Hey there, today we'll be expanding an idea
we've mentioned several times, the Puppy Play Den. We'll show you how to build it, why we do
it, and how to put it to good use. Coming up. Ian here with Simpawtico Dog training and
before we get into the puppy Play Den please make sure you're subscribed so you never miss
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we talked about. Now a puppy Play Den solves a big conundrum
when raising a puppy. For starters we know that puppies should not
have free-range of the house, especially while you're gone. We need to prevent potty and chewing mistakes. Many puppy experts recommend toy-feeding your
puppy in their confinement space to habituate them to it, to teach them to enjoy being alone,
and to help them become chew toy trained. This greatly reduces the likelihood that a
dog will chew on inappropriate items or develop distress or anxiety later on. But: we also know that a puppy usually needs
to go potty soon after they eat. Plus, most of us working stiffs will have
to leave the puppy for a few hours at some point. So how do we reconcile long-term confinement,
toy-feeding, AND potty training? All of these loose ends are resolved with
a Puppy Play Den. The puppy Play Den was first suggested by
world famous trainer, behaviorist, and vet, Dr. Ian Dunbar in his landmark book, "Before
and After You Get Your Puppy." The plan was later picked up by Open Paw,
which created the textbook for planning and care of shelter animals. The Purpose of a Long-term Confinement area
as far as puppies are concerned is two-fold: One, is prevention. Errors increase the likelihood of more errors,
so we confine the puppy to an area that precludes chewing and potty mistakes around the house
when we cannot superivse them. Two, is proaction. We want to maximize the likelihood that the
puppy will learn to use the provided toilet, to chew only chewtoys, and to settle down
calmly without barking. Prevention and proaction are your best friends. Most behavior problems are predictable and
therefore preventable. Don't wait for your puppy to make mistakes. You'll just be running after the puppy doing
damage control and you'll always be playing catch-up. It's much better to preemptively set the stage
and short circuit problems before they appear. The basic components of the Play Den are:
A Waterproof floor. A crate or comfortable bed
Hollow, stuffed chew toys water
And a doggy Toilet, not pads, in the farthest corner from the bed (we'll go into detail
with the toilet in a second) An Optional add-on is an X-Pen that you can
use to surround the individual pieces if the room is too large, or cannot be safely puppy-proofed. Let's drill down on the individual components. STEP ONE: LOCATION Figure out where you're going to set up your
puppy's Play Den. Ideally this could ba a kitchen, bathroom,
utility room, or section of a room sectioned off by an exercise pen. Ideally you want this close to the outside
door so you can get them outside quickly when it's time to take them out of their Play Den. It's good to establish going outside to potty
as part of the routine any time the puppy is going to spend time with you. TWO: BEDDING
Give your puppy a crate or a bed. Plastic Crates are the preferred tool here. You can take the door off. You can even take the top off for an easy
to clean bed with high sides. A typical dog bed may encourage chewing on
the wrong thing. In a pinch, a towel can take the place of
more easily chewable bedding. THREE: STUFFED CHEW TOYS:
We've recommended before, as do many puppy experts out there, that toy-feeding your puppy
in their confinement space is hugely beneficial for teaching them to enjoy being alone, and
to help them become chew toy trained. This greatly reduces the likelihood that a
dog will chew on inappropriate items or develop distress or anxiety about being alone later
on. Toy-feeding and work-to-eat toys are the fastest
and best methods. These include Kongs, Buster Cubes, Squirrel
Dudes, Barnacles, or Atomic Balls. Confinement prompts your puppy to focus on
their stuffed chewtoys, leaving little time to worry, or bark. We've talked about how to deploy these toys
before in our Kong video, but remember any brand or configuration will work mostly the
same. No matter what, though, it's important that
these are the only sources of food or chewables available. Do not use a food bowl. FOUR: a bowl of fresh water. Pretty self-explanatory. FIVE: YOUR DOGGY TOILET
Listen: ditch the puppy pads. Puppy pads do very little to help potty train
your puppy. They just prolong the process and potentially
create bad habits. Instead we recommend a home-made toilet. Understand that puppies form three soiling
preferences: Olfactory, Substrate and Spatial. If they smell poop or pee, even someone else's,
it's a toilet to them. Smell triggers potty behavior. Dogs form a preference for the surface they
like to go on. For a puppy, this is your opportunity to teach
them what you want them to go on. If you don't pay attention to this, they'll
form a preference that may not be what you wanted, such as your hard wood floors or your
area rugs. They also will also come to prefer going in
certain places according to landmarks. This component won't be in place until you
take them outside, but getting the Olfactory and Substrate dialed in will absolutely streamline
the outdoor process. This is why I hate puppy pads. Based on these three preferences pads just
teach your puppy to prefer pads which will hinder your work later on. And if you remove the pads, they'll find something
else in the house to go on that feels similar to them like bathmats, rugs, or even in the
spot where the pads used to be according to a spatial preference they formed if the pads
were used too long. On a side note, though, pads might be a good
solution for people that cannot or do not want to outdoor train their dogs. Disabled dog owners, or people that live in
high-rise apartments might actually want to pad train their dog. Just be aware of the ramifications and go
into it intelligently. Otherwise, making the toilet is a snap. You can just get a cat litter pan, baking
pan, or plastic gardening tray, and line it with whatever substrate you intend to have
your dog go on. If you have grass outside, use sod; if you
have gravel outside, use some of that in the toilet; and if you have only pavement outside,
use some concrete pavers in the toilet. This type of toilet works super. Whenever your puppy is with you, you'll be
taking the puppy outside. But on those occassions when they need to
spend time in confinement the toilet will keep the potty training on track and aligned
with your household needs. Try to have short play and training sessions hourly. If and when you cannot pay full attention
to your puppy, this is the time to put your puppy in their Play Den with proper chew toys
and their self-training toilet. This is just like putting a baby in a playpen
or crib when you can't supervise them! Keep in mind that any potty or chewing mistakes
your puppy makes are potential setbacks that anticipate more to come. If an inexperienced puppy is allowed unsupervised
free run of your home, potty and chewing mistakes are guaranteed. And your puppy could become hyperactive and
anxious. As we said, problems are predictable and preventable,
so steer that ship where you want it now, instead of just being at the whim of fate. Of course, once your puppy has mastered their
household manners and enjoys time spent by themselves, they can potentially enjoy full
run of your house and yard any time you want. All right puppy owners, good luck constructing
and using your puppy Play Den. If you have some creative builds or alternate
solutions, we'd love to hear about them in those YouTube comments. Don't forget to thumbs up this video if you
found it helpful and as always, keep learning, keep practicing, and we'll see you next time. Thanks for watching.
