Is a baby gate safe for my puppy? Hi everyone, I'm new here, and I hope I'm putting this thread under the correct topic! I adopted a 4 month old Yorkiepoo from a rescue about a week ago. He is the sweetest dog and had been doing GREAT until I gave him his Drontal last night. Ever since he has been extremely hyper, clingy, whiny, and barking at an ear-piercing pitch if I leave him gated in the kitchen. I'm sure it's the medicine, as he has been doing wonderfully up until now. Last night he discovered that he could jump over the baby gate, and my husband found him in our upstairs hallway when he woke up. Thank God he did not get into any trouble while he was on the loose as far as I can tell. Needless to say, this dog does not want me out of his sight, and I'm pretty sure it's because he's not feeling well :( Anyway, we replaced the gate with an extra tall baby gate that we had. He is unable to jump over it, but he IS able to stick his head in between the bars. He tries to wiggle his body through, but I think he's a bit too chubby to be successful. I've observed him doing this twice and both times he was able to free himself, but it kind of freaks me out. Do you think this gate is unsafe for him? It's the type made from metal bars that you can get from places like PetSmart. I'm just terrified that he'll injure himself during the night. We were planning to gate him in the kitchen rather than crate train (and he's been doing great until now), but I will do the crate thing if that's the only way to keep him safe. In his current state I don't think he'll do any better in a crate, though. |
Welcome to Yorkie Talk. :) Most Yorkies and small dogs like to be with their humans whenever possible, so gating your pup in the kitchen at night is likely going to be a long-term battle. An xpen in your bedroom, close to you, would likely be the fastest way to solve your problem, if he is not a candidate for the crate. The gate does sound like a dangerous situation. If he is a jumper and climber, an xpen might pose a problem too, unless he would settle down being able to see you. You have your hands full. It does get better as they mature. |
Thank you so much! I will definitely look into a better way to confine him. I'm getting through tonight by being extremely vigilant, and so far he has not attempted to push his head through the gate again. I brought him into the kitchen and spent some time with him, then stood up and walked toward the gate and ignored him. After a while he went into his bed on his own. Then, I walked outside the gate and he got up and barked, but after coming back where he could see me and ignoring him again he went back to bed. We've had to try this process a few times, but I think he gets the picture--I let him know that mom's just around the corner, but I'm not rewarding with attention for barking. I'm really pleased that he knows he belongs in his bed without me having to make a peep. We made it from 11 pm to 1:30 am, then I heard him bark so I brought him out to potty, and now he's settled back down again :) He's definitely more of a handful than I anticipated, but he's worth it :) |
I attached a piece of lattice to my baby gate, just about 12 inches high....my baby couldnt squeeze thru the lattice work at ground level, and it wasnt tall enough up the baby gate for him to climb up..... |
I forgot to say, you can also throw a beach towel over the baby gate that covers the entire baby gate....it takes them awhile to figure out that is not a solid wall! |
It sounds like he wants to be closer to you... I would think a crate or ex pen in your bedroom might be better so he can still hear you, but will be safe at night. |
Thanks for the ideas everyone! We have a very tiny bedroom, and I'm not sure that an adequately sized crate would fit (he's 10 lbs and growing LOL), but I'll look into it. I'm happy to report that he is doing MUCH better today. He is back to being the calm little guy we had before I gave him the Drontal. He did pretty well last night, and took a couple good naps today without putting up a fuss. |
My Yorkie is 4 months old and she has been sleeping with me but I got tired of her licking my face while I was sleeping so I put her behind the babygate last night and she went CRAZY!!! I had to put her in her crate and she was ok...because when I first got her she was in her crate at night and she whined whined whined and whined the first week and after that she got alright. So now she will either sleep with me or in her crate and be comfortable, but behind the babygate OH NO!!! She will tear it down |
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:36 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use