Pet gates with tall small-dog or cat doors
Most currently available pet gates feature small square openings that are too short for larger small dogs or cats to pass through comfortably. Manufacturers like Carlson have quietly redesigned these doors to a cramped 8-by-8-inch size while keeping old model numbers and mismatched retailer descriptions, forcing pet owners to waste time ordering and returning gates that do not fit their pets.
Core Friction Pattern
Analysis of 2 peer accounts across online developer and community forums reveals that “Pet gates with tall small-dog or cat doors” repeatedly surfaces due to edge-case mismatches between standard defaults and real-world environments. Standard troubleshooting frequently falls short, compelling practitioners to develop custom workarounds.
+4 alternative community-tested workarounds cataloged below.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Pet gates with tall small-dog or cat doors
- 1Checking Facebook Marketplace or eBay for older versions of the gatesDid this help you?
- 2Searching local resale platforms like OfferUpDid this help you?
- 3Cutting bars out of a wider opening using an angle grinder or bolt cuttersDid this help you?
- 4Building a wooden frame that fits inside the gate opening and cutting a custom pass-throughDid this help you?
- 5Removing bars from a larger opening gate to adjust the widthDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I'm trying to create safe areas in our house for our two small dogs where our 100+ lb dog can't follow them.”source ↗
“Unfortunately, Carlson redesigned them, keeping the same model numbers, but changing the small dog gate to 8" × 8", which is too short for our beaugle to comfortably use.”source ↗
“I had similar issue with my cats needing to escape from dog but old gate broke and new ones all had tiny doors. Annoying how they change the design but keep same name”source ↗
“I actually found two on OfferUp and I thought I was set...until I realized it's local pickup only and the guy lives in Arizona. 😭”source ↗
“Most new gates I've found have switched to an 8" × 8" square opening, which doesn't work for one of them.”source ↗
“Has anyone found a currently available gate with a vertically rectangular small-dog/cat opening around 7" × 10" or larger?”source ↗
“I've already ordered multiple Carlson and EveryYay gates specifically advertised as having a 7" × 10" opening, and the gates that arrived were 8" × 8", so unfortunately there's a mismatch between the information on retailer sites and Carlson/EveryYay's site.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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