Best pet gate to put between two railing poles

July 20, 2019 5:12 PM

Looking for hands-on experience with pet gates, details inside.

I need to keep a ~55 lbs dog from going down a flight of stairs. The best point to do so is at the top, which is bounded on either side by a railing pole. He's not shown any interest in leaping over the temporary blocker but he does like to rear up on his hind legs and put his front paws on the top to greet people coming home, so it does have to be able to take a bit of weight.

I imagine what I want is a baby gate, though I don't need anything that's designed to resist curious little hands. In fact, the easier it is to use for a human, the better (while still being something a rearing dog can't accidentally release - he's impressively good at landing on the car window controls).

The usual Google searches reveal a number of possibilities, but they're pretty much all Amazon link farms at this point, so if anyone has personal experience with a product they'd recommend, that'd be great.

posted by Candleman to Pets & Animals (3 answers total)

I have three "Top Paw" gates - the taller ones (about 40") that you find at Pet Smart. (I think it's Pet Smart. One of the chain pet stores.) I use them for my cats, but they also work for dogs. My partner has two labs that are about 60 lbs and she uses them in her home as well, one at the top of the stairs.

They come with anchors that are meant to be secured in your walls once you get the gate aligned right and know where you want it. With those secured it's very unlikely that he'll push it over. The labs have on one occasion barreled through a gate but it was not secured with the anchors - just the rubber tip firmly against the wall. That's once in about 24 months, so not bad.

The dogs cannot accidentally release the action on the Top Paw gate. It requires a button push on either side of the latch. They run about $100 give or take. Seems spendy initially but in the long run they're worth it.
posted by jzb at 5:34 PM on July 20, 2019

We use the Retract-A-Gate because we wanted to have a minimal presence when it is not in use. Our guy (50 lbs) is really mellow so we just close it without locking - when he gets excited and puts his paws up on it, it will sag a bit. but I'm sure if you remember to lock it every time you close it (push down and turn the large button - pretty easy) it should withstand your dog's weight no problem.
posted by metahawk at 9:56 PM on July 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

Can vouch for the Cardinal gates mentioned here: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-dog-gates/. I have 25 lb terriers, so your mileage may vary, but it doesn't move when both of them lean on it, and together they are round 50 lbs. : )
posted by mareliz at 11:45 AM on July 22, 2019