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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 262 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
81 of 82 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent Apr 25, 2009
By Lisa
We have a young, 15 lb. Doxie/Jackie mix who has a LOT of energy. We bought this pen primarily so we could use it as a barrier between rooms, and it works great for that. We use one of the end sections as a "door" for us (and him) that we set against the wall when we want to close off the room; we stretch three of the adjoining sections in short "V"s for the length of the room opening; and then we "fold" the remaining partitions together and set them against the opposite wall. It is completely free standing this way, which means it doesn't rub against the walls (unless our dog jumps against it, which he has been known to do--but it doesn't fall over when does this because of how it's propped against the wall, and that's important). We've also used it as a pen, and it worked great for that too. We wondered if our little guy would be able to knock it over when it was in its pen shape, but if he tried, it didn't come down. We left him in it while we ran errands for a couple of hours, and when we came back, it was exactly as we'd left it. He's pretty well potty trained at this point, but we also wondered if we left him in the pen (rather than his kennel) while we were gone if he'd break protocol and do his business in there since he has a lot more room in the pen than he does in his kennel. But he didn't make any messes at all; so I would recommend it for dogs who are at or near the end of their potty training but still need to be confined while their owners are gone for a short period of time. A final word (no, really, I swear): We really like the black coating. Some friends of ours have a gold pen they offered to loan us, but we don't like the way the gold one looks. The black is more "stylish" (which, let's face it, does matter to some of us), and if the pen winds up rubbing against a wall, the black rubs off a little bit (which is quickly and easily cleaned off) but doesn't harm the wall. (Our friends' gold pen rubbed against one of their walls and left scratches on it.)
35 of 36 found the following review helpful:
Perfect for my French bulldog.. May 07, 2007
By Happy Mom of 4
"Jen"
We love this pen. It is large enough for the puppy and for an adult or child to sit in and play with the dog. When opened up it spans a very large entry to the great room in our home giving us the ability to confine her to an area of the house. It is strong and sturdy and although she is a puppy I can imagine her using it even as a 30lb adult dog. For larger dogs, I definitly would consider buying the taller 30" or more. This pen is extremely well priced and after shopping around at local pet stores this one was positively the best deal ever.
26 of 26 found the following review helpful:
 Midwest Exercise Pen Keeps Pets Safely Contained Apr 09, 2010
By Bryan Carey
"Bryan Carey"
The Midwest Exercise Pen is a helpful device for pet containment and it has come in very handy for my household. This exercise pen offers a safe refuge for pets and it is metal in construction, adding extra strength and durability. After my previous plastic pen collapsed one day and broke into pieces, I decided to go for something more durable and my search led me to the Midwest Exercise Pen.
The Midwest Exercise Pen provides about sixteen square feet of space and while this isn't much, it does come in handy for a small to medium size pet. This area can be expanded slightly by attaching the open ends of this pen to the opening of a dog crate. I have a metal dog crate and this combination seems to work very well. Not only does it expand the total square footage, but many dogs also appreciate the attached crate because they can crawl inside it when they like, similar to what they do in a doghouse. Besides the play area, the walls of the pen are tall enough to keep pets contained. Panels are sold in varying heights that range up to forty- eight inches. From my experience, I have found that most dogs will stay inside the panels without any need for supervision. Many dogs- even smaller breeds- could easily jump these walls but they tend to stay confined without any problem.
I like the Midwest Exercise Pen but I have noticed a few potential problems that should be pointed out to any potential buyers. First, I don't like that there are only four snaps included. These snaps are intended to attach the open ends together and to prevent the exercise pen from being moved around and losing its intended shape. However, the snaps are not very secure and since you need two of them to close the open- ended panels, you will have only two left, and this means the pen will not be as stable as some pet owners would prefer.
Another area of concern with the Midwest Exercise Pen is the lightweight construction. As I have said, the pen is made from metal but the metal spokes are not very thick. This results in an exercise pen that is very lightweight and thus is not suitable for a larger, more active breed of dog. A large or medium size dog with lots of energy could easily knock this pen over, with the right effort. The ground stakes help to prevent this problem, but if the pen is used indoors or in a garage or basement, you obviously cannot use the ground stakes and you will have to tolerate a little bit of sliding around.
The Midwest Exercise Pen is a very good exercise pen for small to medium size dogs, rabbits, and other pets and I am glad I made the purchase. It isn't perfect and it isn't suitable for every type of dog, due to its limited weight and stability. But this is still a very good exercise pen that lets pets enjoy a little freedom while also keeping them under control.
45 of 50 found the following review helpful:
 Basic Quality Jul 31, 2008
By New England Yankee
This is a very basic ex-pen, in spite of its coating. Having owned several brands, I find that Midwest's tend to rust the most and the earliest. The 42" height is useful for the toys and small terriers (as long as you don't have a climber!), giving enough height security while taking the edge off the weight versus a 48" pen. These pens aren't light! I wouldn't personally use a lower pen for any breed.
Toss the ground stakes, which you'll probably never use anyway, and toss any cheap snap hooks that may be included to close the pen. You'll want to buy some good-sized, solid brass snap hooks, which are a lot easier to use and won't rust. I recommend getting them at least 3" long.
If you can wait, you can find a better ex-pen at almost any decent-sized dog show (or this one, for less money).
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Perfect for our rabbits Oct 13, 2010
By SHowes
I am very pleased with this product. I can see how it might not work as well for a large dog but it has been perfectly sturdy for our Holland Lop Rabbits. I plan on buying a second pen to make a larger play area for the rabbits. Very easy to set up and take down. I do not worry about the rabbits getting out...at least...they haven't yet :)
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