Why a higher gate misses the point
A dog who clears a baby gate to reach you has usually learned two things: being separated from you feels wrong, and the gate area itself offers nothing once you have gone. Raising the barrier can stop the jump while leaving both lessons untouched — and some dogs then climb, dig at the doorway, or bark for longer because the frustration has nowhere to go. Athletic, anxious, or very bonded dogs can also injure themselves attempting a taller obstacle. The durable fix is to change what each side of the gate means to her.
Make her side of the gate worth staying on
For the next stretch, nothing good should happen exclusively on your side. Feed her meals behind the gate, scatter food in a box of scrunched paper there, and park her best long-lasting chew for gate time only. Spend relaxed time with her in that space too — grooming, gentle play, a training game — so the room reads as a place life happens, not a waiting room. When you do step through, toss a few pieces of food away from the gate on her side as you go, so your leaving predicts something arriving where she already is.
Practise separations that end before she decides to jump
Rehearse when she is already calm, not when you are rushing out. Step through the gate, close it, take one step away, and return within seconds — before whining or scrabbling starts — then carry on with something ordinary rather than making the reunion a celebration. Build the distance and the time in small slices: across the room, briefly out of sight, a door closing for a moment. If she jumps or escalates at any stage, the next repetitions get easier, not harder; progress in separation work is measured by how boring the departures become.
Teach a settled spot as her job behind the gate
Give her an active alternative to shadowing you: a mat or bed placed where she can see the gate without pressing against it. Reward her in short sessions for choosing the mat, lying down, and staying while you move around on her side first, then while you step through and straight back. A filled chew placed on the mat as you leave links the spot with your departures. Keep sessions to a couple of minutes and finish while she is succeeding, so the mat stays a winning choice rather than a test she eventually fails.
When following you looks like distress, not devotion
Some gate-jumpers are not opportunists but genuinely panicked alone: drooling, panting, toileting, destroying door frames, or refusing food until you return all point that way, as does jumping the gate even to follow you to the bathroom. If that picture fits, or if she has hurt herself on the barrier, talk to your veterinarian about separation anxiety and ask about referral to a behaviour professional. That conversation matters more than any gate, because a panicked dog needs a treatment plan, not just better containment.
KinsLe Care Teams makes the gradual plan easier to keep, because different family members can be assigned the short gate practices and enrichment setups through the day, with each completed session ticked off so her training builds in small, steady steps.