Pet gate for a Whippet on stairs

Moving to a two-storey home with a dog who's never encountered stairs is actually a really common safety concern — and it's smart to sort the gate before moving day rather than after. Gate choice comes down to three things: your dog's size and jumping ability, the width of the opening you need to block, and whether pressure-mounted or wall-mounted is an option. One thing worth flagging immediately: pressure-mounted gates must never be used at the top of stairs — only a wall-mounted gate is safe there. To point you to the right one, can you tell me your Whippet's weight and how tall they stand at the shoulder, where exactly you want to install it (top of stairs, bottom, or a doorway), and whether you're able to drill into the wall?

Good — drilling is the only right answer at the top of stairs, so that makes this straightforward. Whippets are lean and surprisingly athletic, and at 55cm she's tall enough that a standard 75cm gate won't give you much margin. She's unlikely to be a serious jumper indoors, but the real risk with Whippets on unfamiliar stairs is panic — they can bolt or scramble and tumble before they've learned the layout. You want something tall, rigid, and with a one-hand adult-operated latch so you're not wrestling with it every time. Can I ask how wide the stair opening is? Standard doorways are usually 75–90cm, but stair openings can vary.

Perfect, that's a completely standard width. My recommendation is the Dreambaby Retractable Mesh Gate — but specifically the Royale Converta that's wall-mounted and rated to 84cm. Actually, for a Whippet at top of stairs I'd steer you toward something sturdier with rigid bars rather than mesh, because mesh can flex if she leans on it in a panic. Go with the BabyDan Premier Pressure Fit gate in wall-mounted configuration — it fits 73–80.3cm natively but has extension packs to reach 89.6cm, covering your 82cm opening comfortably. It's tall at 76.8cm, has hardened steel bars she can't flex, and a double-action latch that adults can open one-handed but a dog can't nudge open. It's wall-mounted at the top of stairs, which is exactly what you need. It's widely available on Amazon UK and typically around £60–£75 depending on whether you need the extension pack.

For the adjustment period, I'd do both — but the bottom one doesn't need to be wall-mounted, so you can use a pressure-mounted gate there and save some money. The logic is: the top gate protects her from a dangerous fall if she's anxious or bolts. The bottom gate keeps her from practising the stairs unsupervised until she's confident going up and down slowly and calmly with you. Once she's consistently steady on the stairs — usually a week or two of short supervised sessions — you can remove the bottom gate and just keep the top one as a permanent safety measure. For the bottom, something like the Lindam Easy Fit Plus or a basic Dreambaby gate is perfectly adequate since a fall from the bottom step isn't dangerous.

Most healthy adult Whippets crack it in a few days to two weeks of daily practice — they're quick learners when they're not frightened. The key is keeping early sessions very short, never forcing her, and using high-value treats to reward each step individually at first. Go up with her rather than calling her from the top, which can cause rushing. By the end of the first week most Whippets are trotting up confidently; it's usually the coming down that takes a bit longer since the angle feels odd to them initially. Keep the gates in place until she's reliably slow and deliberate on the stairs, not just occasionally getting it right.