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I am the owner of a 15 lb miniature pinscher with a major napoleon complex and a surprisingly high vertical leap. I adopted him 2 years ago with the intention of leaving him out in the house when I went to work, as I have been able to do with my dogs throughout my life. Unfortunately, he had severe separation anxiety and had to be crated when alone.Initially unwilling to accept this, I decided to baby-gate him into the kitchen (for easy "accident" clean-up on the tile floor) and thus invested in 2 standard baby gates (the wooden frame, crisscrossing plastic mesh type) and much to my surprise he hopped it with no problem. I decided to try TWO baby gates in the doorway, one atop another. Although impractical, it seemed there was no way he'd be able to leap over the fortress wall. You can imagine my surprise when I came home one afternoon to find him scaling the mesh like spiderman, near the top of the second gate, calculating HOW he could get over the top and have pure freedom. Clearly this wasn't working.
On visits back and forth to my parent's house, we had to separate the dogs as their great dane thought my dog was "snacktime" ... and my dad invested in a gate very similar to the evenflo, for about twice the price. The benefits of that gate were as follows:
1) vertical "jail bars" meant my dog couldn't climb his way over to freedom
2) it was exceptionally tall which prevented our dane from being able to peek over (we covered it with blankets so it didn't drive him crazy to see the little dog running around on the other side)
...a few months ago I relocated to a new house on a busy road, and after three near-escapes, I decided it was time to create a separation between the back and front part of the house so the dog didn't end up getting killed if he finally managed to run past someone.
I found the evenflo gate at Meijers, and was pleasantly surprised that it seemed to offer all the benefits of the more expensive gate, but at half the price. Other features I enjoy about this gate include:
1) NO automatically closing door. While auto-close may be helpful for people with kids, my gate is left open 99% of the time. The gate is positioned in a walk-through area and it would be a HUGE pain to have to open it every time I wanted to walk from one side of the house to another. The only time I close the date is if I need to leave the door open (taking out trash, etc.) and then I make sure the dog is on the other side of the gate, close it, and go about my business.
2) vertical jail bars mean no impromptu climbing expeditions
3) pressure-mount --I will admit the first time we installed a pressure mount gate it was a pain and a headache, but once you get it, its a snap.
I will give a word of warning, however. My doorway is the minimum size for this gate (29 inches I believe) and it BARELY BARELY fits. If your doorway is undersized or even slightly smaller than the minimum, don't waste your money. There is really no way to rig these gates if you can't squeeze it into your doorway level.
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This gate was purchased at a local baby store it installs in just a few minutes, but broke the first time we tried to open it. All forces applied against the gate when closed are focused on a tiny plastic peg about 1/3 inch in diameter. This snapped off instantly. Upon examination the piece is actually hollow! We called evenflo who sent us another gate. This gate arrived broken in the exact same place! If I could give negative or at least 0 stars, I would. It is a horrible design and of very poor quality.Honest reviews on Evenflo Summit Easy Walk-Thru Gate
Right off the bat: I'm not reviewing this for my dog. (How's that for credibility?)My hopefully helpful notes to you regarding this gate:
(1) They say not to put it at the top of the stairs. Pretty sure they're just covering their collective legal butts there. I could see why. If you put one at the top of the stairs and give it a gentle nudge, you may notice it give a little -especially if you've put in the extender. A toddler is unlikely to make it topple but be forewarned. That's on you.
(2) RE: the extender -I feel like there's a little wobble and give when you have the extender attached. Doesn't feel as sturdy.
(3) It's nice having the four corners as independently adjustable. Let's you put this just about anywhere. That said, there seems to be some "exact" width that won't work. Where I installed ours, the baseboard moulding was too wide to install this without the extender -but with the extender it wouldn't fit and we had to "raise up" the gate to install it over the baseboard moulding. And so it goes.
(4) The handle/latch mechanism is... well, it takes some getting used to. It takes some force and finesse. Give yourself a day or two to get used to it. Give yourself a week before you really get used to it.
Am I pleased? Pleased enough. It gets the job done and I don't have to fret with stepping over a "traditional" baby gate (nor put it up and take it down twice a day...)
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Evenflo Summit Easy Walk-Thru Gate
Difficult for children and adults to use, but that's what makes it impossible for toddlers to open it. I need it when 16m grandson is here to keep him and our cat separate. The bars widest width opening is 2-1/8 inches. First time set up without original packaging strap was 3-5 minutes. I like the red and green indicator to show the gate is set up and locked securely.OPTIONAL: Use a zip-tie strap, etc. to secure the gate before removing to temporary storage. Can ease reinstall, but not necessary.
NOTE: I lay a small rug over the lower bar once set up as a visual reminder to step over the lower bar. Necessary if I go barefoot and want to spare my toes.
February 2, 2010
18 mos. old is tall and strong. He was standing and hanging on it today, yet it remained secure.
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