Choosing the best folding pet gates out of the many options in the market is not an easy endeavor. We have selected 7 of the most popular solutions available to examine each individually and determine which stands out as the best foldable pet gate. This post will not only answer some of the questions you may have but also some you haven’t thought of.
Are you ready to find a product that is safe, solid, easily configured, and portable? Helping you find a solution so you, your family, and your pet utilize the space in your home efficiently? Let´s get straight to it!
Review Summary
Best Foldable Pet Gate
PAWLAND 144-inch Extra Wide 30-inches Tall Dog gate with Door Walk Through
Who Should Get a Foldable Pet Gate?
What requirements might the best foldable pet gates meet. You can find mountable, non-mountable, all-wood, MDF, wood and metal wire, with a door, without it, heavy, lightweight and in different heights too. But what benefits can you realize by using foldable pet gates within your house?
Foldable pet gates enable you to:
– Keep pets away from expensive or dangerous equipment such as the fireplace, chemicals stored in the laundry room, Hi-Fi gear, guitars, ornaments and more. They can also be used to restrict access to stairs whether that be at the base or top.
– Create limited playing spaces in big rooms, effectively a portable playpen (see our post on the perfect puppy setup). For example, if you want to keep your dog contained when you are doing something around the house or a place to give a puppy time out when visitors are around but don’t want to crate them. Also, provide a safe area in the garden without getting into too much mischief or danger.
– As a steady solution for rooms in the house where your pets aren’t allowed to go at all. If you purchase a fence with a door and mounting possibilities, you can just leave it set and forget about it.
Review Criteria
We have highlighted the considerations you may want to think about when choosing a Dog Sofa but what aspects have we looked at:
Quality
Quality of materials used in the manufacture of the reviewed products. Specifically, the structure, cushioning and finishing material.
Design/Aesthetics
Looks are important and while subjective the overall impression given by each piece is important. Does the product come with any specific features that differentiate it from its competitors or add some useful functionality?
Choices
Do the products reviewed come in different colors and/or possibly features
Review Introduction
Best folding pet gates need to have certain features to better suit your needs; let´s take a look at some of the most important ones you should be looking at:
· Mountable or not – This is a very important feature for a permanent solution. Bear in mind that the mountable foldable gates will require a drill and some mounting screws to the wall. Once set, though, it is very unlikely that a toddler, or pet can make its way out. On the other hand, you lose the flexibility of arranging a playground if you like.
· Rubber feet – These are the surfaces that determine whether the solution will stay into place or give in to the strength of dogs, cats, and kids. Also, the rubber feet will keep your floors free from scratches. It is definitely something to pay a lot of attention to. Moreover, if the foldable gate comes with a greater number of rubber feet you should consider that as a plus in stability and strength.
· Material – Most foldable gates are made of wood or some cheap replacement like MDF. You should always attempt to get solid wood (or solid wood and metal wire) for a stronger structure. Materials like MDF suffer from moisture, and exposure to heat and water.
· Door – The importance of a door is not to be overlooked. This is especially true for tall fences and for wall-mountable ones. You don´t want to have to move the gate around every time you want to pass from one side to the other. On the other hand, if the idea is to move the gate around to make different configurations, then the door can be considered less important.
· Weight – Finally, weight is an important aspect. Especially if you are going to want to move the foldable gate on a regular basis.In this scenario then If the solution you buy is too heavy then the chances are that the inconvenience will render it largely unusable and it will spend its days folded in a corner.
On the other hand, heavier products are less likely to be moved by bigger pets; so if you want to set it and forget it, this is perhaps the best option.
Foldable Pet Gate Reviews
PAWLAND Wooden Freestanding Foldable Pet Gate
The Pawland Wooden freestanding pet gate is a great flexible solution. The pet fence comes in a box and there is absolutely zero assembly time. This is one of my main concerns when buying these kinds of products because bad assembly might mean a diminished working life.
Well, in this case that was taken care of for me by Pawland.
Coming out of the box it is made of beautiful solid stained wood in a dark chocolate color that matches everything in my house. It is not what you would say super tall or super sturdy so it will only work on highly-trained small dogs. Even buying the extra set of feet to make it sturdier, it can be knocked over by a toddler or a medium-sized pet easily.
