Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Baby Gates

Sometimes, Maisie needs to be contained...as in, not able to roam freely.  When that's the case, I often rely on baby gates.  They have been a vital part of bringing Maisie to work, where we have a fairly open design with cubicle walls but no office doors.  The gate at work confines Maisie to my area so she can't bug my co-worker (and more importantly, keeps her away from the UPS, FedEx and water delivery people).

The gate at work is a very nice, hands-free model with a foot pedal to open/close it.

Although Maisie is not thrilled about it being there (and it won't be there much longer, since I'll be working from home soon), she's gotten used to it and understands that she is not allowed to cross the threshold of the gate unless someone opens it for her.

I use another pressure-mounted gate at home to block off the staircase, though it's not such a fancy model.  I live in a coach house with no screen door and no interior hallway, so I need to restrict Maisie to the staircase landing when greeting visitors (or paying the pizza delivery guy) or she could easily run out the front door and take off.  Because of our somewhat unique living situation, the gate at home is essential.

It definitely has some signs of wear...I have learned that although the gate is strong enough to withstand a frustrated little pit bull, the same cannot necessarily be said for a drunk, stumbling gay man.  It still works though, and gives Maisie a good opportunity to practice her "wait" command right after I open it.

I also like having the option of keeping Maisie downstairs (or upstairs) with me when I want to keep an eye on her or prevent her from doing who knows what on the other floor without me there.  But I usually let her come and go as she pleases while I get ready for work, after she's had her morning walk and breakfast.

Again, even though she is accustomed to it by now, she doesn't really appreciate the presence of the gate.  Sometimes she expresses her displeasure by showing me her "sad prisoner" face, which (unfortunately for her) I actually find kind of cute and amusing!

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13 comments:

Unknown said...

Maisie's sad prisoner face is adorable. We are all too familiar with the baby gates; we have 4 up in our house.

Anonymous said...

That baby gate is nice...I like the foot pedal. Maisie may not be real happy behind those gates but she sure looks sweet. Hugs and nose kisses

Unknown said...

Love her forlorn prison face! No baby gates at our place (yet) if/when we get a new foster pup that will most likely change. Love the foot pedal gate that is so handy!

Anonymous said...

I oftened wondered how those work out with a pit bull. We looked into getting one several months back for my Titan. A "pressure" one for sure but I thought with his strength and weight he'd end up tearing down the walls trying to knock over the gate. Hmmm...how much does Maisie weigh, if I may ask. Just trying to put things into perspective for me possibly getting a gate.

~Brenda
diaryofapit.wordpress.com
ascribblerstale.com

Maisie's Mom said...

Maisie weighs 35 lbs. but the gate is surprisingly strong when closed (although it feels very loose when open). as I said, it cannot withstand a grown man falling on to it with full force, but I think should be OK with most dogs. Maisie respects it and knows what it means, so she rarely if ever tries to knock it down.

Two Pitties in the City said...

Yes, the sad prisoner face is hilarious. That is quite the fancy work set up.

Two Grad Students and a Pittie said...

Franciest work gate! LOVE sad prisoner face. And laughing bc i feel it was Chrissy that fell on the gate.

Maisie's Mom said...

it was not Chrissy...good guess though. ;)

Sheltie Times said...

Baby gates work well here, too. We even loaned them out to a friend before we got Katy.

Yvonne said...

I use baby gates too! Not quite as fancy as yours but they work. Actually I don't even have to "secure" them I just balance up against the wall and Addie won't touch it. She could easily knock it down but she won't! So silly!

Yvonne
dontbeapitbully.blogspot.com

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Anonymous said...

The purpose of dog gates is to keep the pet out of certain areas in and around the home to both keep it safely and combine it with protecting your child, the furniture and other important things.
dog gate