How to Include Dogs at Events without a Fence or Leash

Here are a few things you need to know about us, in no particular order. We DON’T have a fenced in yard. We travel a LOT. We have lots of tiny humans in our lives that have adorable athletic activities like soccer (where they really just run in a clump and wave at their parents) and t-ball. We have two dogs that we like to include in our adventures wherever possible.

Why did I share this information with you? Well, we’ve found an answer to the question we’ve had for years which is “how do we include the dogs in outdoor activities in the absence of a leash or fenced-in area?”

We received a Portable Pet Pen and compensation from Carlson Pet Products in exchange for an honest assessment of our views and experience. We only share products we've tried and love and our opinions are our own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase items through that link, we make a small commission.

We received a Portable Pet Pen from Carlson Pet Products at the beginning of the summer. We wrote about some of the features of the Pet Pen that we have really appreciated in a prior post that I recommend you take a moment to read called “Five Reasons Why we Love our Portable Pet Pen from Carlson Pet Products.”

Since writing that post, we’ve taken the dogs on road trips both near and far and have brought the Portable Pet Pen with us almost every time we have hit the road. Let me tell you a few times when the Portable Pet Pen really came in handy.

Twas a Warm Afternoon and Bryn had Free Time

We have a hard time “adulting,” in our home. When faced with free time, which happens infrequently, we rarely use that time to do certain things, like yard work. One afternoon, I drove up to our house and looked at it as if I were a potential buyer and said to myself “there’s no way anyone would put an offer on our house with all those weeds everywhere.” Resigning myself to that reality, I realized, it was time to put on my adulting pants, which in this instance included old leggings with paint remnants on them, a t-shirt from a dog food company since I have at least 8 million of those, grungy sneakers, and mismatched gardening gloves.

I wanted the dogs to keep me company, so I set up the Portable Pet Pen near where I was spending most of my time weeding. I filled the pen with tons of fun toys that I had stuffed with treats. One toy, our classic Kong, was filled with frozen peanut butter, apples and blueberries, which kept the dogs entertained for a long time. I also brought out a bottle of water and a collapsible bowl for their hydration.

With the portable pet pen setup, and a true crime podcast being broadcast from a vintage fanny pack I found in the basement that held my cell phone, I plopped Yoda in the pen and got to work tackling the weeds. He had SO MUCH FUN playing with the toys that normally get stuck under our couch. After about 40 minutes of vigorous play, he curled himself into a Yoda ball and took a nap in the shade. I, on the other hand, had weeds in my hair, sweat dripping down my temples, and a questionable amount of dirt on my face and in my sneakers.

This activity did bring a super important point in relation to the Portable Pet Pen to light. NEVER KEEP YOUR DOG UNATTENDED. I made the mistake of turning towards the front of the house, out of Yoda’s view. He doesn’t like not knowing where I am, and he hopped free of the Pet Pen to come find me. Thankfully, he stuck by my side, and didn’t bound anywhere else, but if you have a dog who is not strong with their recall, this is an important item to keep in mind.

Visiting the Beach, with Dogs, and also Lounging in the Sun

My parents live on the Connecticut shore. There are a lot of local beaches, some of which are dog friendly. What do you do, if you want to bring your dog to the beach, but also want to lay/lounge in the sun? Bring the Portable Pet Pen by Carlson Pet Products! We went to the beach with my nephew after the crowds had cleared out, he wanted to make a sandcastle and play in the water, I wanted to work on addressing my farmer’s tan, the husband wanted to wade in the water. We were able to do everything thanks to the Portable Pet Pen. Bean hung out in the pen while I soaked up the sun. Both my nephew and husband were never far so we had three sets of eyes keeping tabs on Bean.

I placed a fitted sheet on the bottom of the pet pen (after the photo above was taken), so Bean didn’t have tons of sand in her fur, and kept it in place with four bottles of water. Afterwards, I put a bunch of the toys that are easy to rinse off in the pen for Bean to play. She really preferred laying in the sun like her mother, though.

Adorable Children’s Athletic Activities and a Dog who doesn’t want to be on a Leash

Bean would rather chill and play with a toy than be on a leash. She’s good on the leash, but she doesn’t like being restricted. Not that I can blame her. We don’t have children, but we have lots of nephews, and nieces along with friends who have tiny humans. We try to support these nuggets by attending their athletic events, so we’ve gone to many a t-ball game and soccer game over the years.

This summer, we brought the Portable Pet Pen and were able to have Bean chill in the pen instead of being tethered to a leash. She watched the games for a short while, but mostly played with her toys, or took a snooze in the shade.

We didn’t bring Yoda on these excursions because, I’m pretty sure he’d jump ship to try to catch the balls on the field. Which would be cute and 100% distracting. We knew Bean would stay put, so she was given the green light to join us on the sidelines.

There are tons of ways this Portable Pet Pen has and will come in handy as we continue to travel with Bean and Yoda. What types of adventures would you have if you had a Portable Pet Pen of your own?