Dashing through the door? Not any more.
I am going to let you all into a little secret. One year at our house, carol singers came to the door and my ancient, nearly-blind terrier decided to join Santa’s plastic reindeer as they travelled along the road on Santa’s special charity procession. See, no-one is perfect even if they are a trainer and at least you know I’m honest!
Anyway, I make no apology for the clearly promotional tone of today’s blog. Why? It’s not often that I come across a really brilliant idea to help improve our lives with our dogs. Enter the Dog Stop Security Gate
My dogs are always trained not to run out of the door, but this has taken a lot of time and patience. We also have guest dogs staying here regularly, and I am always worried that one day an unwitting visitor will leave the door open. We also have children’s pals coming and going, and elderly visitors that are not as quick as the dogs are.
I’m always telling clients to reduce risks, and have had lots of different ideas for how our dogs can be made more safe around doors. I still believe all dogs should be taught properly to wait at the door and to never see the opening of the door to act as a trigger to dive through the opening. It’s nothing to do with dominance – it has everything to do with basic safety!
When I found the Dog Stop gate not long ago I ordered one straight away. It attaches to the frame of the door and also to the door itself. When you open the door, the gate extends and blocks the gap. When you close the door, the gate folds down as you do so. In other words you have a gate that stretches out and shrinks back down as the door opens and closes. A life-saver, in my opinion, for many dogs. Even our cat can’t get over it, and he can open doors by himself. It unhooks easily and folds away when you don’t need it.
So, if you are tired of your dog trying to escape when the front door is open. Dog Stop Gate can stop him in his tracks.
- You can order a Dog Stop Gate here on Amazon: Dog Stop Security Gate
You’re welcome to come and give mine a go as well – trust me, my dogs won’t be joining you out on the front path
I’m a full-time U.K. dog trainer and behaviour consultant based in Peterborough with 17 years in the field. My work ranges from class teaching, obedience, flyball, agility and working trials, competition, to running a popular dog display team.
Thank you Karen for bringing this product to my attention! (Would loved to have seen your dog sailing away to Santaland!!)
And yes I can well imagine a potential life-saver for many dogs.
I too have worked long and hard to stop my own dog Linka door-dashing – with some husky in her and bit of a wild-child mixture she was a nightmare – it has taken enormous patience. But I may consider one of these for us still, as I’m not always here. I now have the details to suggest to clients.
Many thanks for this info, and for the blog that went with it.