The lack of a door to go through can be a headache if you cross it many times a day, that being said, you can just step over it with minimal effort (it´s only 24” tall). On one side it is a great option for going on holidays and moving around the house because it is super lightweight but on the other hand, it is not sturdy enough to accommodate bigger pets or even babies. I would recommend it for a well-trained, small dog who can respect the fence without attempting to move it.
Pros
No assembly time, the gate comes ready from the package
Lightweight
Beautiful dark finish will match most interior designs
Cons
Easily moved by mid-sized dogs
Rubber feet are not sturdy enough
No door to access the other side
Regalo 192-Inch Super Wide Adjustable Baby Gate and Play Yard
Marketed as a baby gate but this should not exclude it from your thinking when looking for a foldable gate or playpen for your dog. This Ragalo baby gate is one of the easiest to operate in the market with remarkable results
The fact that you can secure it to the wall with the included mounts and screws is a definite plus. It is true that you need to have a drill to do it, but once it is done, you can use it indefinitely. Also, the fact that you can easily turn it into a playground I think is really useful.
What I didn´t find very useful, though, was adjusting the screws on top of the fence every time I moved it around. It was a reiterative tightening and loosening action that didn´t add any sturdiness to the fence. In fact, it being mounted only on the sides leaves room in the middle for unwanted looseness; I had to secure mine to the ground with duct tape. The fact that you always have to remove two panels to adjust the length is quite annoying since 48” instead of 24” makes a lot of difference.
If you want a gate for a small dog or a pup to stay in a certain area of your home on an ongoing basis, this will work great for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a gate for moving around a lot, you should keep looking.
Pros
Detachable from the wall-mount screws
Safety locking to the door
Can convert from a gate to a playpen in minutes
Cons
Securing only the ends to the wall makes the middle part slide
Turning all bolts to move is a little annoying
You can´t remove one panel, it´s always two, which doesn´t make it so versatile
Bonnlo Freestanding Wooden Pet Gate
This Bonnlo wooden pet gate is not really a gate but more of a fence. Let me tell you that the first thing that really stroke me about this product was just how sturdy it is. It works great as a stand-alone pet barrier for small animals.
Although it is not as light-weight as other products in the list it is quite sturdy when it comes to doing what it´s supposed to.
I love the 360-degree hinges that allow you to put the fence in literally any position you want. Since it can´t be mounted, if you have a small space you want to cover, you can just fold it in two and make a double-fence defense to stop bigger animals. Adding to that, the fact that it is 30 inches tall makes it a great choice for mid-sized pets.
On the other hand, I was surprised and not pleased to find out there is no actual gate and that I had to move the fence around every time I was to cross it. I mean, unless you are a fit basketball player or athlete, going over a 30” obstacle is not my idea of fun. Finally, the fact that the manufacturer uses MDF instead of real wood is a bummer because I can´t use it outside in the yard. As you might know, MDF is not water resistant.
If you have a medium-sized pet and want a solution you can move around the house a lot, this might be a perfect choice. On the other hand, for a set-it-and-forget-it approach, you´ll need one you can mount to the wall.
Pros
360-degree hinges
Sturdy rubber feet and good weight make it stable
Cons
Can´t be secured to the wall
Not suitable to use outdoors
No gate to go through and too tall to walk over
PETSJOY 24″H Pet Safety Gate with Door
The Petsjoy safety gate is a great product that folds to put away very easy and conveniently. The whole process will only take you seconds and you will have the door to go in and out easy and securely as well as your pet. I wish it could be mounted to the wall so I could leave it at the top of the stairs and prevent our curious pup from going into the children bedroom.
I find the fact that it has a door reason enough to leave it in one place. Designers though it was a good feature to add to a light-weight and easy to move fence. To me it is the opposite, the door is so you won´t have to move it and can use it as a daily walk-through space. Evidently, we disagree on that.
I loved the 360 degree hinges to create the shape I wanted and the fact that it is solid pine to use it outside. On the other hand, the rubber feet plus the lightweight construction could be a problem for medium-sized pets. If you want a fence for such places as stairs, street doors and others that you will walk a lot through or only want to restrict the way at certain times of the day, this solution could be perfect for you.
Pros
360 degree hinges
Made of solid pine wood
Built-in, easy-to-use secure gate
Cons
Rubber feet are not so sturdy
Too lightweight to contain medium + animals
PAWLAND Freestanding Foldable Pet Gate for Dogs Extra Wide and Tall
This Pawland extra wide pet gate is the optimum height to keep all pets safely contained in your chosen area of your house. It feels solid and sturdy and has that arched top that I think that looks really good.
