Great idea..

Good thinking!

Great idea! This might work as a baby gate for those with toddlers,too! Just make sure the kid can't push out the rods or climb under or through them.

This post was edited by jannie on Wed, Oct 16, 13 at 8:13

I would worry about falling, but I'm glad it's working for you. Just be careful.

Great idea - I guarantee I would fall right over it.. but that's how I roll! LOL

That is a clever solution.

Dogs can be trained to not enter a particular room, did you try that approach? It's the same as training them to not go through a front door without permission, most grasp the concept easily.

Maybe the dynamic is different when dealing with three in the house, but I would think it would be fine if you worked with them one at a time.

Great idea and you reminded me of friends who raised German Shepherds some years ago. They had 3 in the house who could scare you when you first came in because they're loud and well, you know, scary as a German Shepherd might be to a person. When people came to the house she would keep them in the kitchen with a baby gate. Of course these guys could have just stepped over that gate if they wanted to, but they just didn't because they thought they couldn't I guess. It was still an experience to pass them on your way to the powder room!

That is a great idea but it would not work for my Lab. I put up a baby gate one day and Cooper practically destroyed the door moulding before he knocked the gate down. I wasn't home at the time but I bought a dog crate the next day.

It's a great ldea. Temporary and flexible.

Good idea you could also easily make a fabric gate to put on the top and bottom bars, Just some fabric the right size with a pocket sewn on top and bottom to slide the bar through.
My Great Danes could have easily stepped over any thing we used to block them but they were so easy to train and so good they never did.
I trained them in a regular baby play pen when they were babies and they would go up to the play pen and whine to get in when they were tired and wanted to be in their special place.
They also could have easily jumped that, never did.

Now my Afghan that was entirely different story and animal but I got him later in his life when all the bad habits were well established. Much harder to train.

I use the small curtain rod tension bars in my cabinets in the RV to keep things from flying out of there and also in my fridge. They sell them at RV stores but I just buy the regular ones at walmart for much less.

no dogs here but a great idea to keep in mind for someday

great idea!! I agree it's really nice to have one room dog-hair free. Also it's nice to have dog-fearful visitors able to sit in a room without a dog present.

With all of our dogs (5 of them over the 35 years), we have just leaned up a short, 6 inch high piece of wood in the entrance to the living room and dining room. They quickly learn to not go in there and then we put away the barrier for the rest of their lives, unless we moved to a new house.

My friend used an electric pad stationed in a doorway which gave the dog a gentle buzz if she tried to cross it. Humans can step across easily.

socks, I thought I'd try the shower rods first as it was a lot cheaper than buying anything else, and luckily, they work for us.

raven, I was trying to keep my post from being too long, but I actually did start out doing exactly what you described with a nice piece of fabric covering the rods. Oddly enough, with fabric over the rods, my largest dog just jumped over them, with no reluctance. But without the fabric, none of the dogs are willing to go under, through or over the bars. Maybe without the fabric covering, they think the rods are electrified?

peonies, I might take down the highest rod in a few weeks and see what happens. If my cocker spaniel doesn't jump over it, I'll take away the middle rod as well. Maybe I'll be lucky like you were with the piece of board and be able to remove all of them once the dogs are conditioned not to enter that room

snidely, all 3 were rescued as adult dogs and 2 would surely be diagnosed with A.D.H.D. if they were human! Those 2 do not listen to verbal commands very well, and I admit I do not have the patience it would take to train them as you suggested, which would of course be the optimal solution.

jannie, unfortunately, my shower rods won't be a solution for keeping toddlers out of a room as a child would probably try to scale them and could get hurt. Luckily, my dogs seem to fear something about them and won't even try to get past them!

picky, you're a big-hearted person for giving those furry souls a home, good for you! While older dogs and rescues can show up with bad habits and often (sadly) emotional baggage, don't underestimate them.

They'll ignore commands and training efforts if you let them, don't chalk it up to an attention problem. It may be they've come to realize that you'll ignore their bad behavior. What most dogs WON'T ignore is food. Reward them when they do something right (and sometimes the right behavior takes time to approximate, give them easy opportunities at first for a payoff). You may find you have more patience (and they have more capability) than you imagine.

Or maybe I'm wrong, they're basket-cases and you've found a way to make it work for you. It's still awesome of you for doing what works for you and them.

Great idea! My rescue tinkles on my front entry rug... I have thrown several away, finally went without. Now, I found one that I loved, so I keep it rolled up when not home. I am going to try this instead, with winter coming, I need a rug there all the time! Thanks for the idea!

I think all posts about pets need to be illustrated with photos. Picky, any pictures of the "kids"?

I've heard that dogs react better to hand and other action commands than to vocal instructions.

It's doubtful, I'm sure, that you're within eyeshot of them whenever they're about to enter, when they are within earshot.

I've found the a dog that I've had connection with, and my barn cat, as well, tend to pay attention when I speak in a somewhat louder and rather brusue (possibly a touch of "angry") voice.

ole joyful