We have a dog who might be the most well trained, well behaved, obedient dog ON THE PLANET - - UNTIL the UPS/Amazon truck goes by (or--GOD HELP US!--pulls into our driveway.) Then, all bets are OFF. No treat, no command, no power on earth will prevent him from going full on CUJO--raised hackles, deafening barking, slavering mouth. And it was a performance that would invariably take place on my brand new, long awaited (we're talking DECADES here, people) and pretty GD expensive leather couch. Or, when he couldn't get to that (we tried a LOT of strategies for keeping him off. Only the ridiculousness in the last photo did the trick) he'd have his scratching paws on my side table. Once, he actually jumped like a deranged billy goat right up onto my coffee table! Things had become desperate. Not to mention downright unattractive. I needed a gate. A nice-looking one. A BIG one. After doing A LOT of research for a gate that would fit my requirements: unobtrusive/attractive, black or dark brown--NOT white, able to be folded up and tucked away easily, STURDY, lightweight, and most importantly, big enough and able to be contorted into the shape I was imagining. All WITHOUT a break the bank price tag. I looked at many MANY gates. Mostly made of "wood". I use quotes because I would always find reviews with pictures that showed a gate that after being knocked over once was cracked (pressboard will do that!) and either ruined or requiring an ugly patch job. Most didn't have hinges that would swing in either direction (or that locked into place.) NONE allowed you to remove panels and NONE allowed you to either mount it in an opening or connect the ends forming a pen, as well as have it stand up on its own. And anything even 2/3 the size of this gate was in the $130 range. WAY to much money for CRAP. This gate is (almost!) PERFECTION! It ticks off all my boxes, does all of the above, looks WAY better than even the nicest "wood" gates I looked at, AND was under $100! My "almost" - - and my only reason for not giving it an enthusiastic 5 stars - - is that, as you can see in my pics, two of the spindles arrived bent. To be fair, this is possibly - - even likely - - something that happened in transit. And while I'm considering returning for a replacement I could easily see myself just keeping it, as the slightly bent spindles are largely unnoticeable, have zero impact on its function and - - miracle of miracles! - - pooch is no longer able to get to my couch! Equally as thrilling, I am able to SEE my new couch, and no longer have a living room that looks like a NYC building construction site (all the cardboard had needed was some graffiti and some posters/signs to complete the look... ????) Buy this gate. You won't regret it (and YOUR spindles will most likely be straight. ????????)
