Jumping Baby Gate

[Guest katie_dog]

Hi, I just joined this forum a little while ago. I have a black, 3 year old, female greyhound named Katie. I've had her for about a month and half now. I have a living room area that I have her crate set up in and also a dog bed and some toys. I put up a pretty good baby gate (tallest one I could get was 36"). This keeps her in that area when I'm home, but if I leave the house she will jump the gate and go wait by the front door until I get back. I don't want her to wait by the door because I'm afraid she'll get out by mistake when someone opens the door. So far this hasn't happened and I think it is because she doesn't really want to escape. I think she waits by the door because she wants to be as close to wherever I am as possible and if I'm outside of the house that means being right next to the door to the outside. The whole point of the baby gate was to keep her in the living room and out of the room with the doors to the outside while I am gone. I'm thinking I will probably have to put her in her crate when I go to keep her out of that one room, but I really wanted to give her the freedom to have the living room to herself. She sleeps in the living room at night and is pretty comfortable with the room. Initially, I crated her at night, but now I let her have the whole living room and she might sleep in her crate (with the door open) or her dog bed at night. She never jumps the baby gate at night because she knows I'm upstairs sleeping. The gate is still useful when I'm home, but not when I'm gone it seems. I was wondering if anyone had any creative ideas for dealing with the baby gate jumping or do you think crating my only option.

 

Thanks

[FiveRoooooers]

You can secure the baby gate higher than having it sit on the floor, does that make sense?. Try installing it 6" above the floor and see if she respects that and doesn't try to go under it. Initially you may need to block the opening on the non-dog side of the gate (laundry basket, small end table, or similar). This has worked well for me until the dog got the memo about staying on his side of the gate (this was a long time ago, those of you thinking of Paddy ha ha).

 

eta, I would also put a sign on both sides of the door at the door handle, reminding people to Check For Greyhound or Dog Waiting - Use Caution, or something you can all agree on to remind everyone to use extreme care when entering and exiting.

Edited May 14, 2016 by FiveRoooooers

[Neighsayer]

Can you set up an x-pen around the outside door? That way, she can't get out if someone opens the door.

[smurfette]

I would get a sign for the door, beware of dog and perhaps put some chairs on the other side of the baby gate to keep her inside the room.

 

But I have a question. Why should anyone enter your home when you are not there and it is not an emergency situation which involves the police or the fire department?

I've read about this in other threads, too and just wondered if it is common in the US for landlords or craftsmen to enter a flat when the inhabitant is not at home, which is forbidden here in Germany.

[GreytHoundPoet]

I have a gate jumper who has severe crate anxiety (we're working on it) so I leave her out. I have a sign on my door to be cautious in case she gets over but so far my visual barrier method has worked. I took 2 of the curtain rods that hold their place with pressure (like most gates) and put them up above my gate. They are easy to get down (just tug them), they don't take long to put up, and they stay up well and provide a visual barrier for her. This has been the only thing that she has respected when I am not home. When I am home I don't need them, even at night. Sneaky dogs.

 

[Guest katie_dog]

The style of gate I have is a tension gate that is supposed to rest on the floor, kind of like the one Greyaholic posted. I like curtain rod idea. That might work for her. It might make it look to difficult to jump so she'd stay in the room. The sign is also a good idea. I also have another baby gate. It is cheaper style one that she was able to push out when it was on the bottom. I think I might try setting it up on top of the other one. I think it would be harder to push out from the top. There's always her crate at least too, but I'm hoping I can give her more room than that.

[Guest katie_dog]

Jr Grey Lover, I was thinking more of a situation in which maybe I wasn't home and then maybe my son who is 13 got home from school or something before me. He can be a little careless sometimes still.

[Feisty49]

You've got good ideas. I hope one of them works. Your girl is used to having the crate as an option and may not do well if she's forced into it all day.

[Neighsayer]

Maybe actually hang curtains or towels from that tension rod to make a solid barrier on top.

[GreytHoundPoet]

Maybe actually hang curtains or towels from that tension rod to make a solid barrier on top.

 

We tried that and the jumper grabbed them and pulled the rods down. Her jumper may not be as, ummm, tenacious as mine though.

[claudiav]

she spends the day in the living room, all alone, while you're at work, and she sleeps in the living room, by herself, at nite too????

[Burpdog]

I have a gate similar to the one pictured (without small dog access) and since I am anal, I covered all the spaces. Last year, a greyhound in England somehow got caught in that same gate and bled to death before the people came home. If you do get that baby gate, I strongly suggest you cover the rungs. I cut up a tarp. I'll try & take a picture of it.

[GreytHoundPoet]

I have a gate similar to the one pictured (without small dog access) and since I am anal, I covered all the spaces. Last year, a greyhound in England somehow got caught in that same gate and bled to death before the people came home. If you do get that baby gate, I strongly suggest you cover the rungs. I cut up a tarp. I'll try & take a picture of it.

 

That's awful. How in the world did that happen? What did they get caught and how did it cause bleeding? There isn't even anything to catch and cut a dog on it. It is all smooth and narrow. An 11-week-old, 15 lbs puppy can't even get anything in between these rungs other than a paw (easily pulled out). This is a child-safe gate so your comment is certainly cause for concern.

Edited May 18, 2016 by GreytHoundPoet

[Guest katie_dog]

Katie is going to have to stay in a crate if there is no one around to hang out with her because she has some crazy jumping ability. She managed to jump over a barrier 67 in tall with only 23 in of clearance between the top of the barrier and the top of the door way. Didn't knock anything down in the process either. The closest thing available to climb on was a couch that was 48 in away. Not sure if she was able to use the couch to help or if she straight jumped from the floor. Impressive either way. She is definitely an escape artist.... a Houndini.