I was amazed to see the height when I got the package but the lack of door makes the height for regular people kind of annoying since there is no way to jump it, you just have to move it.
Right out of the box it was ready to use so we tried folding it in different shapes to keep our dog from the kitchen, the laundry room, my husband´s guitar room and more. I found out that it works great on carpets, but on vinyl or solid-wood floors it will slide open and close with only a little push. I wish we could mount it at least on one side so it wouldn´t be knocked over. In fact, getting knocked over could be the death sentence of the fence because it is made of MDF and can´t stand violence all that well.
If you have a medium or big-sized pet that is very obedient, then this product is great for you. On the other hand, if you have a playful pet that will knock it over I think you should get one with wall-mounting capabilities.
Pros
Tall to contain larger dogs
No assembly required
Highly configurable
Cons
Made of MDF instead of solid wood
No wall-mounting capabilities or door
PAWLAND 144-inch Extra Wide 30-inches Tall Dog gate with Door
This Pawland extra wide pet gate is, in my opinion, the best looking foldable pet gate in our round up review. The combination of dark wood and metal wire is a difficult one to beat.
Besides that, the finishing and the attention to detail really excel; it is truly a flawless product. All that metal wire, though, has a drawback which is making it a little too heavy. Trying to take it upstairs was quite an effort and once there, it just stayed there because I couldn’t repeat that effort on a daily basis.
The metal wire is great for small pups that are still in that chewing-everything phase. They can´t chew their way into metal, regardless of the breed. It comes with two extra support feet which is great, but for an optimum result, the manufacturer should have doubled that amount. The difference between the panels held by the extra foot and those that aren´t is quite noticeable and if your pet finds out about this difference, it found its way out.
Versatility is great thanks to the 360-degree hinges. You can put together a restricted pet exercise pen, play pen or play yard in a matter of minutes (with some help because it is heavy!).
The gate is beautifully made with stylish details and although support is not optimal, it is sturdier than many other options out there. If you want a classy product with great results and don´t mind a little effort moving it around, this might be your best choice.
Pros
Metal wire avoids damage from puppy chewing
Beautiful, classy and elegant design
360 degree hinges
Extra support feet
Cons
Extra supports on all panels would be optimal
Spirich Freestanding Wire Pet Gate for Dogs
The Spirich version of a freestanding pet gate is a pretty successful endeavor. Buying this 30 inches tall pet gate with metal wire inside each panel is a good way to keep your pets away from certain areas of your house.
The one thing that became quite annoying while testing was that the distance between the metal wires was too wide and a puppy can easily squeeze through it. That being said, if your pet is not skinny enough to fit among the metal wires it will have a very hard time going past this fence.
In fact, going past the fence is not easy for humans either and that is why I missed the addition of a door. If the designers would have installed a door and made it mounting-friendly, then you can easily leave it in one position and forget about it. Having to move it every time you want to go by makes it definitely a momentary solution rather than a set-it-and-forget-it one.
If you are looking a fence to prevent your pet from going to certain parts of your house momentarily, this is great. For a long-term solution, you should look for one you can mount to the wall and that has a door.
Pros
No assembly needed
Metal wire fence and wood design
Solid wood extra support feet included
Cons
Can´t be wall-mounted
Feet are not strong enough to offer enough stability against larger dogs moving the gate
Best Foldable Dog Gates – Round Up
You´ve met all the contestants for the best folding pet gates. All of them have their pros and cons. I guess those products made with MDF and then painted as real wood are a good, cheap alternative when you are on a budget.
To me, the best solution is the PAWLAND Tall Dog Gate. It is sturdy enough for most animals and features flawless design and construction. It hits the sweet spot between maneuverability and static strength.
The 360-degree hinges are also great to fold the gate and the door makes it very easy to exit your controlled area and avoid your dog chasing you around the house.
It is heavy enough to do its job but light enough to be taken in the trunk of your car on family holidays. It also makes a great yard accessory for the pups to play safely.
All the products in this review are of good quality and ultimately the size of your dog, area to shut off and appetite to attach to walls or have a free-standing solution will frame your decision. Hopefully, this guide will assist. Enjoy your dogs in a safe and happy environment.
