4 Best Puppy Playpens

Puppy playpens are an excellent way to keep your puppy safe at various times throughout the day. If you need to take a nap and are worried that puppy might get into something while you do, a playpen is often a better alternative than sticking him in a crate. Personally, I'm not fond of crate training and a well-made, safe puppy playpen is a fantastic alternative to them in many cases. Even if you do want to crate train your dog, you can still use the playpen as an alternative. There are puppy playpens for travelling, outdoor puppy playpens for use in the grass, and puppy playpens for use in the home. Just be sure that they are large enough for puppy to move around in, as they do come in various sizes -- if you're going to get one, you're best of buying a puppy playpen that is large enough to move around whilst still being able to fit in water, a bed, toys and a litter box (if you're litter box training him). DO NOT use playpens designed for children if they are made of flimsy mesh or other materials that your puppy can chew through or break.

The Iris CI-604 Puppy playpen is made of commercial grade plastic. It's very easy to assemble and is comprised of interlocking plastic panels. The door has a double steel latch and the entire puppy pen measures 35.3 x 3.4 x 23.9 inches. It can be used indoors or outdoors and this is highly, highly ranked product at Amazon. Just read the reviews and you will know this is a quality product.

The Home n Go Pet Pen can be used indoors or outdoors and comes in several sizes. The one pictured here measures 36 x 26 x 36 inches and weighs about 22 pounds. The mesh sides are connected by a steel frame and the door zips open and closed. Because it's easy to set up and is compact when closed, it's possible to travel with the puppy pen and use it for showing, holiday travel and more.

As with the first Iris plastic puppy playpen, this is made of commercial grade plastic, is easy to set up, and is comprised of interlocking panels. It measures 34.7 x 7.5 x 26.8 inches and weighs about 30 pounds. It can be used indoors or outdoors and the door has a double latch. The main difference between this and the previous difference is the shape of the puppy pen itself, as the overall size differences aren't all that dissimilar.

The Midwest puppy playpen comes in 5 sizes. This one in particular is comprised of 8 panels which measure 30 inches high and 24 inches wide. It can be used inside or outdoors and it's large enough for you to sit inside of it with your puppy, which can help him adjust to it, if needed. When not in use, it folds up very easily.