We want our puppies to develop social skills, as well as experience early stimulation and cognitive development. Between 4-16 weeks it is an important development period. Studies have shown that non-stimulated puppies will develop fears of unfamiliar objects and possibly even withdraw. So we decided to create a little play gym for them that exposes them to puzzles, textures, colors and smells.
When I looked for play gyms for puppies I came across a play gym from Puppies in Bloom. I really like their idea, but I did not like the price. So I searched for cheaper alternatives. I found www.formufit.com who has color pvc. So I estimated what I needed and ordered it from them. With a little math I created my own for more than half the price. The Pythagorean Theorem is actually helpful in life. I also discovered that Formufit’s pvc pipes will work with pvc slip couplings from your local home improvement store. I guess you could just use pvc pipe, and pay less than $10 for entire thing, but I figured that the color is just as important in their neural stimulation. Even if dogs are somewhat color blind, lights and darks will stimulate neural activity. This is what the finish product looks like. We did however add a few other extensions that we can add and take off.
Puppy Play Gym
I noticed with our growing Alice that she has many fears while walking her on walks. I often wonder if she was exposed to more things while younger if she would have had less fears. Since we didn’t have her until 9 weeks of age, we weren’t able to try this play gym on her. I guess we shall see if it has any effect on future puppies from our pack.
As we use this gym I’ll expand on it. Hopefully we will learn to see what really is effective in stimulating them, and what is not. It is easily broken down, and there is no need to glue it together.
Puppies Checking Out Puppy Play Gym
Update:
I’ve had many people ask and e-mail me in regards to what parts I bought to create our gym. I’d go with the 1″ pipe if I were to do it again, although 1/2″ still will work. I’m listing the items I bought below. I’ve also attached links to amazon so that you can buy the Formufit products there. However, they do have some of the joints being sold in sets of 4, where as in a couple cases you only need one. If you did get extra’s you could always add a bunch of other designs into your setup and maybe even purchase more colors of pipes. If you want the exact pieces and no extras you could order directly from Formufit.
Various 5’ selections of 1″ Furniture Grade PVC Pipe (a mix of Purple, Red, Blue, Orange, Yellow, Green, Black)
(7) – External Flat PVC End Caps
(6) – 4-Way PVC Tees
(4) – 3 Way PVC Elbows
(1) – 90 Degree PVC Elbow
(4) – 45 Degree PVC Elbow
(1) – 5 Way PVC Cross
(1) – Standard PVC Cross
Hi, love your puppy play gym!!!!
I would love to build one, I guess you wouldn’t remember how many of each piece you need do you?
I LOVE yours and want one for my pups!!!!
These are the pieces I used from Formufit: 6 different colors of pvc pipe 5 feet, 7 external end caps, 6 4-ways, 4 3-ways, 1 90-elbow, 4 45-elbow. 1 5-way, and 1 Cross. I did buy a couple extra pieces as well to make different designs so it isn’t an exact replica of others. I used 1/2 pvc, but you could go larger for it to be sturdier. As mentioned you can use Home Depot or Lowes for fittings to cut the cost down.
Could you please tell me the lengths that I need to cut the PVC pipes into?
Well, that’s some math I think you should do. It will be based on the height you will want it. Some puppies are smaller, and you are going to want to make it smaller. I have larger puppies, but it would be too big for toy puppies. That’s why I wanted to make my own verses buying one. That way I could cater to my puppies rather than a standard. Once you have a height you want estimating the size our your pups, and a width, I just used pythagorean theorem for the rest of the sizes.
Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it. I hope mine comes out as nice as yours.
The pictures of your puppies are adorable. I wish I could get mine to hold still long enough to get a group picture. I enjoyed looking at your web site as well. Great job.
What a wonderful job you’ve done building a puppy gym. I love it.
I breed and raise Portuguese Water Dogs. The babies would love a gym to play in.
Could you please tell me the lengths that Iwould need to cut the PVC pipes into?
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Thank you in advance,
Blessings,
Tami
Tim,
Since you used our products, we recently posted a blog entry on your Puppy Play Gym on our site blog. Not only were we excited to see what you have built, but that you also breed English Goldens; as we have one of our own (8 mos, right now)! They are such great dogs. Thanks for your super idea and keep up the great work!
Thanks for the shoutout on your site. We appreciate it. Glad to see you have a golden of your own!
Tim,
I love your idea and I am going to build my own version of it. The reason I use the formufit pipe is because it is nontoxic which of course is important with our mouthy puppies. It is also much more impact resistant. Much safer for baby pups. Thanks for your great idea.
Linda Ingle
Would love to know the total price of this one– vs the $189 Puppies in bloom one. I am considering making my own too!
I spent $91 but made extra pieces and had left over piping. It may have gone up in price since then though.