Hi.

We use a stairgate on our kitchen,partly to keep our toddler out,but also used at night and when we pop out to keep our 6 month Goldie in.

In the early hours of wed morn we were woken to hear an awful scream coming from our puppy in the kitchen,we rushed down and found her on 3 legs and shaking she had also wet herself in the panic,it was clear that she had decided to sleep by the gate and in her sleep got nearly her whole foreleg through then got it stuck.

We treated her with ice packs kept her still, then got her to the vets ASAP, they thought she had fractured it put luckily the xrays showed no bone damage,she had a very swollen leg and soft tissue damage,but after some painkillers and rest she is now bearing weight on it.  She is on 5 days house rest (already getting bored !!) and painkillers,but luckily there should be no long term damage.

Needless to say the gate has now gone !! I just want to make people aware that they are good for stopping your dog accsesing areas you dont want them to,but there is also a hidden danger.

What an awful thing to happen hope she is on the mend now.
Just an aside if you need a gate my sister has one that is like a tough fabric  that rolls up when you dont need the gate and then you just pull from left to right and it clips back in to make a secure stairgate. Theres has lasted for about 10 years 2 children and a gsd. Does away wiith the bars risk

Oh your poor pup! Glad no serious damage was done.

I would guess with some designs of gate, it would be possible to find a piece of wire or plastic mesh and secure it in place with cable ties to prevent this happening? I've done something similar in the past to make a baby gate (mostly) cat-proof.

It's a good point.  I often suggest gates but forget to mention 'use with caution'.  I think stairgates / baby gates are ideal for times where and when you can supervise but I don't think they are suitable for situations where your dog is left for longer periods.  Our youngest dog managed to knock one of our pressure fitted gates so that it fell on his head.

Overnight, or whilst you are out, either just shut the door or use a crate :)

Bracey - I'm glad your girl is ok

Sadly there is a danger to everything.  My old boy must have slept strongly and put his foot through the bar of an open cage, so anything in reality is dangerous.

Hope your dog is running around soon.

I use the Croft Freedom Pens and one pup I kept chewed the bars on the pen (when around 6 weeks) and got her mouth stuck, she panicked and pulled so hard she snapped one of her puppy teeth!  So even things made for dogs aren't always that safe.

I have experienced the same as the last two posters, one puppy was sleeping with its leg through the bars of the crate, I was terrified this would happen when I was out and he turned the wrong way and got it caught.  The other happened when a young pup was chewing the crate and got its mouth stuck, very scarey for pup and owner....

Glad your pup is alright, how scary!

I only use stairgates on the stairs when I've got a pup and want to prevent them from going upstairs. For doorways I have a dog gate, which has much narrower spaces. There are puppy gates which have even narrower gaps. These are a little more expensive than regular stairgates but are taller (the dog gate is quite tall) and much more suitable for the job.

My dog gate lives in the garage most of the time, but is invaluable for separating dogs when needs be.

How scary. I'm glad your girl will be okay! As a suggestion, what we have done is to take a wooden internal door and cut it in half, essentially making a stable door. That way we have a solid gate that is too tall to jump over but perfectly safe. We've had it for years now and I couldn't do without it. We made it when the dog gate we had was knocked down several times -with several dogs it just didn't seem to be strong enough.(And that was an actual dog gate, not a baby gate, so taller and stronger.)

even crates can be dangerous of a sort......you just have to evaluate risk and get on with life!

My boy didn't put his foot through the gap in the bar, he literally put his foot through the bar!

Hope your pup is recovering. I have a baby gate, but I never leave the dogs behind it if I'm not in the house. I know all things in life have a risk, as someone who's been involved in high risk sports for the greatest part of my life, that I accept, but risks can be calculated. I know of 3 cruciate ligament injuries caused to dogs who have jumped over the child gate (owners not home) and caught a rear leg in the bars, left hanging by that leg. One of those dogs was close to death when the owner returned. In my judgement that's not a risk that is worth taking, so baby gate never used if I'm not in the house.
Hope pup makes a swift recover ... and you! :-)

Like others here, my pup bit round two of the bars on the crate which then got stuck behind her teeth and she was hanging by her mouth. One of us  had to support her weight while the other had to bend the bars to release her. I hate to think what would have happened if we had not been right there, at the very least she would probably have broken or dislocated her jaw as her whole weight was just hanging by her jaw. I shudder just thinking about it.

our gate is also never closed unless i am in the house, its is only closed at meal times as I have to separate mine when feeding,dont use crates either/

Sheila