Any tried and tested x-pens?

[Feefee147]

We're 10 months in with our lovely grey, and also expecting an (unplanned - eek!) baby in a few months time. 

I'm trying to plan ahead and think about making any adjustments sooner so he can get used to things gradually, rather than leaving it until a baby arrives and having him associate any changes directly with the arrival of the new offending child. 

Sleep startle is not a huge issue compared to some greys - he sleeps on a sofa in our room and knows he has to stay on it overnight until we get him up for breakfast. However, he does occasionally get up and clamber onto our bed in the early hours of the morning (I assume he is cold, however he gets far too hot in pyjamas so I put him back to bed with a thin blanket and he's fine for the rest of the night).  If he does climb onto our bed he is not particularly cheery at being kicked off. We do sometimes encounter grumbling, growling and snapping when he's half asleep and comfy so I know to stand back, rustle the duvet and be very firm vocally with him rather than touching him or letting him stay on there...etc. Not ideal at 3 in the morning but it is what it is and he does get off again, begrudgingly.

Fine for us. However, obviously not so fine for a baby or young child who will need to learn pet boundaries. 

I've tried moving him to the hallway at nighttime but it's quite cold out there and he just cries and stands at the doorway (I block it with a gate so he can still see and hear us) for ages. Obviously after 10 months in our room he's really distressed (understandably - I know we've only ourselves to blame!) at being suddenly kicked out. Harrowing for all of us! I'm happy having him in our bedroom so I'm more concerned with creating a safer environment rather than kicking him out. 

So.... some sort of pen? Has anyone any hints on tried and tested x-pens or ways of creating a safe space? If I can get him used to that, and find a decent sized sturdy option, it would also be very useful in other situations (eg if I visit my parents who have two small 10 month old leaping around daschunds, or if I have guests with small dogs/children.

Any other suggestions greatly received! :-)

[Houndtime]

We have used x-pens in some many ways.  It is such a useful tool.  When our girl broke her ankle, we kept her confined in it.  We used it to block off the front of our travel trailer and the dogs could be outside with us.  Our son used his before he was able to put his fence up.  We joined two together and used them at our group's picnic to contain dogs while we attended.  We used ours to keep our dogs in our vending space.  I don't think the brand matters but, I think the name of ours was Mid West.  Just don't get one less than 4 ft. high.  Congrats on the new addition.

[HeyRunDog]

I've no experience with an X-pen but a crate might be another option, for your grey not the baby

Whatever you decide to do I would do it now so he doesn't associate loosing his privileges with the new arrival.

[Hubcitypam]

I am with Irene.  Over the years I used mine for many uses like blocking off doors.  If you set it up as stand alone maybe we had great success anchoring it to the door hinges with bungees cords so it wouldn't skitter or get knocked over.  MUCH better than a crate or stacked  but I usually had the crate with the door open and bedding in it  in the gated off room (kitchen).  It is a 4 ft.