Best portable dog gate for holiday cottages

A holiday cottage with a Schnauzer — that's exactly the situation where gate choice really matters, because you've got three things working against you: you can't drill into the walls, you're in an unfamiliar layout, and you need something you can pack in the car. Gate choice generally comes down to the dog's size and jumping ability, the width of the opening you're blocking, and whether wall-mounting is an option — and just so you know upfront, pressure-mounted gates are not safe at the top of stairs, only at the bottom or in doorways. So: what's your Schnauzer's build — standard, miniature, or giant? And which openings are you mainly trying to block in the cottage?

Perfect — a 7kg miniature Schnauzer is not a jumper or a bruiser, so you don't need anything heavy-duty. Blocking the bottom of the stairs with a pressure-mounted gate is absolutely fine and safe. The kitchen doorway is fine too. What's the approximate width of the narrower of the two openings? Standard doorways are usually 75–85cm, but cottage doors can be narrower or wider, and knowing that helps me confirm the right gate fits both spots.

That makes this straightforward. For a portable, no-drill solution that you can move between openings and pack away at the end of the trip, I'd go with the Cumbor 40-Inch Auto Close Safety Baby Gate. It's pressure-mounted, fits openings from about 75cm to 107cm, has a one-hand auto-close mechanism, and it packs down reasonably small. For a miniature Schnauzer, the 101cm height is complete overkill — she's not getting over that — and the pressure feet won't mark a cottage's paintwork or skirting if you're careful. Use it at the bottom of the stairs and swap it to the kitchen doorway when you need to. It's the one gate I'd confidently tell you to bring.

It's genuinely quick — releasing the pressure feet takes maybe thirty seconds, and refitting in a new doorway takes under a minute once you've done it once. The tension knobs are hand-operated, no tools needed. The main thing to watch is that you re-tension it properly each time you move it, because a loosely fitted pressure gate can be pushed out at the base by a determined dog. Your miniature Schnauzer at 7kg isn't going to bulldoze it, but it's still good habit. Set it snug, give it a push before you walk away, and you're done.

You'll be sorted. One last reminder: if the cottage has a staircase where she could fall from the top, don't be tempted to put a pressure gate at the top of the stairs — it needs to be wall-mounted there. Bottom of the stairs is exactly what pressure gates are designed for, and that's your use case, so you're in good shape. Enjoy the trip.