Horsham father and son set to appear on TV's Dragon's Den with unique 'dog gate' invention

Father and son Peter and Chris Maxted will enter the Den seeking investment for their company Dog-G8 which manufactures unique ‘concertina-style’ dog safety gates designed to prevent dog escapes and combat the risk of dogs attacking postmen and delivery workers.

Peter, who lives in Horsham with wife Julie, admits entering the Den was “a mixture of terrifying and exciting. It’s a very strange combination.”

The Dog-G8 gate was the inspiration of Peter, a former firefighter, founder of a pet-sitter company and a dog owner for around 20 years.

He says he was very aware of the risks associated with dogs at front doors, for example escapes, attacks and thefts and, although there were other gates on the market, he felt they were inadequate and ineffective for all breeds.

He therefore decided to design and sell his own version so he could keep his own and his clients’ dogs safer at the front door.

Peter’s son Chris is also a director in the business and has been working alongside Merseyside Dog Safety Partnership and the University of Liverpool to raise awareness of dog attacks and their impact on delivery workers.

The Dog-G8 is British made and features a modular, retractable, and portable design. Peter says: “The product is incredibly versatile and can be used on multiple configurations ranging from the front door to stairways, hallways, motorhomes, caravans and more.

"The gate’s modular design enables it to be spanned to any width, allowing the gate to be fitted to the widest of configurations such as patio doors or extra-wide openings where standard, conventional gates cannot fit.”

Since its launch launch the company has seen massive growth and now sells directly to customers in Canada, the United States, and Europe, as well as in the UK.

Says Peter: “I spent about a year in development and then we launched the business and are now coming up to our fourth year of trading.”

The Dog-G8 has since gone viral on TikTok and Facebook, attracting millions of views.

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Chris and Peter attended Crufts last year for the first time where the product was well received. The Dog-G8 company were the Theo Paphitis' Small Business Sunday Winner in March 2021

Now the business is to launch a taller version of the gate within the next few months, ready for Crufts 2023, alongside offering customers a range of new colours. Now only two colours are available, chrome and white in one height.

The business is looking to widen its distribution network by targeting the trade and wholesalers in the next year and is looking for investment to fulfil their ambitious plans for the future.

You can see if they can find a Dragon to invest in their business on BBC One tomorrow (February 9) at 8pm.

The gates are available to buy directly from www.dog-g8.comPrices start from £62.95 for a standard gate and come with a range of accessories, extensions and brackets.