Dog Doors

[Umadman219]

Has anyone out there had a pet door installed in your wall? How did it work out for you? We are thinking about buying one and having it installed, but we have no idea what brands to look for. I can find pet doors anywhere from $100 to $500 dollars, so why is there such a variety in price? Any reccomendations would be greatly appreciated.

[selzer]

I have two. I think Carleton makes a good one. While you did not ask, I am going to give you some warnings about them.

I have two. One goes through the back door, and one goes through the wall. Both have a solid kennel with a concrete base on the outside. It is very nice and I have a bucket of water out there for the dogs. On the inside, I have used eyelit self tapping screws in the wall and connected a 4x4' x-pen with a lid 36 inches high to the inside of the wall/door.

If you do not do this, your dog will find the muddiest puddle to slide in, roll on a few dead things, and then eat some dear guts that hunters left behind, and then come in, vomit the deer guts on the floor and camp out for the rest of the afternoon on your sofa or bed. Not only does your bedding, sofa, and dog need to be washed, but the floors and walls where he spritzed all over the place. NOT PRETTY.

One time, I had three pups, Cujo, Babs, and Jenna, not eighteen weeks old -- Cujo went home at eighteen weeks I think -- bring a tree limb all the way in through the doggy door. The thing was almost the length of the room!!!! At least eight feet long. And the three of them managed to pull it in through the doggy door.

Other people told me to be happy it was not the hind leg of a deer.

So, just a warning, keep some type of limits for the dog in and outside.

[gsdmom2one]

We have one in our door and we love it. While it is shut while we are not here it is open all the time when we are home. The door goes out to the fenced yard and agian we love (the dogs do too) it! I wouldn't have one that just let the pups run where ever but out in a fenced yard it's great.

[gt6mk31]

I have one and love it too. Mine is in the "wooden with windows storm door" and I have to leave the inside door open. I'm in northern Iowa, so a colder climate than yours, and it doesn't make difference unless it's way below zero.

We just replaced it and I accidentally brought home one that was for walls only. I really liked the looks of it and the double flap system. Since it sounds like you have a choice, I would go with the wall kind.

You might check Menards. The one I accidentally bought - and it was an extra large -- was marked down on clearance to $75. Not sure of the brand -- I think it was Pet Safe, but it was plastic not aluminum.

Like

this

this

or this.

Mine opens into our fenced backyard. The dogs have access in and out 24/7 and we have never had any kind of problem. I love love love it.

[boeselager]

I had 1 put in my spare room (through the wall) for the puppy room. I Love it, and it has worked out great!!! I just went down to Home Depot and picked it up. It was pricey, but well worth it!!!!

[Umadman219]

We're definitely going to get one, but it sounds like you all have been pretty happy with the cheaper variety of the doors. I was reading some stuff about flaps wearing out and better protection from the weather on a $400 door, but in reality they all sound the same.

[Cassidy's Mom]

We have a metal Petsafe one that I think we bought at Home Depot. It's got the plastic flap, which do wear out (and can be chewed!), but you can buy replacement flaps online. It's worked well for us, and since it's in the garage we don't care what it looks like. We're on our second plastic flap, which is a little ratty around the edges and dirty from years of dog noses, but it works just fine. Weather protection here isn't an issue since it doesn't get as cold as many other parts of the country and the door is not inside the house anyway.

[JKlatsky]

Originally Posted by selzer

If you do not do this, your dog will find the muddiest puddle to slide in, roll on a few dead things, and then eat some dear guts that hunters left behind, and then come in, vomit the deer guts on the floor and camp out for the rest of the afternoon on your sofa or bed. Not only does your bedding, sofa, and dog need to be washed, but the floors and walls where he spritzed all over the place. NOT PRETTY.

LOL

Yeah, this is pretty much why I don't have a doggy door.

I don't like to let my dogs outside unsupervised. We have a 6ft privacy fence that's pretty secure...but left outside by themselves my dogs will dig, roll in the dirt and get covered in filth. We rent and some of our plant beds have lava rock in them...Can we say puppy's favorite chew toy and bowel impaction waiting to happen??

Florida also has a lot of ridiculous wildlife. I've seen a variety of reptiles and creepy bugs. I watched my puppy try to eat a toad the other day...and if I hadn't been there and he had suceeded I probably would have had a sick puppy. If I did have a dog door, I think having a door to an outdoor run is a better, safer idea.

My dogs are contained when I am not home, and when I am home it's not that hard for me to open the door and let them out...

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by JKlatsky

If I did have a dog door, I think having a door to an outdoor run is a better, safer idea.

That's what we have, I can't even imagine the destruction my dogs would be capable if they were let loose in the rest of the yard when we're not there! We have a 6+ foot solid wood fence around the yard, and the dog run is down the side of the house with a chainlink gate at either end. At the end that doesn't lead into the backyard there's an area where we have our garbage and recycling cans inside the wood gate. The run is about 5 feet wide, concrete with no dirt or plants.