Pen-crate setup for a 7-week Shih Tzu puppy

A 7-week-old Shih Tzu is genuinely too young to be shut in a crate overnight — their bladder control isn't there yet, and the isolation can create anxiety that follows them for months. What works well at this age is a pen-crate combo: the crate sits open inside a playpen so the puppy can choose to go in and out, use a puppy pad in the pen when they need to, and still get that cosy den feeling without being confined. Crate size is still important even here — too big and it loses the den quality, too small and it's uncomfortable. For a Shih Tzu you're looking at a small crate, roughly 24 inches. Is this purely for home use, or will you be travelling with them too?

That's exactly the right instinct. Forcing a crate too early tends to make the whole process harder, not easier. With the pen-crate combo approach, she learns the crate is safe and comfortable on her own terms — most puppies start gravitating to it within a week or two once they feel secure. Before I suggest a specific setup, does she have a breed-specific tendency toward any respiratory sensitivity? Shih Tzus can be brachycephalic, so ventilation in the crate matters more than it would for other dogs.

Worth keeping in mind — it means a wire crate is a better choice than plastic for the main den, since airflow is much better. For the pen itself, a fabric or metal folding pen works fine. The setup I'd recommend is the Ellie-Bo foldable metal dog crate in the 24-inch size paired with the Songmics 8-panel foldable metal pet playpen. The Ellie-Bo is well-built, has a double door (front and top, which is brilliant for lifting a tiny puppy in and out without bending awkwardly), and the wire gauge is sturdy enough that she won't push through it. The Songmics pen panels connect together and can be configured to wrap around the crate, giving her a pen area with the crate sitting open at one end. Both are widely available on Amazon UK, reasonably priced, and the pen folds flat if you need to move it.

Keep the crate door off or propped open for the first couple of weeks. Put her bedding inside — something that smells of you or her littermates if you have anything — and feed her meals just inside the entrance, then gradually further in over several days. Never push her in or close the door until she's walking in freely and settling there on her own. With the pen setup she'll naturally start choosing the crate to sleep in because it feels safer and more enclosed than the open pen. Once she's reliably going in and napping there, you can start closing the door for short periods during the day before attempting overnight.

Great choice for her age and size. One last thing — put the whole setup in your bedroom for the first few weeks if you can. At 7 weeks she's just left her mother and littermates, and being able to hear and smell you nearby makes an enormous difference to how quickly she settles. You'll get more sleep too. Good luck with her.