Pet gate for Basset Hound kitchen access

A vet-recommended diet is one of the kindest things you can do for an older Basset Hound — and blocking kitchen access is a really smart first step. Gate choice comes down to three things: your dog's size and any jumping ability, the width of the opening you need to block, and whether pressure-mounting or wall-mounting is an option. One important note: pressure-mounted gates are never safe at the top of stairs, but for a kitchen doorway they're usually fine. To point you to the right gate — how wide is your kitchen doorway, and is wall-mounting an option, or do you need something you can move around?

Ha, very true — a Basset doing parkour is not something the world has seen. At 90cm you're in a straightforward range, and since she's a low-slung, ground-level dog with no jumping ambitions whatsoever, a tall gate isn't the priority. What matters more is a sturdy pressure-mount that won't wobble or get nudged open when she leans against it — and Bassets do lean. How heavy is she roughly, and does she tend to push or headbutt barriers, or is she more of a sit-and-stare protester?

Perfect — then you don't need anything industrial. For your situation I'd recommend the Cumbor Extra Wide Baby Gate. It's a pressure-mounted walk-through gate that fits openings from around 75cm up to 107cm, so your 90cm doorway is well within range. It has a double-locking mechanism on the door — you push down and lift simultaneously — which means a persistent nose-nudger like a Basset won't accidentally work it open over time. The frame is metal so it won't flex or rattle when she leans on it, and the walk-through door means you're not climbing over it every time you go to the kitchen yourself. It sits at about 76cm tall, which is more than enough for an 18kg Basset with no jumping inclination. It's widely available on Amazon UK and consistently well-reviewed for exactly this kind of doorway use.

Good question, and it's worth being honest: pressure mounts do press against the wall with some force, and over time on soft plaster or painted surfaces you can get slight indentation marks. The Cumbor comes with rubber-tipped spindles which helps, but if your doorframe is fragile, it's worth putting a small piece of felt or thin rubber sheet behind each contact point — that distributes the pressure and almost always prevents any marking. Given that she's a nudger rather than a charger, you won't need to crank it extremely tight either, which also reduces the risk. Most people find it leaves no damage at all with a little care.

Great choice — and well done for acting on the vet's advice early. At 8, Bassets can still shift weight quite well with the right diet and less opportunistic snacking from the kitchen. The gate will take the willpower equation out of it entirely, which is usually what makes the difference. Good luck to her — and to you resisting those eyes.