Dog doors

Greetings everyone:

I am thinking of getting a dog door for Z&Q. It would have to be the kind
with a glass panel that fits into a sliding glass door. It would
definitely be helpful when I am at home, as the dogs could come and go as
they pleased (for the most part) and I would be around if there was a
problem. But of course it could be pretty handy for when I'm not around,
and that's what I have questions about.

Paula...

I have one of those and it is very handy.

I'm trying to figure out whether giving them access to the outdoors when
I am out would be ok, or totally irresponsible, or somewhere in between.
I know barking could be an issue, but setting that aside for a minute,
what are the other things to consider? Zoe likes to dig, but hasn't shown
any signs of trying to dig under the fence. Queenie's preferred mode of
exit would be to go over, but she hasn't been able to do that, which is
not to say that she absolutely couldn't, given the right motivation.

Paula...

I decided against having the dog door in the slider that goes to the
backyard for that and security reasons. I think that if you get a dog
door, you are better off using it when you are home and putting the
panel in to lock the dogs in when you are not home. I have to warn
you, though, that big strong dogs can mess up the panels if they want
to. I've seen one that a big enough dog wanted to get past. The dog
won.

I'm also somewhat concerned about security -- it seems like any door that
would let Queenie through could also let a human through, although I like
to think that most people aren't crazy enough to crawl through a dog door
with two dogs barking on the other side...

flick...

Anything can happen, but if the dog door is big enough for a person to get
through, they're more likely to break into a house where it doesn't look
like huge dogs live, imo.

Does anyone here have a dog door that they let their dogs use when there
aren't any humans at home? Any advice, considerations, kindly
admonishments, or any other feedback would be most welcome. Thanks!

Don S...

I filled in the bottom of a low window with plywood bolted (stove
bolts with wing nuts on the inside) to the frame and installed the
doggy door in it. Our yard has an 8' fence, locked gates, and a 2'
deep curb under the fence around the perimeter.

Our dog is as safe outside as inside. But she can tend to bark a
little when she hears someone (ie: neighbors) on the other side of the
fence.

We back her two door crate up to the doggy door & let her run in & out
when we are there. We shut the inside door to the crate leaving her
access to the crate and backyard when we are out for very short trips
and we slide the shut off door in the doggy door when we are gone for
an hour or more leaving her crated or take her with us.

I'd recommend one. Sure saves a lot of trips to the back door.

Don S

Paula...

I do, but it is a different circumstance. I have a balcony out a
sliding door from my master bedroom. I have the panel insert type of
door in there. The dogs can go in and out, but they can only get to
the balcony and do not have free run of the yard. I know burglars can
get up to balconies if they want to, as can other animals that might
want to come in, but I figure it isn't as much a risk as if it were at
ground level. I have one of the plastic kiddie pools filled with
potting soil and planted with grass out there on the balcony for their
use.

I have to say that there is another issue you may not have thought
about. The flap kind of doors do let air in and out. They have
magnets to make them close, but they tend not to close all that
tightly, especially over time. I live in Southern California, so it
isn't a big deal to me to get a little cold air leakage in my room in
the winter, but YMMV.

I think that if I were going to get a dog door at ground level, I
would spring for one of those that opens electronically with the dog
having to wear a collar to get in or out. It seems like it would be
more secure and also would be more airtight than flaps. I haven't
actually seen them in action, though, so I can't really say how well
they would work. That is just what I would be looking into if I
didn't have the balcony set up. I think I would still lock the dog
door so the dogs couldn't get out when I was gone, though, if there
was any way the dogs could escape from the yard. I might risk some
barking or digging if I had to be gone for a long day and absolutely
couldn't find anyone to go let the dogs out, but I would not risk
getting over the fence. I'd rather clean up the accidents if they
happened.

Davina Stuart...

another option for the security concerns is to have the door access a part
of the yard that is securely kenneled off. so the dogs have access to only
part of the outside yard that is then scvurely fenced oof, with a buried
fence and perhaps even a top so that no one could climb the fence to access
the dog door. you can install a locked gate in the side of the dog run so
while you're home they can access the full yard.

we're planning on doing something like this for our dogs, 2 small poms and
ajrt.. we're planning the topper more for protection against large birds and
such that could carry off our little dogs.. (we live in alaska, and yes,
this is something that happens once in a while..) also cheaper then fencing
our big back yard entirely.. we jsut bought the house last fall and it
didn't have a fence

flick...

We're in the country, with 2 groups of large dogs and 2 dog doors. Fenced
yards, one "reinforced" with a hotwire near the ground bec. of a digger.

My impression has been that dogs are less likely to try to escape a fenced
yard when they have access to their humans' "den" - the house. This seems
to be true even when the humans aren't home. Just an impression, no hard
data to base that on.

A tradeoff, I guess. In some ways, yes, the dog is less safe with outdoor
access. You'd maybe want to ask yourself if their life is enhanced enough
by that access to make it worth taking the risk.

flick 100785

sighthounds & siberians...

I wouldn't use a dog door because a) I don't want the cats,
particularly the 16 year-old senile cat, to wander out; b) I don't
want my dogs outside when I'm not home and not able to prevent
squabbles, escape attempts, unlimited digging, nuisance barking, etc.

Mustang Sally