Last year I reviewed the Richell USA Pet Stuff Storage Tower. I loved it then and I still do. It was a great solution to my “what on earth do we do with all of this dog stuff?” problem. We use the bottom for storing kibble and the top for storing toys, chews and treats. I love how it’s vertical so it takes up a minimal amount of floor space in my apartment.
A couple of months ago I had a new dog-related problem to solve so once again I turned to a Richell USA product. This time the problem was separating the dogs into a single area of my apartment. The pugs get nervous around children and strangers. I babysit my sisters children who are 1 and 4 years old so they still spend a lot of time on the floor playing, so it’s easier to just keep the dogs in a room other than the one the kids are in. I also like to block the dogs out of the kitchen sometimes. My kitchen is very small so when moving between the fridge, counter and stove I cover just about every square inch of floor that exists in the kitchen. There just isn’t room for the dogs to be in there with me without being accidentally stepped on or tripped over.
I originally tried to use a suspension baby gate. I didn’t want to go with a stationary baby gate because I wanted to use the gate on 3 different doorways in my apartment and didn’t want the cost of buying 3 gates. I found the suspension-baby gates to be nice in terms of how easy they were to move from one doorway to the next, but they would lose their pressure over time and if Drew (age 4) bumped into it, it would completely knock over. Yikes! Plus, even though my dogs only stand about a foot tall, they could jump over the gate if they wanted to. Thankfully, they only did this once or twice but it still wasn’t ideal.
*Photos were taken outside to take advantage of natural light and get better photos. The gate is made out of wood and is not intended for outdoor use.*
So, I was excited to see that Richell offered freestanding dog gates. I didn’t even realize that freestanding dog gates existed until I came across these. I knew that they would be well made because their Pet Stuff Storage Tower was so well made. What I was a little worried about was how stable they would be seems how they are free-standing.
For your reference, I am 5′ 1″ tall.
Once I saw the gate in person, I knew it would be stable. When the legs are unfolded, the Freestanding Pet Gate HS makes an “H” shape with the front of the gate being the center of the H. There are “feet” that stick out in front of the gate about 10″ and then side panels that stick out behind the gate about 12″. As a result, the gate is VERY sturdy, in its own “sturdy” category when compared to the baby gate I was trying to use before. When I try, I can shake the gate but it doesn’t wobble at all. The feet have rubber stoppers that keep the gate from sliding on my laminate flooring. The wood is clearly of quality and sturdy but I have no problem picking it up to move it from one door to another.
When you first get the gate and put it together, there are several hole options to put the screws into. Where you place the screws will determine how wide the gate is – it can be made as small as 28.3 inches wide or as wide as 47.2 inches wide so that it will work with almost any door that you have. You can also remove the screws to adjust the size if needed. I’ve also found that the sides of the gate provide a little bit of wiggle room in regards to the sizing. One of my interior doorways is 28″ and the other is 30″ but I use the gate on both doors without a problem. For the 28″ doorway, the gate covers the entire distance. For the 30″ doorway, there is about an inch of space on either side of the gate but the dogs (and my baby niece) neither one are able to get around it because of the sides of the gate.
There are simple hinges on either side of the gate with pins that allow you to lock the sides of the gate into position or to fold the sides flat. When flat, the gate is just a couple of inches thick so I can easily slide it between my couch and the wall for storage. When folded, it would also be reasonable to travel with.
The Freestanding Pet Gate comes in four sizes. The HS or “high small” is the size that I reviewed. The three additional sizes are small, large and HL or High-Large. The gate can also be ordered in white.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
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I really could use a couple of these. We have 2 dogs and 5 cats that we don’t always want to lock up but need to keep them out of certain areas of the house from time to time. These would be perfect.