This is a specific conversation about Pet gates — containing dogs safely — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
An Irish Setter who's cracked the lever latch — that's a classic problem with this breed. They're tall, clever, and have enough dexterity to flip a standard lever handle without much effort. The fix isn't a sturdier gate, it's a different latch design entirely — specifically one that requires two simultaneous actions to open, which dogs genuinely cannot coordinate. Before I point you to the right gate, a couple of quick questions: where are you installing this — stairs, a doorway, or blocking off a room? And is drilling into the wall an option, or do you need pressure-mounted?
It's a doorway between the kitchen and the hallway, ground floor so no stairs involved. Drilling is fine, the wall is solid plasterboard over brick.
inparticular.ai
Perfect — wall-mounted is the right call for a determined dog anyway, pressure-mounted can be pushed out by a big setter leaning on it repeatedly. What's the width of the opening? Irish Setters are tall but the gate width is the critical measurement here.
I just measured — it's 82 cm wide.
inparticular.ai
82 cm is straightforward, no extension needed on most gates. Here's my recommendation: the Safetots Extra Wide Deluxe Wooden Gate. It's wall-mounted with four fixing points, which makes it rigid enough that your setter can't rock it loose, and the latch is the key thing — it's a two-step mechanism where you have to lift a release button while simultaneously pushing the handle. Dogs cannot do both at once. It's the same principle used on child-proof gates for toddlers who are famously also very motivated to get through. The gate covers openings up to 150 cm so 82 cm is well within range, and it's solid enough for a large breed. It's consistently available on Amazon UK and well reviewed specifically by owners of large, gate-savvy dogs.
That sounds exactly right. My setter is quite tall — will she be able to jump it?
inparticular.ai
The Safetots Deluxe stands at 76 cm tall. For most Irish Setters that's sufficient — they're not natural jumpers the way a Husky or a young Labrador might be, and at five years old she's past the bouncy adolescent phase. That said, if she's particularly athletic or has ever cleared a gate before, it's worth knowing. Has she ever jumped rather than unlatched, or has the latch always been her method?
Always the latch — she nudges the handle up with her nose and pushes through. Never tried to jump, she's quite lazy about it honestly, she just wants the easy route.
inparticular.ai
Then the Safetots Extra Wide Deluxe is exactly right for you. She's a problem-solver, not an athlete — close off the easy route and she'll give up. The two-step latch removes the nose-nudge trick completely. Wall-mount it with all four fixings into the brick behind the plasterboard and it'll be rock solid. That's the one I'd buy.
