Setting Up a Puppy YES Space

A play yard set up in a corner of a room to create a puppy enclosure; there is a dog crate adjacent to the enclosure.

A puppy YES space is all about creating a designated area that is safe and engaging where puppies can play and explore without getting into any trouble. This will not only keep them enriched, but also help them learn and develop important skills like independent play and self-soothing behaviors.

What You’ll Need 

Sturdy play yard with:
- Locking joints to prevent the pen from changing shape or collapsing.
- Vertical bars to discourage young puppies from trying to climb the walls.
A couple toys and/or food-containing toys for the puppy to self-entertain.
Wire or other straight-sided crate and comfy bedding.
A grey puppy potty tray that can contain an absorbent pee pad underneath.
Water (in a sturdy bowl).
Potty tray (like this one).

Creating an Indoor YES Space

Choose a Spot
When you first bring the puppy home, you want the YES Space in an area where you spend a lot of time so they can be near the hustle and bustle. If this is far away from where everyone sleeps, you may want a “mini” version of your YES Space set up for overnight. For your main YES Space, try to pick a large enough area that the puppy’s crate can be connected and still allow for space for the puppy to move around in. Consider putting the play yard on an easy to clean surface (tile floor, scrap linoleum, laminate, tarp, an old office chair pad, etc.).

Connect the crate to the play yard so the walls of the pen are flush with the crate. Zip ties work well for this!

Puppy-proofing
Make sure the area is completely safe for your puppy. Make sure the space has a little distance from easy to chew furniture or window coverings and remove any items that are within reach that the puppy might attempt to chew on.

Toys
Have plenty of toys in the space to keep the puppy engaged and stimulated. Nylabone chew toys, Kongs, and food containing interactive toys are all great options. Rotate toys to keep them fun and interesting. Choose toys the puppy can safely interact with without being directly supervised – this is a frustration limited zone!

Comfort
Provide a cozy spot to relax (crate with comfy bedding!), free access to water, and a potty tray for pups to relieve themselves as needed.

Puppies don’t like to relieve in the area where they sleep. Having a separate puppy potty area gives young puppies an appropriate place to relieve at night (or if they have an upset tummy) and helps keep them and their sleeping area clean. Don’t worry, you will still be teaching outside potty habits – the potty tray just gives puppies an appropriate option overnight and during the day if you accidentally wait too long before taking them out to potty again!

A small X-pen set up in a corner of a room to create a puppy enclosure; there is a dog crate inside the enclosure.

What if…

I live in a very small space? You can get the benefits of the YES Space even if you don’t use all the panels from the sturdy play yard. The goal is to create a space that allows young puppies to choose between their sleeping area and a separate potty area overnight. During the day, the potty tray can be removed to allow more space for playing on their own with toys as long as you remain diligent about offering plenty of appropriate opportunities to potty outside. The photo above shows one option for a nighttime set up where the puppy’s crate, water bowl, and the potty tray are all placed within a YES Space play yard configured as a square.
I only have carpeted floors? You will want to put down a temporary easy to clean surface. Accidents will happen. They are still puppies after all! You don’t need anything fancy - scrap linoleum, tarp, or even an old office chair pad all work well.
I want to block off my hallway as a YES Space instead? This can work well for some puppies depending on the layout of your home. When the puppy first comes home, keep a close eye and make sure they aren’t chewing your baseboards or anything else they might have access to in the hallway, since not all sides will be protected by play yard walls. If you have a puppy who does like to chew the baseboards instead of the wonderful assortment of puppy chews and toys in the space, they may not be a good candidate for this set-up until they are a bit more mature.

Setting Up an Outdoor Safe Puppy Area

Spending time outdoors is great for people and puppies! Younger puppies who might be inclined to ingesting organic material or getting into mischief benefit from having an x-pen set up in an open area of your yard. You can use x-pen stakes to secure the pen to the ground.

Add Toys
Don’t forget to add in some toys for the puppy to play with! Puppies who have access to appropriate toys are less likely to ingest or chew organic material in the yard.

Safety Tip
An outdoor x-pen is a safe space for the puppy to be left alone briefly (e.g. running inside to grab a book), but puppies should not be left in the x-pen unattended for extended periods of time. Instead, follow outdoor kennel guidelines in Confinement for puppies to be confined outdoors unattended.