On The Road Again With Our Dogs And The IRIS Plastic Pet Pen

With the purchase of our travel trailer last year, we are frequently on the go and that means so are the dogs. But, in order to keep them 'off the go' (ie, running free), we purchased the IRIS Indoor/Outdoor Plastic Pet Pen. We purchased this particular model of mobile dog crate for a few reasons:

1. Since I'm sometimes traveling alone, a heavy metal dog crate large enough to hold 4 beasts (yes, there are currently 4) is too heavy for me to handle. But this particular dog pen weights in at just under 13 lbs which is very manageable for me to lift into and out of our pick up truck. Note: the thing folds so flat that it can easily fit inside a car trunk too.
2. I said that there are 4 dogs traveling with me, but, I've been known to tote as many as six canines (and a cat - yikes!) along. The best part of this plastic dog fence (at least to me) is that it's expandable! Yes! And, it's so very easy to add or take off the additional panels so you can make it smaller or bigger as needed.
3. I don't really need the optional security roof when Killian, my Aussie, is along for the ride, but, if I were to take just the little dogs with me, I'd want a top on this dog playpen to protect them from hawks, foxes, or any other beast who might have a dinner of 'Gizmo' on their mind.

In reading the product reviews on Amazon.com, several people have mentioned using this dog play pen as a training area for housebreaking. This is a great idea - especially for a larger dog who might need more room than even a huge crate. Note: if you have small dogs, housebreaking in a larger area won't necessarily work as dogs won't soil where they sleep. But, in this crate, it's large enough that small dogs might soil an area of it - generally, away from the area where they sleep. So, operator beware!

Here's a few more articles you might like about our pets and various pet supplies:

Keeping Our Aussie's Joints Protected with Dasuquin

Agility Training - The Perfect Way To Keep A Dog In Shape

Our old plastic dog pen was the Northstate Playgate you'll see there below. It lasted us many many years, however, one of us (who shall remain nameless....ok....me....sigh) backed over the thing and, well, that was that. Thankfully, the dogs were already loaded in the truck or it would have been a very very bad day. It's was a great crate though and served our growing (and sometimes shrinking) pack of dogs well. It's the first link below.