Confining your pet have never been so easy! There are many times that we need to confine our pets for their own safety or for their health. It is not always so easy to keep a pet in one place. Sometimes it is for their own good that we need to confine them. They may be recovering from an illness and need to be kept in a quiet place to recover. Sometimes it is for our own good that we need to confine them. They may destroy the house while we are out. Sometimes we need to restrict their access to a specific part of the house. For dog owners, dare I say it…. keeping them out of the cat box can be a challenge!
Years ago there were not a lot of available solutions for confining pets. You could close them in a room or hitch them up. The solutions available today are numerous with as many safety options as we have for our children. There are crates, pens, gates, runs, safety harnesses, and just about anything else you can think of.
Pet carriers and pet crates come in different sizes, styles, and colors to fit our needs and our pets needs. With so many choices, how do you chose what is best for your pet? The proper size pet carrier or crate that a pet needs is determined by the size of a pet. Your pet should be able to stand up and lie down comfortably in it. It is that simple as far as the pet is concerned. Some pets may not like a soft sided carrier or they may prefer a crate that allows them to see everything. For the owner, you can chose what works best for you. If your have a small home and have a big dog then confining your dog in a crate may not be an option. Big dogs need big crates.
Safety gates are an excellent and easy solution to confining a dog to one room. This gives them plenty of freedom and keeps them confined to a single space. The frustration with safety gates can be the other problems these gates provide us with. I wish I had a nickle for every time I stepped over a gate, caught (or smashed) my toe on the top of the gate and crashed to the floor. I’m not that much of a klutz! I do have a habit of taking the shortest path with arms full of groceries or laundry, and in a hurry, and I knew I could jump that gate…
Anyway…. Safety gates have come a long way from what they used to be. Purchasing a gate that allows you hands free opening and closing is a frustration saver. It may even save on a few stubbed toes and a little bruised pride.