Cleo is 7 months old and very agile.
We have her in the kitchen, which is gated, if we're not home or if i need to be in another room or upstairs. It's her safe space and it's where her crate lives and all her toys, etc. If she's in another room, someone is with her.
I had to go out of town for a couple days, and she jumped over the gate while i was gone, greeting the dog sitters (my parents) in the foyer. Since then, if she is left home on her own for a half hour or more, it is starting to happen more frequently. And, today, she did it when i was in the house but had gone upstairs for a few minutes.
Whenever i leave the room, i calmly say "i'll be back"--(i try not to sound like the terminator) so that coming and going isn't a huge deal. She's generally not destructive. I close doors to other rooms when i go out so she can't get into anything. She went for her own bag of stuff in the hall, found and tore up a sandwich bag, but that was it. So, i don't know if i should keep the gates closed and just make sure there's nothing else she can get into if she goes over the gate, OR should i just leave the gate open when i leave so she can go in and out and get her toys and water if she wants without jumping back into the kitchen (which so far has not occurred to her to do!)?
I did have one trainer tell me to make the gate taller by putting a 6-inch-high garden type fence across the top with duct tape! But that seems problematic.
Any advice welcome!
We have her in the kitchen, which is gated, if we're not home or if i need to be in another room or upstairs. It's her safe space and it's where her crate lives and all her toys, etc. If she's in another room, someone is with her.
I had to go out of town for a couple days, and she jumped over the gate while i was gone, greeting the dog sitters (my parents) in the foyer. Since then, if she is left home on her own for a half hour or more, it is starting to happen more frequently. And, today, she did it when i was in the house but had gone upstairs for a few minutes.
Whenever i leave the room, i calmly say "i'll be back"--(i try not to sound like the terminator) so that coming and going isn't a huge deal. She's generally not destructive. I close doors to other rooms when i go out so she can't get into anything. She went for her own bag of stuff in the hall, found and tore up a sandwich bag, but that was it. So, i don't know if i should keep the gates closed and just make sure there's nothing else she can get into if she goes over the gate, OR should i just leave the gate open when i leave so she can go in and out and get her toys and water if she wants without jumping back into the kitchen (which so far has not occurred to her to do!)?
I did have one trainer tell me to make the gate taller by putting a 6-inch-high garden type fence across the top with duct tape! But that seems problematic.
Any advice welcome!