When choosing a pet gate, first carefully observe the spaces you'd like to restrict your pet's access to. Take note of your pet's size and jumping ability. Remember that pet gates can be placed at the top or the bottom of a staircase. Decide how tall and how wide you need it to be. Do you want an expandable gate? If your dog is an Olympic style jumper and can leap tall buildings in a single bound, you'll want to get a gate that's high enough to contain him. Bear in mind that you're not going to need a big tall gate for your little tiny puppy or your trundling turtle. Your puppy will be fine behind a pet-sitter puppy gate, especially designed for smaller dogs and pets.
A one-touch gate is very handy for the dog owner who needs convenience and likes things made easy. This kind of gate comes with a pass-through fence and a gate that opens at the touch of a finger, but that your pooch won't be able to open.
For irregularly shaped openings or for extra wide openings in your home, places that are hard to fit but where it would be very handy to have a pet gate, try a hardware mounted gate especially designed for these types of openings. Every home has these areas, and you needn't go without a gate where you need it the most just because it's a hard to fit area. You can find add-on panels that are available but sold separately to elongate your gate or add extra security.
For people who are DIY'ers, installation kits are available and handy for a gate that can be mounted onto a surface other than a wall, such as a wrought iron banister. These kits come with wood screws, wood banister installations with plastic tie straps or toggle bolts for use in hollow walls. The wrought iron installations come with the necessary machine screws and nuts. If you need wing nuts or butterfly toggle bolts, find a good kit that includes everything already in it.
Having a gate will undoubtedly increase the enjoyment you get from having pets around, especially because with a pet gate they'll stay put.
