Is your basenji smarter than your baby gate?

[Mantis]

I brought Caesar home as a puppy 6 years ago and purchased the typical babygate with the crosshatching material. In about 30 minutes (when I left the room for a second), Caesar had used the crosshatching to climb over and conquor the gate!!

I have an excellent baby gate now that even Caesar can't beat! It is called "The first years" and is made of white aluminum and has a step button on the bottom that opens the gate like a door. I purchased it from a Babys R Us or one of those baby stores when I realized all of the ones at the pet stores were no match for a basenji. No major installation is required and it is a tension gate and easy to get a vaccuum over.

Here is a pic of the crummy gate and the good gate. I have used it for over 5 years now and he can't jump over it or press the step button with enough force to get it open…..

I dont know if you want to make this a sticky and other people can add their favorite products to the thread as well.....

[jenwilson]

I have never seen one that opened like a door. That's cool. How tall is the gate? My basenji/whippet mix vaulted over a plastic baby gate to get into the room where the people and food were…. she left behind her 65 lb playmate (a standard poodle).. guess her playmate couldn't figure out how to get across that gate. Leave it to a B!

[alkite]

this is the gate I have adn we love it! No leverage to climb over and Giz hasn't tried to jump it, it is too close to the hall wall I suppose. I did catch him sitting on the step the other day and then trying to head butt it open. he isn't heavy enough to get it, so I am waiting for him to attempt to enlist the heavier pup to do the "heavy" work:D

[Mantis]

caesar can leap and bound over a lot of things and this gate is tall enough that he can stand with his paws just touching the top of the gate to look over it.

It also has extension pieces if you want to use it in a stairwell.

[Basenji_Boy]

We have two of them and they are a blessing. Gates are a must around here.

[jys1011]

LOVE these gates!! We have two of them & they're 42 inches high which works in our house!

[Skeate]

We currently have two of the crappy gates stacked on top of each other so it's too tall for Dacia to climb over. This looks like a MUCH better solution. I'm definitely going to try this!

[gbroxon]

We've got one of these:

Boy, sure wish I had seen the 1st Years one before buying that one! It's lots more inexpensive!

[Vanessa]

I picked this baby gate up at Target for 19.95. It works really well (for a puppy) As for when he becomes much older, I am sure I will have to invest in another.

[RockysWoman]

@Vanessa626:

I picked this baby gate up at Target for 19.95. It works really well (for a puppy) As for when he becomes much older, I am sure I will have to invest in another.

Agree… anything with either vertical bars or holes too small for a paw to get leverage from works in our household.

But never underestimate the escape ability of a Basenji. We had the screen in our storm door open approx 6 inches (about 18 inches above the floor) thinking Rocky couldn't get out of that. Lo and behold, one day he made a flying leap SIDEWAYS thru it and out onto our stoop. Shcoked the bleep out of us!

[firefoxkatan]

thats a great idea, I like how it opens up rather then climbing over it, I'm sure the dogs see us climbing it, they think they can, but doors are a little different LOL Bindi doesn't need it, yet but when/if I need a gate I know which one to buy now thanks again for posting this!

~Kat

[lvoss]

It really depends on the basenji. We have several gate designs in our house. The most effective one has been one with vertical bars but thinking about it, my dogs have gotten over each and every one we have, though Nicky only got up the nerve to go over the one vertical barred one because Rally was in season and in a bedroom on the other side of the gate. Our first litter which was always getting out of things, we found them out of the whelping box before their eyes were even open, could climb the style gate Vanessa posted at about 5 weeks, we were shocked, and learned how to push up the vertical barred gate we have in our kitchen by 7 weeks, it isn't one of the better gates but is the only one that spans the odd angle we have. The only way to keep them contained was put a piece of ply wood across the gate so it was a smooth surface so they couldn't get any foot hold or leverage. Sophie can get over any smooth barrier that is under about 2 feet tall because if she can get her front feet on it she will kangaroo hop onto the top and then leaps off. Or if there is a baby gate on top she get herself up to the gate and then scale it. which is really scary to see.

The good thing in my household is that by the time they are about 1 year old they respect the barriers not because they can't get over them but because they know they are not supposed to.

