# He keeps escaping his gate!



## diesel (Oct 21, 2008)

Diesel is 10 months now and since he's been fully potty-trained, we've been letting him have a little freedom at night but gate him in our walk in closet during the day. The problem is that he climbs that the gate so it only worked for a couple days. I started putting a board on top of the gate so that he can't climb it, but today the mischievious rascal figured out how to escape again! I have the board pinned between the bookshelves and the wall outside the gate and I can't for the life of me figure out how he got out!

I walk him each morning for about 20 min. He's home alone for about 8 hrs a day 2x a week, so I don't want to crate him for that long. Hubby and I have opposite work schedules so someone is home with him the rest of the time. The walk in closet has his puppy pads on one side and food and bed on the other side with plenty of toys and a kong every morning. I'm not really sure what to do at this point, but he's wrecking the house each time he gets out. Now that he's taller, it's getting harder and harder to puppy proof the house. He's gotten into the toilet paper and trash cans. I'm at a loss at this point. Oh, and I live in a studio so there aren't any other areas that I can really block off.

Sorry I'm rambling but I'm at a loss for words at this point. BTW, he's an angel while I'm home and doesn't get into anything or leave the closet while I'm at home, so it's hard to do any training.

Any ideas?


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## revakb2 (Sep 8, 2006)

Welcome to my world. Cassie is an escape artist also. The only thing that works is a crate. I don't like to keep her in the crate very long since it is small. I have just ordered a top to the exercise pen I have. This is the one I have. You buy the pen and top separately. Who knew my little girl could jump like a kangaroo and climb like a monkey.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752846


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## diesel (Oct 21, 2008)

Wow! I didn't know they made tops for xpens. I've seen so many youtube videos of dogs climbing out of them, so I dismissed it as an option with my little escape artist.  Thanks for the suggestion!!!


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## diesel (Oct 21, 2008)

Curious question: I was just reading some reviews of the metal xpens and a couple of people were saying their dogs would throw themselves against the pen and bend it all out of shape. :w00t: Has this happened to anyone before?

I can totally see Diesel doing anything to escape and he's knocked over so many heavy things already that I'm bound to think the pen would be a piece of cake. Any idea how heavy it is?


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## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

Try a taller gate, also one he cannot climb. Make sure his head cannot fit thru the bars:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2333090

This is what I use. They cannot climb it. Once again, make sure the dog's head will not 
fit thru the bars.

Here's a pic. I have three of these. One for LBB/Henry's room, one for the steps, and one
for the hospital area.

[attachment=53164:GATE1.jpg]


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## diesel (Oct 21, 2008)

QUOTE (3Maltmom @ May 27 2009, 03:27 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=781905


> Try a taller gate, also one he cannot climb. Make sure his head cannot fit thru the bars:
> 
> http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2333090
> 
> ...



Oooohh....this gate looks perfect! Some of the commenters at Toys R Us said they had a hard time opening and closing it, which in my book makes it puppy-proof :clap: It also matches my white walls and our local Babies R Us has it in stock...Woohoo!

Thanks!!!!!


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

I would be concerned that anything you put in that exact place will not stop him from trying and it is bound to be really frustrating for him as I bet he will try all day to get out. 

I know 8 hours is a long time but with an escape artist like this I would consider getting a large crate for him.

But the gate Deb has really does look like a good possibility for you but it sounds like he just can't relax in the space he is in for some reason. Perhaps a crate will soothe him more.


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

I think Sher made a good point about him possibly not being comfortable in his space. After reading that my first thought was that even though he is alone, he feels too cut off from the rest of the house while he is there. Perhaps a main area would be better for him so that he could keep an eye on the door and know when you arrived, and not feel so secluded? That walk in closet sounds like a convenient space for you though, so after getting the new gate perhaps a puppy cam to see how he's doing. Who knows he could be fine there and he was just climbing it because he could.


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## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

Escape artists just want to go where they want to go. I don't think it has anything to do with not being happy with their space. I have 3 escape artists. Martha just wants to go potty where she wants to go. She has puppies right now and she decides to go visit other dogs. Tristan likes to choose who he spends the day with. And, he is hard to keep away from the girls in season because he can climb almost any fence. I found he cannot climb the taller pens. I have one pen that is 4 foot tall that he cannot climb, so it is his pen. Jolinda is with Greg Larson right now and he keeps her in a covered pen. She likes to go visit his Shih-Tzu. 
Since you are not trying to contain puppies, the gates Deb has are great. I used to use those all the time. The only other option is a crate or the covered X-pens. Good luck. It gets fun to figure out how they think.

Tina


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