# Height of puppy gate



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I have a 36” wood gate I’m taking apart and reworking as a swinging gate to our mudroom. I’m thinking of also adding a gate in front of our stairs. They’re carpeted and right by the front door so it would serve multiple purposes while we’re training. The 36” I bought and like is out of stock. It 27” high enough, or should I wait until the 36 is back in?


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

How big do you expect your puppy to get? Shama is small, and she's never tried to jump the wall of her 24-inch-high pen.


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## Tux's Mom (May 24, 2016)

The great escape is accomplished by a confidant, determined Havanese who discovers he/she can leap, grasp the little holes in the cross hatching of the 36" high fencing, and pull themselves up and over. Tux is 10" at his withers and weighs 8.5 pounds. That type of fencing/ex-pen worked until he reached maturity. He figured out how to escape, and thus began our search for "Alcatraz". I attached a photo of the new "mean" gate that works. It's 40.5" high with 2" spacing between rails. It is adjustable in width to fit most doorways. It is removable, but has a swing gate for easy access if you intend to use it more than once in a short while and don't want to take it down. It should be the last gate you will ever need. I took a photo of it in the closet. Tux runs and "hides" in his favorite chair when he sees the "mean gate" come out. We almost never leave him alone, so he's quite spoiled in that area. "Abandonment" is not in his vocabulary. LOL


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

ShamaMama said:


> How big do you expect your puppy to get? Shama is small, and she's never tried to jump the wall of her 24-inch-high pen.


Kodi is big... top of the standard, at 11 1/2", and HE has never challenged a 24" gate. &#55357;&#56842;


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Maybe I’ll wait and see how he does with the one I have and get to know his personality better. I don’t really know how big he is expected to get based on his genetics compared to the average for Havanese. I asked a ton of questions in the beginning because I had done so much research. after that I felt weird about potentially annoying the breeder with questions, and I’m a little insecure about my inexperience and don’t want to seem completely ignorant to the breeder. They have provided us with a lot of great info on their setup and their routines and what their recommendations are, but I don’t know a ton about our puppy specifically other than what they have sent in the updates every couple of weeks. I do know that he doesn’t love to be crated and talks more when he is crated, but is very sweet. I don’t know exactly what that means since it’s hard for a puppy not to be sweet, but we’ll meet him soon enough!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

From what I've seen on other posts, you don't have to worry about any of them jumping even a 24", but if they will escape it, it will be by climbing and then 24-27-36 won't matter, they'll climb any of them. Was it Karen who zip tied pexiglass onto the side of the gate so that they couldn't climb it?


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

The potential for climbing does make my cute gate less cute. It has sort of a grid pattern cut out of the wood so if the puppy tries to climb it, he’ll probably figure it out pretty quick. But I could definitely attach plexiglass in the panel if I need to.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I can tell you from experience that there is a .33% chance that your Havanese will not be held back by a 24" gate. Out of the 300 puppies we have produced, Birdi is the only one that clears gates at ease. She goes and comes as she pleases in our house, but is a very good girl, and causes no problems. She's a great babysitter, and none of the Moms worry about her being in with their puppies.

I have heard of a couple of climbers, but they can't climb slick, vertical bars.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I’m so excited because I realized that since I’m reconfiguring a standing gate to add hinges, I had an extra panel I wasn’t using. When I turn the panel sideways, it’s 27 inches by 36 inches. If I add a decorative post of some kind on the other side to latch, it will span the 40” doorway! So I’m going to use that, maybe with sliding hardware, by my front door.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> From what I've seen on other posts, you don't have to worry about any of them jumping even a 24", but if they will escape it, it will be by climbing and then 24-27-36 won't matter, they'll climb any of them. Was it Karen who zip tied pexiglass onto the side of the gate so that they couldn't climb it?


Yes, that's right. Few jump, most escapees climb. The problem being that the taller the gate, the higher the fall off the far side.

Yes, I was the one who put plexiglas on my gates, but not to prevent climbing. (they had no cross pieces to club on... just bars) But Pixel was so tiny when we got her that she could walk right through between the bars! She didn't even have to "wiggle" through. She just strolled. LOL!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tom King said:


> I can tell you from experience that there is a .33% chance that your Havanese will not be held back by a 24" gate. Out of the 300 puppies we have produced, Birdi is the only one that clears gates at ease. She goes and comes as she pleases in our house, but is a very good girl, and causes no problems. She's a great babysitter, and none of the Moms worry about her being in with their puppies.
> 
> I have heard of a couple of climbers, but they can't climb slick, vertical bars.


Yes, that litter is definitely the "athletic girl group". Pixel can jump up into our arms... which is considerably more than 24". While Pix is VERY polite, and wouldn't think of challenging a 24" ex-pen usually, she was TOTALLY miserable after her spay, and she did get out of her "recovery" pen. And, like Birdie, I strongly suspect, in her case, that she jumped.

You know who else is a gate jumper? (though she needs a running start) is Elinor's Poppy! The gate she uses to keep Tony out of the living room (and off the rug) is just a speed bump for her! LOL!

Oh, and Kodi has NEVER challenged an Ex-pen, even though he's on the larger side. But we were at a training facility recently, and were working on go-outs (for Utility level in obedience, the dog needs to run away from you, the length of the ring (50 ft) then turn and sit on command). There were jumps set up for a Lab who had worked before us, but I didn't intend to jump Kodi... we were just working on the go-outs. When we finished, I called him to me, and we started walking side-by side toward the entrance. He suddenly swerved and jumped the 24", Lab-sized jump. Big smile on his face, back to trot by my side. And he's 8 1/2 now.


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