Pet gate for curved banister & Retriever

A curved banister is one of the trickiest installations you'll come across — standard gate kits assume a flat wall on both sides, so you'll need an adapter kit designed specifically for banisters on at least one fixing point. Gate choice comes down to three things: your dog's size and jumping ability, the exact width of the opening, and whether you can wall-mount on the other side. One thing I should say upfront — for top-of-stairs use, it must be a wall-mounted gate, never pressure-mounted. What breed and size is your dog, and can you tell me roughly how wide the gap is at the top of your stairs? Also, is one side a flat wall or are both sides curved bannister posts?

Perfect — that's actually a manageable setup. A flat wall on one side means you can get a solid wall-mount there, and you'll just need a banister adapter kit for the curved post side. Flat-Coated Retrievers are medium-large dogs, typically 25–35kg, and they stay puppyish and enthusiastic well into adulthood, so you want something tall enough that he won't even consider jumping it — 75cm or higher is the target. How tall is he at the shoulder, roughly? And does he have any history of trying to go over or through barriers?

Good — leaning and pushing is actually the bigger risk with a dog his size at the top of stairs, so the gate needs to be genuinely rigid once mounted, not just snug. Pressure-mounted gates can shift under that kind of lateral load, which is why wall-mounting is essential here. Given your 75cm opening, one curved banister post, and a solid leaner of a dog, I'd go with the Safetots Wide Pressure Fit Smart Gate paired with the Safetots Banister Kit. Wait — actually, for top of stairs you need the wall-fixed version: the Safetots Screw Fit Smart Gate (the wall-mounted variant), combined with the Safetots Banister Adapter Kit, which is specifically designed to grip curved or round posts without drilling into the wood. It extends to fit your width, it's 76cm tall which suits a Retriever well, and the one-hand operation is genuinely useful when you're carrying things up and down stairs.

Yes — the Safetots Banister Adapter Kit uses a wraparound bracket design with a curved cup fitting, so it grips round and turned wooden newel posts without you needing to drill into the banister itself. All the screws go into the wall side and into the adapter bracket. Fitting is straightforward for a competent DIYer: the wall side takes about 20 minutes with a drill, and the banister adapter clips and tightens in place. The whole thing is solid once it's in. My clear recommendation is the Safetots Screw Fit Smart Gate (white or grey, opens to around 75–82cm) combined with the Safetots Banister Adapter Kit — both are available on Amazon UK, often sold together. That combination handles your curved post, your width, and gives you the rigid wall-fixed install that's safe at the top of stairs with a strong dog.

Good choice. When you're fitting it, make sure the wall fixings go into a stud or use proper wall anchors for a plasterboard wall — a leaning Retriever will find any weak fixing eventually. Once it's in securely, it'll last years. Good luck with the install.