Basenji and Baby gates
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My 1 yr old Basenji is coming home in 2 weeks! I am looking for recommendations for what kind of pet gates you've used if you have cats. My main goal is to gate off our bonus room (which is fairly large) to give the cats a place to eat in peace, and on the opposite end of the room- keep the litter box. I'm not so sure the gates with the little doors are going to deter a determined Basenji. (I don't know if my B is a big climber yet, so the gate itself may not even deter, but it's good to try.) What has been the best gate you've had?
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My current ones are OK with standard $10 baby gates but my first boy jumped over them like they weren't even there. One of mine CAN jump them but just doesn't. (tris are weird lol) My parent's girl climbs them so they have a tall metal one she can't get over.
Has he been around cats before? They LOVE to chase cats and its even worse when they don't grow up with them. It's good to give the cats a lot of areas they can escape if they need to!
Every dog is different and it might be trial and error!
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We use TALL gates because our girl can easily climb/jump over them. I do not recommend any with horizontal bars as that's the easiest to climb. The two we bought are 37inches tall (extra-wide) and 41inches (standard door size) tall by Regalo from Amazon. The ones I bought each have doors which is convenient, but not small pet doors.
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The best gates are metal. We had a wood one and we came home to toothpicks! Our basenji chewed right through. Ones that you pressure attach to the wall tend to break or warp and are a giant pain and can be pushed down if your b is determined enough. Plastic ones that are lattice style are like stairs to a basenji. I second attaching to the wall and the extra tall ones. One of my bs could jump a standard gate like it was nothing. The metal one I got was for dogs and is extra tall. I think it’s to keep huskies in but it’s the only one that has worked for us. Good luck!
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Congratulations on your new family member!
Haven't had cats, but the Richell gates/fencing are the best I've found. They're on the expensive side but the performance justifies the price. They don't look horrible; the gates work seamlessly; and the construction deters climbing. They can get pushed around but you can fasten them to the wall if necessary or set them up so they get pushed against the wall.
Short of something you wouldn't want in your house a gate isn't going to stop a determined Basenji. But he/she should get the hint delivered by the gate and stay out. You'll just want to be careful at first while they all get on the same page.
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If they can hurdle the gates, add some wire to the basenji side, with the wire cranked in, until they get used to the idea of a barrier. They will respect the barriers after a while. Vertical, metal bars, with a wide opening, with a temporary cap of chicken wire cranked against the basenji, should do the job. don't worry about the ascetics, it is a dog home! that you get to prepare meals for the animals and humans.
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I have heard of people that literally cut their door off at upper 1/3 and attach a permanent gate there. I got a gate that was the same height as my door was wide, and super long. I used metal ties to keep it from close, the put the eye nails and snapped it into it. I am not sure if that is even sturdy enough. You can have metal gates made to your specification to latch onto the door frame.
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We made a gate when we moved to our farm with 2 Basenjis. It was maybe 5 feet tall, just a frame with wire, on hinges, with a hook to close. Installed on the kitchen door, it gave the girls the kitchen, laundry/breakfast room and bathroom to roam in when we couldn't supervise. As time went by and we used it less, eventually we took it down. After we finished our sun porch, they spent more time there than anywhere else! :-)
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Thank you all for your great advice. As it turned out I was laid low with the flu, so a lot of my preparation was not complete. All my worry was really for nothing. Pocket Rocket came home, was promptly terrified by the cats, and has avoided the litter box fairly consistently. I put the cat food up on a counter, problems solved. She is a great dog so far, and even after less than 24 hours at home, I found she and the cats all laid out in the sun together on the back porch...
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Feel better soon/ We
have been laid low a;sp
