back to the baby gate

Lexi is the most horrible dog ever! (I'm sure that there are some that are worse, but I've never met them.) I bought another baby gate at Target last night in an attempt to limit her to only the kitchen during the day when we're not home. Unfortunately, the other dogs will suffer in her containment because they will have to stay in the kitchen, too, but I'm pretty sure they sleep all day, so it's probably not a big deal.

We abandoned the baby gate idea several years ago after she finally broke the baby gate we had. I think she chewed on it until it fell apart. In any case, she could jump over the baby gate at a normal height and if you raised it high enough that she couldn't jump it, she could shimmy under it. But, 30 pounds and a bad hip later, I'm pretty sure she won't be able to do that anymore. We tried other alternatives such as blocking the door with the dog cage. She climbed on top and over--leaving her free to roam the house and the other dogs stuck in the kitchen distraught because they couldn't get out. We also tried leaving her in the cage during the day, but there is a lot of barking involved in that because she's pissed that she's in a cage, and we feel sorry for our neighbors. So, it's back to the baby gate--we'll see how long it lasts this time!