You know my crazy white dog Skeeter is an amazing climber and jumper so we have dual gates installed in the kitchen one on top of the other- she can't get over it. When its nice she stays in the yard and when its not the kitchen gates work well with her. We use our crate rarely now since she's grown out of pottying and chewing when we leave, but at first the crate really isn't mean. She still will go sleep in hers during the day with the door open