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Doggy doors?


wendy1

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Just wondering if anyone has used a doggy door for their pooch? It's quite an investment of time and energy and then of course, if Ella doesn't like it or use it, we have a hole in our house! She can be skittish sometimes so I can just see her barking with ferocity and the new and different doggy door, but most times she settles down and gets used to things. We walked by a garbage can this morning on the sidewalk and she didn't even flinch! :D

In any case, your experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Wendy

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I purchased a Hale Dog Door when the girls were about 14 months old - Super investment - it was pricy but I wanted a super secure door. It took my biggest one maybe all of 5 seconds to go through it for the first time, took my smaller Cairn about 4 days before she actually felt comfortable going in and out. And now the smallest is the one that goes in and out the most so she can sun bathe etc - I don't regret my dog door at all. I LOVE it. And we don't have to constantly open the doors for them and we can shut the dog door anytime we're ready for them to stay in. It gets closed by 9pm for bedtime and has a security lock on it that we lock up -

Hollie Edelbrock & Brystal Sonoma
Chris, Stacy and Little Noah
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We love ours, too...and so do the dogs. Our installed into our storm door, so when we're gone there's no way anyone or anything can get in through it. Nigel keeps it swinging! Sometimes, though, he'll just poke out his head as if he's seeing if there's anything worth going out for.. It took him minutes after installation to use it like a pro. Aislinn takes her own sweet time to do things. First, we had to put her through. Then she would go out if we held the door open, but she wouldn't come in. Next, she would go out on her own and let us put her through the door to come in. Then "all of sudden"....9 months later...she started using it on her own. We bought a middle of the road brand, and haven't had problems. The only drawback is more flies come in. Other than that, I highly recommend getting one.

"Lord help me be the person my cairn terriers believe I am."

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We have two and love them! took my boldest dog about 10 mins to use it, and the other about a week before he was ok with it. Now they play highspeed chase through the doors.

Our outside dog door opens from the garage to a secure dog run outside and the other dog door opens from the house to the garage.

Tracy, Amos, Walter, Brattwrust & Mettwurst a.k.a The Gremlins

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I would not be without doggy doors. In fact, I would go so far as to say I wouldn't buy a house where for some reason I couldn't install a doggy door!

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I have been seriously considering one also but I have a few concerns. How is it as far as insulation? Do you lock it when you are gone? Does it ever freeze shut? I live in NH and our winters go below 0 degrees with winds chill factors bringing it to -15 sometimes.

I was thinking about putting a kennel at the door that would be used so they can go in and out when I am not home because sometimes they are in the house for 8 hours. They use a pee pee pad now but being able to go out would be nice. Any suggestions for that? Obviously in the winter I would keep it locked so they can't go out.

Jess, Scooter, Sadie and Dozer

DSCN2419-1.jpg

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Although it would be great in some ways to have a doggie door because I am constantly letting Cricket in and out, I don't think I would get a doggie door because I am worried about critters getting in. I have heard stories of critters getting in the house and even a stray dog entering the doggie door. I know there are the kind that only open with a signal from your dog's collar, but I don't keep collars on my dogs(for safety reasons) unless we are outside the property.

Jessica, I guess a concern with a doggie door and letting your cairns have access the the yard when your not home is the possibility of them escaping the yard by digging out.

Cricket stays out sometimes for hours at a time (her choice) but only when I am home and I check on her frequently.

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Jessica, I guess a concern with a doggie door and letting your cairns have access the the yard when your not home is the possibility of them escaping the yard by digging out.

Cricket stays out sometimes for hours at a time (her choice) but only when I am home and I check on her frequently.

I would build a kennel that the ground would be concrete all around the , with a chain link kennel which includes a top also. They would not be able to dig out, climb out escape. It would only be for them to go out to go to the bathroom (or hangout) when I am not home. This is also inside of the already fenced in yard. I have been thinking about this for 4 years and still have not done it. It sounds good but I am unsure.

Jess, Scooter, Sadie and Dozer

DSCN2419-1.jpg

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We have a dog door, but it's rarely used (came with the house, so we didn't invest anything). Henry will go out of it, but only after barking and waiting for us to tell him he can go through it. He won't come back in without barking at it and waiting for us to tell him to come in, either. I don't know if he's just too stupid to get it, smart enough to know he shouldn't go out the door without permission (which is how he was trained w/the regular door), or just plain neurotic. I don't know, but he won't just freely use it, so we just don't use it very much. He doesn't even seem to notice it if the door is shut.

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I would build a kennel that the ground would be concrete all around the , with a chain link kennel which includes a top also. They would not be able to dig out, climb out escape. It would only be for them to go out to go to the bathroom (or hangout) when I am not home. This is also inside of the already fenced in yard. I have been thinking about this for 4 years and still have not done it. It sounds good but I am unsure.

