Dog jumping over stair gate- any solutions?

[Bouncearound]

We have a lurcher who we don't allow upstairs, mainly because I don't want her in my bed but also to keep her away from various toilets with bleach etc and to stop her from chewing the do togs.
When we are home she doesn't even try to go upstairs but when we leave her home alone she always manages it. We have an extra high pet gate but she can seemingly jump this (we haven't caught her red handed but she messed up our bed and ate some Xmas chocolates hidden in a wardrobe today). Training wouldn't work as she never does it when we are home!

The gate is too high to fit at the bottom of the stairs and only just fits on the second step down so an even taller gate wouldn't work. It's semi open plan upstairs so it has to fit across the top of the stairs or at a right angle next to the top post.

Does anyone have any ideas of something I can do to increase the height of the gate to act as a deterrent? I thought of plastic trellis but worried she might try to jump over and trap her legs.

Fwiw she has a crate and access to a carpeted room with her bed etc in it downstairs so there shouldn't be any need to go upstairs. I'm only ever out for a couple of hours so hopefully she's not bored- she just sleeps all day when I am home anyway!

Why don't you crate her if you're out?

I do sometimes but she isn't happy being left in it much. She sleeps all night in it but isn't keen during the day. I used to come home and hear her whining from the driveway. Maybe I should just persevere with it...

Defiantly persevere with the crate - at first i thought mine hated the crate in the day, even though he chooses to sleep in it. Id hear him cry and soon as I got to the drive (walking or driving)
However before i set up the cctv out the back, I left the camera recording him for a few days when I went out.....the sod was totally fine and eating his treat or snoozing away - the moment his magic Jedi powers picked up I was close, he'd sit up, stare at the door crying. Honest to goodness for three days I caught him starting literally 2minutes before I'd come into the room!! I bet yours is fine until she hears /senses/Jedi mind reads your approach and makes you feel guilty. 2years on mind and now he doesn't even get up till I'm in the kitchen - the front door isn't worth getting excited over!

Are there any doors you could shut to keep her in her designated space overnight.

Also/alternatively, do you leaver her with a chew? An antler chew or some other bone that she can happily gnaw for a long while and be distracted from the excitement of the rest of the house.

I am very thankful that my lurcher pup seems to have forgotten that he can jump the baby gate. He did it twice and never again since.

I would also suspect that she's been fine in her crate while you were out, until she heard you coming back! Kong toys are a great distraction for dogs, especially the ones you fill with treats/dinner.
I would be reluctant to increase the stair gate height with anything in case she hurts herself trying to get over it.

Thanks all, food for thought!

I think I'll persevere with the crate. We have a kong but she's not very food motivated. I went to buy an antler at pets at home but they were all tiny and extortionate so I didn't bother. She does like bones but I don't like her having them when I'm not around to check on her.

Hope you find a solution, Bounce.
Can I please ask you to have a look at this if you give her bones? Sorry but it always worries me when I read about dogs getting bones.

Don't worry, she doesn't have bones very often and never cooked bones- she mainly chews on a stag bar.

Maybe try to think what is up there that she likes. Lots of people think dogs are just being naughty when they break our rules but dogs don't tend to think like that. I bet something up there is giving her comfort while you are gone or she simply likes the adventure. So if it is your bed she is after, she may not find hers as comfortable... so a bigger or better bed for her could help. Or she may miss your smell so try wearing an old t-shirt in bed for a night or two and letting her have that. You get the idea. If it is adventure she is after i.e. she is bored while you are out, make sure she gets walked before you go, give her some fun toys and treat toys to occupy her and so on. She sounds a bright girl Oh, and when she has made it upstairs, make sure not to react in any way as that won't help and may even reinforce the behaviour.

I have a 13 week lurcher pup (arrived 6 days ago) who has twice jumped the stair gate which is supposedly there to keep him in the den area of the kitchen. He does it in my absence too so no way of training him. I know this is a very old thread but it’s been helpful, I won’t bother to get a higher gate, just hoping the motivation will decrease in time as he settles in and gets more relaxed. He uses a crate in the den area, but I don’t think he’s ready to be shut in yet. At least the rest of the kitchen is fairly puppy proof….for now!

If the stair gate is in a doorway one thing I've seen done before is fixing a second stair gate above it upsidedown, so you can open the top one from the bottom if that makes sense? I have added a picture. Maybe use this on the bedroom door. It sounds like it would be easier to block the bedroom door so she can't get in there.

This thread is a decade old.

Oh gawd! Sorry 😳