I wanted to share a product I had never used before I had my twins.  When we moved to San Antonio, the kids were starting to become mobile and I wanted a way to keep them out of my kitchen.  Also, I had an open concept home with a 20 foot opening between the kitchen / dinning room and the family room.  The family room was carpet, not ideal when you have dogs.  I wanted a way to keep the dogs off the carpet until their feet dried as well as keep the kids from entering the kitchen.

I own about 10 different heights of exercise pens that I generally use for puppy containment, dog shows, camping, whelping, etc.  However, the downfall of the dog exercise pen is that it is very easy for kids to topple.  If you use it in a straight line, it will fall over.  There is no way to lock each panel to provide stability.  I checked online and read reviews and found the ideal solution.

My old Superyard box, where I keep my extra panels and adaptors, when they are not in use.

The Metal Superyard is what I settled.  It is commonly priced at 120-130 dollars, but you can find it on sale if you check around.  You get 6 panels, one a gate, for that price.  I bought two super yards and used 9 panels (one a gate) to cross my dining / kitchen space, then used the other 3 panels (one a gate) to block off the foot of the stairs.  It was the perfect setup.

When I had the three Bret X Bree pups this past spring (Reagan, Lincoln, and Quincy), the use of this pen really expanded.  I found it to be the ideal puppy pen!  My kids were 3 years and we were in a  drought (think no muddy paws) thus no need to block off the kitchen.  I decided to use the Superyard as a puppy pen, making it into a circle to keep the pups secure.  Unlike the traditional exercise pen, it is impossible to climb the metal version of the Superyard if the dog is to short to reach the top.  As you can see from the photos, there is no cross bars.  As long as the pup is large enough and cannot fit between the bars, it is one of the safest pens available.

I open the pen up to block them into the computer room.

Each section can be locked tight, so it becomes rigid, with infinite angles to choose from.  The gate has a childproof lock, but the beauty of the design is that even unlocked it cannot be opened unless you lift the door up, then push or pull open.  This means my children can come and go in with the puppies without having to lock the gate behind them.

The gate is easy for my kids to open, but they cannot lock it. No worries, it doesn't need to be locked, you must lift it to open and the dogs can't lift it.

Close up photo of the gate.

This is the perfect ‘next step’ for house manners and potty training.  You can limit the area the young dog can play in, but still give them more freedom than a tether or crate can offer.    If you need to block them off, you can change it quickly to a circle pen.  I believe my sanity would be going if I tried to raise 3 teenager Poodles without this device.

These nine panels are roomy for 3 teenager Standards

Here are some rules for dogs and pens without a top.

1: never leave the dog in an open pen without supervision for more than a short period of time until are you sure the dog will not try to climb out.   There is a risk they will learn to jump the pen if you are not there to correct the behavior.  With the Superyard pen you can leave young pups who cannot touch the top bar, which is what I did with my crew.

2.  Absolutely NO PAWS on the top allowed.  If mine put their paws up, they get in big trouble.  A few angry mommy moments and a Poodle will decide it is really not worth making mom upset!  Paws on the top is one step from climbing or jumping over.  My guys have to sit to be released from their pen.

3.  Use in an area where you don’t mind a potty accident or make sure house training is almost finished. There is no floor to a Superyard or exercise pen.

A view from the formal dining room into the computer / training / workout room. The pups get to help me write my blog and watch Daddy play World of Warcraft! The kids play on the love seat and we can all hang out as a family.

I LOVE my Superyard!  If you see one at a garage sale or resale shop, pick it up!  You won’t be disappointed.