# Would you do a dog door? Or something else?



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Some of you may remember I got divorced a few months ago and my life and the dogs' lives are going through some big changes. 

Thankfully I was able to get a good job, but the hours are long and it's on the other side of Dallas, so I am gone from 6:30am to 5:30pm Monday thru Friday. I had one of the neighborhood kids coming by and letting the boys out in the middle of the day, but he moved out of his parents' house and got a job (he's early 20's) so that's no longer possible. 

Rocky is quite timid, and Kopper is protective of his territory. Add those two together and I can't hire just anyone to come by and walk them or let them out. They literally have to meet someone 8 or 10 times before they're both comfortable enough to let the person into the house. Dog daycare isn't really a possibility. Places around here want $40 or $50 a day, and it's just not in the cards. Not to mention neither one of my dogs likes playing with other dogs. 

I'm thinking of installing a dog door so they can come and go. I'm aware of the downsides: critters can get in, people can get in, Kopper can cause all sorts of mischief in the yard, etc etc etc. . . but he's bored out of his skull and already causes mischief in the house and I worry about Rocky's aging bladder. Obviously Kopper would have to be neutered first, but I have a nice big fenced yard and it sucks that they're confined to the house all day. 

What do you guys think?


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Emoore said:


> Some of you may remember I got divorced a few months ago and my life and the dogs' lives are going through some big changes.
> 
> Thankfully I was able to get a good job, but the hours are long and it's on the other side of Dallas, so I am gone from 6:30am to 5:30pm Monday thru Friday. I had one of the neighborhood kids coming by and letting the boys out in the middle of the day, but he moved out of his parents' house and got a job (he's early 20's) so that's no longer possible.
> 
> ...


Eventually I will be in the same situation. I am looking for a house and my thoughts are the same with the doggy door. But I don't feel completely comfortable with that either. So my brilliant idea is to find an house that has two access points to the yard...usually one is a door and one is a sliding door. I would like to build a VERY secure enclosure connected to the single door part. The enclosure would include something over the top also. I was thinking concrete walls(with small window like openings with screen), no way for anything to get in or out and I can have piece of mind.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

I have a doggie door. Other than some idiot trying to sneak in the door, we've never had a problem with critters coming in. 
I have neighbors who keep an eye on the yard and will call me at work if anything seems weird. Honestly, though, we had the doggie door for years and the neighbor never knew - the dogs were never in the yard. They go outside long enough to pee and then back inside


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## LaneyB (Feb 5, 2012)

I have dog doors, and a fenced yard, but Ruki stays crated in the house while I am at work. Ruki is under 6 mths old, though, so you are probably in a different position. I have gotten to the point where on days when I am home I let him roam between the downstairs and outside while I clean the house. I can see him in the yard while cleaning. 

My two older dogs (one now dead) had a fenced yard and dog doors most of their life, and it worked well for us. We lived in the country, kind of in the middle of nowhere. Never had one get out of the yard, or anything bad happen. 

The only bad thing was a raccoon came into the fenced part of the yard to attack the dogs, and fortunately my teenage son was home and heard them barking. He ran out and fought the raccoon with multiple things - baseball bat, shovel, hammer. It was SUPER aggressive, and it does scare me to think what would have happened if Michael hadn't been home.


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## LaneyB (Feb 5, 2012)

_They go outside long enough to pee and then back inside _

That seems to be what my two did also


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## hoplite6 (Jun 18, 2012)

We have a dog-door off our back patio. I had similar problems with work and letting the dogs out, so I built and extra area separately enclosed from our larger yard to give them a place to come outside, but minimize their potential for mischief. I covered the ground with landscape fabric, cut the railroad ties to length to sit at the base of each fence section, and then filled with pea-gravel. This keeps them mud-free even on heavy rain days. I can close off our back 'dog' room with the French doors from the rest of the house but they can still come and go into this outside space via the patio dog door. That way they they have a covered air-conditioned room with water/food and their beds, but can come outside as necessary. Hope this helps.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

I have had doggie doors for many years. My current dog door leads to a spa room which leads to another dog door with an enclosed in fenced pen inside my larger fenced yard... so someone would have to get over two fences to mess with my dogs and they would have to go over or under two fences to get out. I live in the desert but we knock on wood have never had critters come in. The dog door is up off the ground a little bit so the dogs do have to jump to get in it. We have never had a person use it except for our daughter when she locked herself out of the house.  and like hoplite when I don't want dogs to have full access to the house I can close the french doors and the dogs have outdoors and a inside spa room for shelter.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

When I lived in New Mexico I was gone from 7:30am to 5:30 or 6:30pm so I installed a dog door into the garage and put a bed in the garage for Massie. She HATED it. She spent all of her time in the garage and I doubt she went out at all. 

Then she got pannus and I had to keep her inside and she was much happier just staying in the house until I got home. 

I think if you are worried about Kopper getting into trouble then building an enclosure is the best idea. That would keep everyone safe and you could padlock it from the outside so you wouldn't have to worry about people coming through that and trying to access the house through the dog door.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

Couldn't get a good photo because it is in the shade right now, but this is what I mean by off the ground so critters don't come in. 











and if I shut the french doors and put in the panel to close the dog door they have access to the pen and to the spa room but I can keep them out of the rest of the house when I want.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I currently live next door to an idiot with a dog door and think these things need to be banned!!!!!! There's nothing worse than people that put them in as it gives them an excuse to ignore their dogs even more than they already do. The barking is terrible and every single time me or the dogs go outside, the idiot dogs come racing out and fence fight and yap the entire time we are out there.