[JazzysMom]

The good thing in my household is that by the time they are about 1 year >>old they respect the barriers not because they can't get over them but >>because they know they are not supposed to.

Here too, with Jazz. The only area she is not allowed to go into is a hallway that leads to the kids' rooms and bathroom. That's the cat-safety area. We simply set an old broken baby gate across the hallway. It's just sort of leaning there, and she never attempts to get through. She'll sit so alertly and s-t-a-r-e at the cats, but never touches the gate.

She also will jump onto the old beat-up couch in our family/game room on occasion when playing a chase game w/the kids, but NEVER puts a foot on the good leather couches downstairs.

She seems to have a good understanding of her boundaries here.

[firefoxkatan]

so! I ended up buying one of these awesome gates today!
they had a few options at the store and I ended up going with the 'extra tall' one because I knew they liked to jump and better to have a gate she'll grow into then one she'll grow out of, the normal gate was $40 while this extra tall one was $50, worth the extra $10 I must say

I put up the gate and decided to test it buy havening everyone go to lunch, when we returned home, all of the dogs had greeted us! Bindi was supposed to be in my room behind the gate

apparently, she's just small enough still to squeeze threw the bars, so! before leaving for work, I instructed my room mates, very clearly on what to do with Bindi while I was at work, when she goes out, give her a treat, she just learned out to sit, make her sit when she comes in, if you want her to go to bed, put her in the room, say 'bed' and have her go into the crate, give her a treat and leave with the door closed, until she's big enough not to squeeze threw the bars

so 4 hours into work, after I got off of my break, my room mate walks in, on the phone with the other room mate, apparently, Bindi had gotten herself stuck in the baby gate, Rus the room mate on the phone, says she doesn't want to pull Bindi threw because last time she broke the animal's legs!!!

wtf?! so I ask my room mate in the store, to go home and get her out, he says no! so I have to beg my manager to let me go home and get my dog out of my gate!! I get home, Rus is crying and telling me to go get some cooking oil, I said, she'll be fine, just let go of her (she had been holding her in place, not letting her try to move herself out of the gate, which she had done obviously while were out earlier today) she finally let go and I just push gently on Bindi's shoulders and she came out

my advice, don' put the gate up until their heads are too big to fit threw the bars, or you'll end up coming home from work to save your stuck dog from a crazy lady who won't let her move or even try to get her out

~Kat

[alkite]

One of many Basenji adventures you are sure to have!

[firefoxkatan]

@alkite:

One of many Basenji adventures you are sure to have!

I actually can't wait! she's doing very well with her crate training and I've only had her for 5 days! I just have to keep my bedroom door closed until she gets too fat to fit threw the gate hehe
I must say, I was rather upset, now I look back even a mer 24 hours later and laugh a little

~Kat

[Mantis]

Oh Kat, what a funny story and all basenji!! Cairo put his head through my gate when I introduced him to it!! There is that piece that is a bit wider that he just pushed his head through. He is 11 weeks now and 8lbs and cant fit through it anymore!!

FYI, my cats used that space to walk through the gate. I use it at work now, but when it was at home I used it for a cat safety room.

[Vanessa]

Ok…I should of never said that the baby gate I was using worked. I jinks'd myself. This weekend while Chance was in "jail" (he is put in another part of the house when he gets into too much trouble) he decided to jump it. Maybee it was the fact that he kept seeing our cat jump over it. This little guy is getting smarter every day!
Now its time for me to find a taller gate.

@Vanessa626:

I picked this baby gate up at Target for 19.95. It works really well (for a puppy) As for when he becomes much older, I am sure I will have to invest in another.

[Mantis]

ha ha, this is the type of gate that Caesar climbed over as a puppy…..baby gates are the best because if a kid can't get through it, well neither can the basenji! LOL

Check out "The First Years" baby gate from Babys R Us.....tension gate that you dont have to remove....has a door and a ramp for vaccuums....:D

[Vanessa]

I obviously need to get a much highter gate. He can jump preatty high now. Its funny…this morning I was getting ready for work and was about to leave so I put him on the other side of the baby gate. Not a second after I turned my back, he was next to my feet. He can jump over it without difficulties now. GGRRRRR. Just when I thought I could keep him away from certain parts of the house. NOPE!