Tour of Our Home: Crate-Free Biewer Terrier Setup Using Garden Boxes
We’ve received an overwhelming number of messages after sharing a virtual tour of our home and facilities — especially about the materials and setup we use for our dogs. So here’s a breakdown of how we raise happy, healthy, crate-free Biewer Terriers in a home-based system that meets USDA and state PACFA licensing standards.
General Setup
We’re lucky to have a home with multiple bedrooms, which allows us to create separate spaces to meet the needs of dogs at every stage of life. Maintaining cleanliness and durability was a challenge until we discovered what works: waterproof laminate or epoxy-coated hardwood floors, and vinyl sheeting on the walls to protect both surfaces and curious little teeth. This combination is easy to sanitize and still feels cozy and homey.
Nursery & Puppy Room
- Ambient temperature throughout the house is 78°.
- Nursery & Puppy Rooms are kept at 85°F.
- Equipped with heating pads and plenty of power outlets.
- Nursing moms have direct access to a separate potty porch (no shared spaces!)
This setup minimizes exposure to waste and outside contaminants and helps keep everyone growing strong and healthy.
Grooming Area
Our custom crate bank makes drying dogs safer and more efficient, especially with the Flying Pig stand dryers that free up both hands for brushing and handling. We have two crate banks, one in the adult areas and one in the puppy areas. We bathe and fully dry the dogs right away to prevent chills and make the experience stress-free.
Sanitation, and Supplies
We maintain dedicated refrigerators exclusively for dog food, with every item labeled and dated for freshness and organization. All food and water bowls are stainless steel and cleaned in a dishwasher reserved solely for the dogs, ensuring thorough daily sanitation.To minimize bacteria, we use washable pee pads that are changed twice a day, and serve wet food on disposable paper plates that are discarded after each meal. We also have a separate washer and dryer used exclusively for dog laundry — including bedding, blankets, and washable pads — to keep everything clean, fresh, and free from cross-contamination. Every dog area — no matter its purpose — is fully stocked with an air purifier, mops, buckets, cleaning supplies, and vinyl gloves to support consistent cleanliness and hygiene throughout our home.
Whelping and Mom Care
Expectant moms move into the nursery by Day 45 of pregnancy. Their whelping boxes are made from under-bed storage containers outfitted with vet fleece, blankets, and heat pads — all within a larger pen that includes pee pads and a cool bare floor area for breaks.
We monitor our moms closely:
- Shaved tummies before whelping
- Daily checks of mammary glands and nipples
- Post-birth hygiene care
- Weekly puppy nail trims
- Daily puppy checks for hair that could block bowel movements
Pens and Beds
Our pens are made from vinyl garden box panels that are:
- 4 feet long
- 24 inches high (can stack for 22″ height using 11” versions)
- Easily connected, washed, and stored
- Practically indestructible
Beds are made from plastic storage bins lined with cloth pads and blankets — easy to clean and replace if they get chewed.
Here’s the link to the garden boxes we use. And you can stack the 11-inch ones if you find the 2-pack available!
The Outcome
We’ve been blessed with happy, healthy, and incredibly well-socialized dogs thanks to this crate-free system. Every decision is made with their comfort, health, and development in mind.
If you have any questions or want to try something similar, feel free to reach out — we’re always happy to share what’s worked for us.
– Rocky Mountain Biewer Terriers
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- This is our “Main Box”, located in our living room. Ambient Temperature is 74F. My three dogs and Mom’s three dogs hangout here during the day and during bad weather. We also have a few stragglers that hangout here. Now that it’s getting warmer, most of the dogs prefer to be outside on our porch, or in the grass.
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- This is our “Main Box”, located in our living room. Ambient Temperature is 74F. My three dogs and Mom’s three dogs hangout here during the day and during bad weather. We also have a few stragglers that hangout here. Now that it’s getting warmer, most of the dogs prefer to be outside on our porch, or in the grass.
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- The second “Puppy Room” for older puppies. Ambient Temperature is 75F. Equipped with beds made from plastic storage containers, blankets, toys, food, water and two potty pads.
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- One of our “Puppy Rooms” for older puppies. Ambient Temperature is 75F. Equipped with beds made from plastic storage containers, blankets, toys, food, water and two washable potty pads.
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- “Main Nursery.” We call this a “quad box.” These puppies can run and jump and make a mess, but are too small for the puppy rooms.
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- Each area is equipped with mops, brooms, trash cans, lysol wipes, gloves, napkins, etc. All the things you’d need to clean and sanitize.
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- Each room is equipped with napkins, lysol wipes, gloves, etc. We also have air purifiers in every area.
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- This our “Nursey Room.” Ambient temperature is 85F. We call this a double box. The puppies have their eyes open and are actively leaning to walk. Their moms have plenty of space to walk around and cool off.
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- This our “Nursey Room.” Ambient temperature is 85F. Another double box. These puppies are blind and deaf. Their bed is made from a plastic storage bin. Their moms have plenty of space to walk around and cool off.
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- A close-up of our newborns, also located in the “Nursey Room.” They are blind and deaf, laying in a plastic storage container, equipped with a heat pad and a blanket.
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- A glimpse of our front yard. Fully fenced in. Our dogs love playing outside, no matter the weather!
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- This is the “puppy” laundry room. Equipped with a washer, dryer, sink for washing puppies and more cleaning supplies.
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- This is our “Main Nursery.” Ambient Temperature is 78F. Our pregnant moms reside here before they move into the “Nursery Room.” We also have puppies that are too small for the puppy rooms here.
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- This is the grooming station in our “Main Nursey.” Equipped with a standing dryer, trimmers, brushes, combs, nail clippers, etc. We tend to only need one section of this crate bank.
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- “Main Nursey.” Another double box. These puppies can run and jump and make a mess, but are too small for the quad box and the puppy rooms.
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- One of our resident cats. His name is “Chunky.” The cats do a wonderful job desensitizing and entertaining the older puppies.