We got a puppy in January. His name is Monty, he is a Cocker Spaniel, and he is the most chaotic living creature I have ever shared a home with. I say this with complete love. I also say it having spent the first two weeks of his life with us in a state of constant vigilance that I can only compare to the newborn stage with my children — the same exhaustion, the same inability to leave the room, the same sense that the moment you stop watching, something will go wrong.
Monty needed to be watched because Monty, left unsupervised for thirty seconds, would find something to chew, something to knock over, or somewhere to relieve himself that was not the designated spot. He was not being difficult. He was being a puppy. But we needed to be able to cook dinner, answer emails, and occasionally leave the room without taking him with us.
We needed a puppy pen. We needed one that set up quickly, held a determined Cocker Spaniel, and could be moved between rooms and taken outside. I found the Ellie-Bo and ordered it the same day.
Why I Chose the Ellie-Bo Foldable Puppy Play Pen
I found the Ellie-Bo Foldable Puppy Play Pen – 61cm Portable Steel Pet Enclosure on ALTOE and the specification matched every requirement.
The concertina design that sets up in seconds was the feature I needed most. A pen that requires assembly is a pen that doesn't get used when you need it quickly. The concertina design unfolds and locks into position without tools, without instructions, without the kind of fiddling that is impossible when you're also trying to watch a puppy. I timed it on the first day: forty-five seconds from folded to ready.
The 61cm height was the containment specification I needed for a Cocker Spaniel puppy. At eight weeks, Monty was small enough that 61cm was more than adequate. As he grew, the height remained sufficient — he has never successfully escaped, though he has tried with considerable enthusiasm.
The galvanised steel construction was the durability specification for a puppy who chews everything. Galvanised steel doesn't bend, doesn't splinter, and doesn't give way under the kind of determined investigation that Monty applies to every object in his environment.
The hinged door with bolt action locks was the access feature that made daily use practical. I can open the door, put Monty in, close it, and lock it in one smooth motion. I can open it again just as quickly. The bolt locks are secure enough that he can't open them himself, which he has definitely attempted.
The indoor and outdoor versatility meant I could use it in the kitchen during the day, move it to the living room in the evening, and take it into the garden when the weather allowed. One pen, every location.
The First Week With It
The pen arrived on a Wednesday. I set it up in the kitchen in forty-five seconds, put Monty's bed and a toy inside, and put Monty in. He investigated every panel, tested the door, and then lay down in his bed and went to sleep. I cooked dinner without watching him. This was the first time I had cooked dinner without watching him since he arrived.
By the end of the first week, the pen was part of our routine. Monty went in when I needed to focus on something else, came out for play and training sessions, and went back in when he needed to rest. He stopped treating it as a constraint and started treating it as his space — he would sometimes go in voluntarily, which I took as a sign that we'd got the balance right.
Six Months On
Monty is now seven months old. The pen is still in daily use, though less than in those first frantic weeks. It lives in the kitchen and comes out when I need him contained — when we have visitors who aren't dog people, when I'm cooking something that requires full attention, when the postman comes and I need thirty seconds of calm.
The galvanised steel has held up to six months of daily use, regular moves between rooms, and Monty's persistent investigation of every panel. There is no bending, no rust, no structural compromise. The concertina mechanism still works as smoothly as it did on day one.
We also took it to my parents' house for Christmas. Folded flat, fitted in the boot, set up in their kitchen in forty-five seconds. Monty had his space, my parents had their house, everyone was happy.
What I Love Most About It
- The concertina setup: Forty-five seconds from folded to ready. The pen that actually gets used because it's actually quick.
- The 61cm height: Sufficient for a Cocker Spaniel puppy at every stage of the puppy period. He has never escaped.
- The galvanised steel: Holds up to chewing, pushing, and six months of daily use without bending or rusting.
- The hinged door: Secure bolt locks, easy one-motion access. Practical for daily use in a way that complicated fastenings aren't.
- The portability: Kitchen to living room to garden to grandparents' house. One pen, every location.
- What it gave us: The ability to cook dinner, answer emails, and leave the room. The sanity that the first weeks of puppy ownership threaten to take away.
Who Is This For?
Any new puppy owner who needs a safe, contained space for their dog during the house-training period. Anyone who has been trying to watch a puppy constantly and is running out of eyes. Anyone who needs a pen that sets up quickly, holds a determined small dog, and can be moved between rooms and locations. And anyone who is about to get a puppy and wants to be prepared rather than reactive.
Get Yours
The Ellie-Bo Foldable Puppy Play Pen – 61cm Portable Steel Pet Enclosure is available now at ALTOE. Set it up. Put the puppy in. Cook dinner. Breathe.
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— Rosalind Mackenzie-Osei, owner of Monty the Cocker Spaniel (7 months), new puppy survivor, and person who cooked dinner without watching a dog for the first time in two weeks on the day the pen arrived. Based in Edinburgh. Monty sometimes goes into the pen voluntarily. She considers this a victory.
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