Stopping a Puppy From Climbing Out of the Play Pen

I set up a puppy play pen attached to his kennel so that Quest could have room to play and go potty. We call this a Long Term Confinement Area or LTCA. But the first night he slept in it, the smart little guy decided to climb up out of the LTCA!

If your dog is climbing up and over a fence, it can easily get its paws caught when it jumps over. I had an adult dog suffer this problem when jumping a chain link fence while chasing a rabbit. The end result caused a lot of damage for my adult and would obviously be traumatic for your puppy.

It took some creative thinking and a trip to Lowes, but I was able to come up with a solution for this problem. I detail it in the video below.

While this solution isn’t super cheap, it worked great. A month and a half after the above video was shot, Quest hasn’t climbed back over the fence.

Now that isn’t to say he didn’t try and there was a reason for it. I had been picking Quest up and carrying him over the fence instead of using the door. It was more convenient at the time, but I was also teaching the puppy the proper way to get out of the play pen was over the fence!

Because I had been lifting him over, Quest was launching himself against the fence and the new plastic pieces. Because success at this endeavor woudl result in Quest escaping over and over, I used a technique I saw one of his Breeder’s use when I picked Quest up.

I stood in front of the play pen area and when Quest jumped up or stood up on or leaned against the fence, I gave the play pen fence a rap with my hand. This startled the pup and caused him to get down.

I fond this technique works best if the rap on the fence occurs the same time the dog gets up (right as its in the act). If the puppy is standing up against it and you rap on the fence, its not as effective.

One other option is to get a PVC pipe (make sure its not super thick, that is hard to cut and unnecessary) and cut it along the length of the pipe so you can put it on top of the fencing. This makes the top rounded and prevents the dog from getting a grip to pull themselves over. I use this tip for my adult dog who was jump / climbing over a 6 foot privacy fence.

Tags: Dalmatian, Long Term Confinement Area, LTCA, nebraska, Omaha, Play pen, puppy, puppy behavior, puppy training tips, QuestEdDal, stop puppy climbing