Jessica,

Your plan will work - I've done essentially the same thing in two houses. First house the dog door exited into a kennel run. I actually used two fences to surround the run, chain link inside and after a time I put solid wood fencing around it as well. The run had a gate (which I kept padlocked when not home) which exited into my fenced garden. Where I am now the dog door exits into a similar type situation -- an enclosed small courtyard surrounded by fencing on one side, a walls on two sides and the side of an outbuilding (husband's workshop) on the other. A gate in the courtyard exits into the garden. Brilliant situation and makes life with dogs so much easier (and more comfortable for them!)

The dog door I have now that exits outside is wonderful. I cannot remember the name but it was manufactured in Florida (so it cost me a fortune here in the U.K.!) It is heavy plexiglass and it opens down the middle, the middle has weatherproofing so it's not drafty. It stays shut even in gail force winds. There is a lock that I can use to lock the doors if I want - but in addition there is a steel plate that slots into the frame and can then be bolted into place (screwed) from the inside if I was going to be away on vacation or something. It would be easier for burgulars to remove the entire door than to get into the doggy door with the steel cover in place.

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My girls love their little doggy door, it means they can come and go as they please so I don't need to worry about toileting, they take themselves. :thumbsup: We have a home made one and it works great, it has a second door that slides down on the inside if they need to be locked in (eg when we are out). If I remember correctly it took Susie a couple of days to get the hang of using it, Roxy was quicker. I don't really worry about anyone getting through it because it is so small, I figure burglers would break a window if they really wanted to get in.

ctdogs.jpg
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Jessica,

Your plan will work - I've done essentially the same thing in two houses. First house the dog door exited into a kennel run. I actually used two fences to surround the run, chain link inside and after a time I put solid wood fencing around it as well. The run had a gate (which I kept padlocked when not home) which exited into my fenced garden.

So you leave them when you are not home right? That is what I really want, so I do not have to worry about them being inside so long. It would be the same set up also, I would put a gate on that opens into my large fenced in yard. But I worry in the winter that it may freeze shut and then they are stuck outside and would probably freeze to death, think I may lock it through the winter. We get snow and ice storms. The ice splashes up on the bottom of the doors.

I'm not worried about burglars because I live in the middle of no where in a small town, they could just go through the open windows or unlocked doors, lol. They could even take my car out of the garage since the keys are in it and I always forget to shut the doors...

Jess, Scooter, Sadie and Dozer

DSCN2419-1.jpg

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I have had a dog door for many years and can't imagine being without one. The door that I have is really HUGE (big enough for a Dogue de Bordeaux---remember Hooch?) and has never been a problem for the smaller dogs and even the cats. Four dogs and two cats have all figured it out very quickly. I live out in the woods with lots of wild critters roaming around and none have ever come through the dog door.

The door that I have has two vinyl flaps, one inside and one outside, with a fairly large air space between the flaps. The two flaps do a good job of keeping bugs out and heat in. Mine is mounted in a door but I have friends with the same model dog door mounted through the wall of their house. With a wall mounted dog door it would be very easy to build a small doggie porch around the outside of the door to protect it from ice and snow. The biggest problem that I have had is that the door flaps will eventually crack after several years use.

George

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Although it would be great in some ways to have a doggie door because I am constantly letting Cricket in and out, I don't think I would get a doggie door because I am worried about critters getting in. I have heard stories of critters getting in the house and even a stray dog entering the doggie door. I know there are the kind that only open with a signal from your dog's collar, but I don't keep collars on my dogs(for safety reasons) unless we are outside the property.

Jessica, I guess a concern with a doggie door and letting your cairns have access the the yard when your not home is the possibility of them escaping the yard by digging out.

Cricket stays out sometimes for hours at a time (her choice) but only when I am home and I check on her frequently.

We've never had our dog door freeze... but our house has a 3" roof overhang all the way around the house- So the dog door is somewhat protected. When I get a chance i'll take some pictures of our setup and post them. Since our dog door opens to a secure dog run, we have patio stones down to combat digging attempts... our dog run also has a 'lid' but it's a tarp to keep rain out...

Tracy, Amos, Walter, Brattwrust & Mettwurst a.k.a The Gremlins

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Jessica,

Your plan will work - I've done essentially the same thing in two houses. First house the dog door exited into a kennel run. I actually used two fences to surround the run, chain link inside and after a time I put solid wood fencing around it as well. The run had a gate (which I kept padlocked when not home) which exited into my fenced garden.

So you leave them when you are not home right? That is what I really want, so I do not have to worry about them being inside so long. It would be the same set up also, I would put a gate on that opens into my large fenced in yard. But I worry in the winter that it may freeze shut and then they are stuck outside and would probably freeze to death, think I may lock it through the winter. We get snow and ice storms. The ice splashes up on the bottom of the doors.

I'm not worried about burglars because I live in the middle of no where in a small town, they could just go through the open windows or unlocked doors, lol. They could even take my car out of the garage since the keys are in it and I always forget to shut the doors...

Yes, I'm happy to leave them alone when I am not a home. In fact, when I first used this sort of set up I had four dogs - two German Shepherds, a Cairn and a Yorkie and it worked really well. At the time I lived in Ridgefield, Connecticut (I'm in the UK now) and we got a fair amount of snow and ice in the Winter. The dog doors never froze shut.

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