We traveled a lot in the USA and Europe and camped regularly during these trips with Spike all through his life. We were young, Amazon did not exist, Spike was well trained and responsive to voice commands (unless there was a squirrel or horse in the vicinity), and the thought of packing a playpen for Spike never occurred to us. Thinking back it would have been easier now and then to have had one for him. Certainly these days life is busier, kids draw your attention, more and more people are traveling with their animals ….. it makes sense to have a secure little area for your dog to hang out in unfamiliar territory without having to be on a leash or in the car when your attention cannot be solely on him.
Pet Playpens
When we adopted an old, blind, and deaf Maltese from a senior shelter a little while ago, we realized we needed a secure and enclosed place for him to hang out and sleep at night and when we were not at home. The middle of our kitchen floor now houses a foldable pet playpen that does the trick perfectly!
After a lot of research we settled on the following foldable pet playpen:
Midwest Foldable Pet Playpen
There are various color options: black, blue, pink, and gold zinc and height options: 24”, 30”, 36”, 42” and 48”. The set consists of eight 2-foot-wide panels that can be arranged in a number of configurations. Each pen creates a 16-square-foot enclosed area when assembled and folds flat for convenient storage. Set up takes just seconds. You can get a set that includes a door or doesn’t. We bought the black, 24” high set without a door and can reach over and pick up our little poodle easily.
It can be put up outside too with ground anchors, and corner stabilizers and comes with a one-year manufacturer’s warranty.
The Midwest Foldable Pet Playpen above compares in price, and weight (17.9 lb), with other well-rated pet playpens including the Amazon Basics Pet Playpen and Pet Trex Pet Playpen.
The above foldable pet playpens are good for smaller or older dogs. A young, energetic bigger dog who is not used to being ‘contained’ could possibly get a paw stuck or potentially even break a ground anchor if it really puts some force behind it. A more heavy-duty, although more expensive and heavier option that has been very favorably reviewed is the VIVOHOME Heavy Duty Foldable Metal Indoor/Outdoor Exercise Pet Fence Barrier Playpen.
VIVOHOME Foldable Pet Playpen
This heavy-duty metal pet fence has round edges and smooth steel wires for added safety. Packages come with either 5 to 8 piece sets which include steel panels, fixed stakes, and a latched door. You can buy additional panels to make a bigger enclosure and they can be fitted in different shapes. People have stated that they use these a lot camping – they put them outside the camper so the dogs can go in and out the camper but remain contained outside.
Soft-sided portable and foldable pet playpens are ideal for traveling with smaller dogs.
Ruff ‘n Ruffus Portable Foldable Pet Playpen
The Ruff ’n Ruffus Foldable Pet Playpen above compares in price, and weight (2.4 lb), with other well-rated similar pet playpens including the Amazon Basics Soft Pet Traveling Playpen and the Furhaven Pop Up Indoor-Outdoor Pet Playpen.
Conclusion
There are many benefits of traveling with your dog or taking them with you on little excursions. But all the advantages of having them around dim if you worry about keeping them safe and contained when they are away from home. A foldable pet playpen might help mitigate these worries.