Our new gate

When Flippy’s back got bad last autumn, we swore it was time to get a walk-through dog gate for the master bedroom.  We keep a baby gate on the door so that Eli doesn’t eat Phoenix (we’re funny that way), and our usual technique is to walk over the gate ourselves, and to lift the small dogs over it when they want in or out.  I permanently wedged the baby gate into the doorway with screws so it couldn’t be jostled or removed in any way, and we told ourselves that all that climbing over and lifting would keep us limber.  It may have done that, but it definitely didn’t help Flippy’s back, and after her surgery it was “no more lifting” for her.  I then took over all the lifting, always swearing, “We need a walk-through gate, we need a walk-through gate”, as my back also started to be discontent.  Finally, we found the gate of our dreams:  the Orvis tall wooden dog containment gate.  It was pricey, but we bit the bullet and ordered it and wow, do we love it.  We LOVE it. It’s beautiful to look at, it’s sturdy, and the gate swings open with just a squeeze of the handle.  It’s also taller than our old gate (all the better to keep the big bad wolf’s teeth from coming to visit), so we just swing it open to walk in and out.  I think I’m in love… never have I so adored a containment device.

It’s taken the cats some getting used to, and for the first half-day we’d find them hanging helplessly from the top of the gate, having mis-negotiated the height and not being able to jump over.  They’re doing fine now, and have figured out that they should jump over the flat sides for the best traction.  I’m sure the gate will soon be covered with scratches and dog spit, but my back will love it forever.  I’ll also never trip over the gate again while trying to climb it while holding a cup of Starbucks iced tea in my hand, and I’ll never get my shoes caught on the top when I try to step over it while wearing jeans.  I see a future full of great things.

The below image is from the catalogue, not from our house:

image

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/15 at 10:19 PM

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  1. congrats :)

    A friend of mine has a similar gate, except that it has a foot pedal to allow for release from the inside also, in case you might have your hands full.  Amusingly, Tangee - their sweet matriarch of the kitties - will walk over to the gate from the inside and step on the pedal to release the door and allow it to open whenever the dog, Lucky, comes to the door and sits politely.  Since Lucky is who they were trying to keep out to give the cats a safe zone, Tangee has completely neutralized that concept. :P

    Posted by prajantr  on  07/16  at  01:03 PM

  2. We looked at a gate with a remote control (so you could open the gate by just hitting a button on the wall with your elbow, for example), but I was afraid the cats would learn to use it :P The gate we got seems to latch fairly securely, and I’m pretty sure it requires thumbs to operate.  Still, I won’t be surprised to be proven wrong!

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  07/16  at  10:30 PM

  3. Wow.. we could use one of those.  We use a baby gate on the stairs going down into the family room to keep Coco out of Bears food and to give Bear some dog free space.  I can not begin to count how many times I have stumbled while climbing over that thing.

    Posted by Simply Coll  on  07/22  at  04:41 PM
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