects that will keep my puppy engaged and entertained?
Puppy Culture recommends raw meaty bones as a good chew project. Dr. Ian Dunbar recommends giving your puppy a Kong to keep her busy. Here are some different chews & activities that our dogs enjoy. Again, please make sure that your puppy has pottied and played and/or trained with you before expecting her to settle down with a project. Providing your puppy with the means to occupy herself in her puppy play yard helps prevent the development of separation anxiety.
Dogs are naturally opportunistic foragers who spend the majority of their time looking for food in the wild. These engaging activities use that natural instinct to keep your puppy busy in a productive way:
- Lick mats – try putting a small amount of plain Greek yogurt or meat baby food on a lick mat and let her occupy herself in her puppy pen or crate. A lick mat with meat baby food is going to be high value whereas most doodle puppies are not going to be quite as obsessed with stuffed toy containing kibble.
- Food dispensing toys are a great occupier. I have one made by Jolly Ball and I also have one made by About Dog Training. The latter holds more but the one from Jolly Ball has a nice bounce and may be enjoyed by pups that have an affinity for retrieving (and I appreciate that Jolly Ball is intentional about making dog toys that do not contain carcinogens). Put kibble mixed with a few tasty treats inside.
- Kongs – Dr. Ian Dunbar suggests putting freeze dried liver in the tip of a Kong, fill the rest with kibble and a few treats, add a little water to moisten, and then freeze the entire stuffed Kong to provide your puppy with a long-lasting engaging chew project. Kong makes treats that are specifically designed to fit inside a Kong to keep puppies busy, but be sure to investigate the ingredients.
- Slow feeder bowels make mealtime more exciting and longer lasting, which again builds on that foraging instinct.
For longer lasting chews, our dogs like:
- Water buffalo horns, which I purchase from a local seed & supply store
- Split elk antlers, which I get from Ridge Runner Antlers (discount code TRGD15)
- Beef soup bones, which we acquire directly from beef farmers, you can likely buy some at a local butcher. Dr. Ian Dunbar recommends hollow sterilized bones because you can fill them as you would a Kong. Bones take a long time for your pup to chew, so don’t buy a five pack! Two sterilized bones is plenty.
- Some doodles really like Benebone chews. Our 3 dogs will chew them but prefer antlers, horns, and soup bones. It could be that your pup will really like Benebone chews though.
Keep in mind that shorter lasting chews are high value. These are chews that you could attach to your dog’s crate to make it extra enticing to relax in her designated den. Our dogs like:
- Pig ears or pig nuggets – Tractor Supply sells a that’s made in the USA
- Nature Gnaws makes a variety of yummy single ingredient chews that are available at Target & Amazon. We’ve tried a few of their products. Their bully sticks don’t smell near as bad as others we’ve tried.
- Yak chews are another healthier chew choice. Native Pet and other brands are available on Amazon. When the chew gets small, pop it in the microwave and it will turn into a puff
A puppy play yard keeps keeps your puppy safe and out of trouble when you can’t keep a close eye on her. Building on her natural foraging instinct by giving her a chew project or activity to occupy herself while she’s in her play yard helps prevent separation anxiety and also helps teach her the appropriate items to chew. Prepare a puppy play yard for your new furry family member before you bring her home. You’ll both be glad you did.