Pet gate for Chow Chow on vet diet plan

A vet-recommended confinement plan is one of the best things you can do for a dog carrying extra weight — so you're already doing right by your Chow Chow. Gate choice comes down to three things: the dog's size and jumping ability, the width of the opening you're blocking, and whether you can wall-mount it (which I'd always recommend over pressure-mounted for a determined breed). Pressure-mounted gates are never safe at the top of stairs, just so you know. Can you tell me roughly how much your Chow Chow weighs right now, how wide your kitchen doorway is, and whether you're able to put screws into the wall?

38kg is a solid, heavy dog — and Chow Chows are also notoriously stubborn, so you want something that won't flex or rattle when he leans on it. At 85cm your doorway is well within standard gate range, which is good. One more quick question: does your Chow Chow have any history of jumping or trying to climb? Chows aren't usually big jumpers, but at his size even a casual lean can defeat a flimsy gate.

Perfect — that actually makes this straightforward. Because he's a leaner rather than a jumper, height isn't your primary concern, but rigidity absolutely is. For a wall-mounted kitchen gate with a large, heavy dog, I'd go with the Safetots Extra Wide Wooden Baby Gate. It's wall-mounted with a proper two-point fixing, has a one-hand walk-through latch that adults find easy but dogs can't nudge open, and it's built solidly enough that a 38kg lean won't shift it. It adjusts from around 75cm to 82cm or wider with the included extension pack — at 85cm you'd want to confirm the right extension, but they're readily available. It's also a sensible height for a Chow Chow who doesn't jump. It'll contain him reliably throughout his diet plan without drama for you every time you walk in and out of the kitchen.

Yes — that's one of the genuine strengths of this gate. The latch is a single-action squeeze-and-push mechanism, so you can operate it with one hand, even with your elbow or wrist if needed. Once you've done it a few times it becomes completely automatic. The door also swings both ways and has an auto-close feature, so if you forget to pull it shut behind you it won't sit open. For a dog on a strict dietary confinement plan, that auto-close alone is worth having.

Yes — measure your doorway carefully at both the top and bottom before ordering, because doorways aren't always perfectly uniform. The base gate covers up to around 79–82cm depending on fitting depth, so at 85cm you'll need the 7cm extension pack to be sure. It's inexpensive and sold separately on Amazon UK. Buy it at the same time as the gate so you're set up straight away rather than waiting for a second delivery while your Chow Chow has unsupervised kitchen access.