help choosing new pet gate-Sunny escaping(video)

[meow1]

A few weeks ago Sunny escpaed from his room. We didn’t see it, but we sure heard the loud crash. I thought maybe he learned his lesson and would not do it anymore.  Today, however, I walked into the living room to find him sitting there beside the dog lol. Luckily they get along perfectly!  So, after putting him back in his room, I set a hidden camera up to catch him in the act in case he did it again, and HE DID. He’s definitly perfected this since the first time he did it!lol

Prior to him ever escaping, I thought about wanting to get an even SHORTER gate, because he had never escaped, and I have fallen over it a couple of times, and still have not recovered from one of the falls! It’s a little complicated to open and shut it because we had to replace the plastic parts with hardware cloth and it doesn’t fit uite right. (He was chewing the plastic). I am interested in something obviously a little higher than 24″, pressure mounted(don’t want to damage the door jamb), chew proof, maybe vertical bars only (though not sure if that will really matter), and preferably walk-through.

Something like this:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm

 

How small should the bar width be? I certainly don’t want him to get his head stuck!?

[Hokankai]

My friend’s Yorkie does this! What she did was simply put another baby gate up on top of the other. Cheap and very effective! 

[kinggoblin]

I think you would have to stack two gates on top of each other. I have the same gate and my rabbit has jumped over it a few times when he really wanted to but hasn’t tried in months.

[Pandorachik]

Lol!!! This is very funny! I love it. I bet you could stack two gates, as mentioned above, and be succesful! Good luck!

[meow1]

I’m sure the 2 gates would work, but I think they’d be a hassle to me .

[LBJ10]

Something like that would be nice, but it looks like the spacing between the bars is too far apart (2.25″). Stacking two gates would definitely be effective, but I think it would be a huge pain in the butt. We have a tension baby gate that we have to step over all the time. The buns have never tried to jump over it though, so I haven’t really thought about potential baby gate solutions.

[meow1]

What do you think the largest spacing could be? Do I need to measure his head?lol

[peppypoo]

Is there a way you could rig up some kind of extension over the top that makes an angle with the main gate (facing outwards bunny-side)? Haha I don’t know if my description makes sense, but it would make the gate more difficult to jump without increasing the height by too much and making things difficult for you.

[Pandorachik]

Posted By meow1 on 03/05/2012 03:48 PM
I’m sure the 2 gates would work, but I think they’d be a hassle to me .

 

Hmm… maybe buy a small spacing (1 inch-2 inch ) baby gate with un-treated wood.

[FrankieFlash]

With what peppypoo said about adding something to your current gate- I thought of nic grids. If you got those big zip ties you might be able to attach it to your current gate. I have an escaper bun too so I feel your pain on this subject.

[Pandorachik]

FrankieFlash: I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! Bravo to you!

[LBJ10]

Posted By meow1 on 03/05/2012 03:53 PM
What do you think the largest spacing could be? Do I need to measure his head?lol

I suppose it depends on how big his head is. In general, I think nothing bigger than 1.5″.

[Silly Sungura]

I don’t know if I’ve seen any pet gates that have narrow enough spacing between slats. I have the easy step high guard gate from Drs F&S, and I hate it. It’d never work for my bunny. My cat used to easily walk between the 2″ spaces between the slats. She’s only seven pounds, but still… Because of the way it’s designed, it wouldn’t be easy to modify with hardware cloth either, although maybe others would be easier. Also, DH and I found it to be a pain to open and close if we wanted to pass through the gate in a hurry. Most walk through gates have similar latches. Then there’s the bar at the bottom, which DH was always tripping over.

What I use right now is a tall fireplace screen; it’s 31″ high and too heavy for my animals to knock over or to scoot. Well, my dog probably could, but he doesn’t try. In my previous home I had a half door made; it was four feet high, and it worked like a gate but had a knob and hinges like any other door.

[Eepster]

I just made the gate between Porky’s room (aka the den) and the living room entirely out of NIC grids. We have baby gates around the house, left over from when our son was a baby, and none of them looked bunny proof.

[meow1]

Posted By peppypoo on 03/05/2012 03:59 PM
Is there a way you could rig up some kind of extension over the top that makes an angle with the main gate (facing outwards bunny-side)? Haha I don’t know if my description makes sense, but it would make the gate more difficult to jump without increasing the height by too much and making things difficult for you.

 

You mean making something like an edge (or ledge)?

[meow1]

You all have given me lots of ideas to think about! Sunny is definitely a “he-man” bun…he will move those nic panels with all of his might lol. His room is lined around the walls with him (so he won’t further damage the baseboards). I ended up having to attach some with zip ties to the window sills because he’s a shaker and a tugger. So, while I suppose it doesn’t have to be something pressure mounted, it would have to be something heavy, like the fireplace screen mentioned, for him to move. In the meantime, I have just pulled a clothes hamper and the vacuum cleaner in front of his gate until I can figure out the real solution.

I attempted to measure his head but he didn’t like that and growled and attacked the tape (it was the flexible kind). BUT, I managed to get a close idea. It does appear that his head would be too big to pass through a 2 1/4 size slot. I have a feeling this will just be a trial and error type of issue to solve!  ***I did just find a “one-touch pet gate” that has slat openings of 1.5″, but this particluar one won’t work for me. This gives me hope though, that there may be something out there perfect for us.

[Beka27]

You could always get some rabbit wire from the hardware store and attach that to a vertical slatted gate. I know another member did that before and it worked well. Have you gone to a baby store and looked at what gates they have available? I would definitely try to purchase locally so if it doesn’t work for whatever reason, you can return it easily for something else.

Is this your house? Another (more permanent) option would be a secure screen door… lol. You’d be able to walk in and out easily, and they have those little washers at the bottom to hold the door open when necessary.

[meow1]

Posted By Beka27 on 03/06/2012 05:40 AM
You could always get some rabbit wire from the hardware store and attach that to a vertical slatted gate. I know another member did that before and it worked well. Have you gone to a baby store and looked at what gates they have available? I would definitely try to purchase locally so if it doesn’t work for whatever reason, you can return it easily for something else.

Is this your house? Another (more permanent) option would be a secure screen door… lol. You’d be able to walk in and out easily, and they have those little washers at the bottom to hold the door open when necessary.

I have not gone to any stores yet looking. There is a babies r us/toyr s us about half an hour away. I would prefer to buy one locally for the reason you mention.  You are right, If needed, I could add some additional wiring. I like this idea….maybe I can convince DH to take this trip to the store today!?

[Beka27]

Babies R Us has a large selection of gates, including several “extra tall” varieties. I think it would be well-worth the trip. Make sure to come prepared with the measurements of the doorway.

[meow1]

I just searched their website. If the site is accurate, none of the ones I would want or need are available in stores; however, if I order online and need to return, I would think I could go to the store to return it.

[Beka27]

Yes, you can return an item purchased online at a local store.

[meow1]

I’ve got 4 gates in the cart now I just have to narrow it down to one!

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