Everyone that I know that lives next to someone with these things has the same complaint.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Elaine said:


> I currently live next door to an idiot with a dog door and think these things need to be banned!!!!!! There's nothing worse than people that put them in as it gives them an excuse to ignore their dogs even more than they already do. The barking is terrible and every single time me or the dogs go outside, the idiot dogs come racing out and fence fight and yap the entire time we are out there.
> 
> Everyone that I know that lives next to someone with these things has the same complaint.


Yeah, the neighbor dogs on both sides are 24/7 yard dogs that get ignored. I don't think my neighbors will notice or care if I put in a dog door. . I know you're not talking about me, but I really resent the implication that I'm ignoring my dogs and will ignore them more if I put in a dog door. You know me better than that, Elaine.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Emoore said:


> Yeah, the neighbor dogs on both sides are 24/7 yard dogs that get ignored. I don't think my neighbors will notice or care if I put in a dog door. . I know you're not talking about me, but I really resent the implication that I'm ignoring my dogs and will ignore them more if I put in a dog door. You know me better than that, Elaine.


You know I wasn't talking about you, yet you are resenting the implication?!!! Get a grip.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Just kind of wondering why you felt the need to bring up people ignoring their dogs, since we're talking about me here, and not dog doors in general.

Ah I've missed this forum so much.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Emoore said:


> Just kind of wondering why you felt the need to bring up people ignoring their dogs, since we're talking about me here, and not dog doors in general.
> 
> Ah I've missed this forum so much.


Because that's my experience with these things and everyone that I know has the same experience. 

The potential for disaster and barking is high when you say your neighbors all have outdoor dogs and now your dog might be outside too. There's the possibility of fence fighting and digging under the fence. 

Sorry, but it's not fair to the neighbors that have to listen to the barking and it's not fair to your dog if he gets hurt.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

Can we get back tom the subject of dog door or no dog door and drop the bickering?


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

Elaine said:


> I currently live next door to an idiot with a dog door and think these things need to be banned!!!!!! There's nothing worse than people that put them in as it gives them an excuse to ignore their dogs even more than they already do. The barking is terrible and every single time me or the dogs go outside, the idiot dogs come racing out and fence fight and yap the entire time we are out there.
> 
> Everyone that I know that lives next to someone with these things has the same complaint.


 
I think you are making really broad statements based on limited experience. I have had a dog door for over 20 years in different places I've lived. My dogs are not ignored, they are not allowed to bark all day. I think they are a wonderful tool and if you have a problem with them well that is your problem, not mine.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

Elaine said:


> Because that's my experience with these things and everyone that I know has the same experience.


:rofl: that is your argument?


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

I just got a doggie door for my sliding glass doors. It's temporary and can be eaisily removed daily. 
Lakota has the hang of it no problem, my older dogs both still think they need permission from me to go in/out. 
I am gone for 9.5 hours I feel less stress and pressure knowing that if they really need to go out they have that option. I'm sure after a while the 2 older dogs will take advantage of the doggie door(I hope otherwise I get to clean up after them). They have seemed to get used to staying in for that long period of time. I just worry now that they are older holding it for that long is tuff.
Since almost everyone in this rural neighborhood has dogs in the backyard all day, if there's a barking issue it isn't really a problem unless it's all night long.
PS my dogs are not ignored : )


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Personally I wouldn't do a dog door, mostly because having my dogs alone outside, I would be afraid of something happening while I wasn't there...
I live in the city though so we have an alley that runs along the back of the houses, where people could pass by and etc...


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## Bear L (Feb 9, 2012)

When I bought my house, the house inspector suggested that I get rid of the prior doggie door left by the previous tenant as it was considered a safety issue - people can climb through. My friend, who has a 70lb lab, has a doggie door. She told me to not tell people, because it's too easy to climb through.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I've had a dog door for the last 12 years. I put it in when I was working long hours and just couldn't get home sometimes to let my Dobe out to pee. Now I have the GSDs and couldn't imagine life without this dog door. I never realized how much my dogs like to go outside, when they have the option to come in when ever they want. They are like little kids - in and out, in and out, in and out...

I do admit I have the ideal yard for it. _Very_ secure. Neither one of my next-door neighbors have dogs, so there are no dogs to bark at. And behind me is a field.

I know a lot of people don't let their dogs go outside without them, but that doesn't work for me. Sometimes I throw them outside with some toys, and shut the dog door (like right this minute - my Siamese kitten is having the run of the living room right now, and I don't need GSDs in the mix). It reminds me of when we were kids and our parents would tell us to go outside and play. 

I say, if you want a dog door, and feel like your yard is secure, then go for it.

Here's a photo of my dog yard. There are two 6' stockade fences to go through on each end, and brick houses on both sides. Pretty darn secure.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

When I first got my dog door, I had people telling me that someone could get through my dog door and get in my house. My response? They'll meet the Dobe and her 42 teeth when they get about half way in.


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## jae (Jul 17, 2012)

You can find dog doors that are electronically equipped to open when a matching collar is nearby. Con is, your dog has to wear a collar... I like the idea of have a dog run through a back door, personally have a back garage door next to his room/crate. Easy enough, and actually, it's just chicken wire and really shoddy workmanship on my part. In my defense, he doesn't like to bother himself to get through boundaries, and the rest of the yard does have a proper chain link fence. In the house, an old posterboard keeps him out of rooms that a gate is too small to block off. Am I the only one who has a dog like that?


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## Jack's Dad (Jun 7, 2011)

emoore:

I miss your posts. Hope everything is going o.k. for you.

A dog door to a dog run would be my choice. Or a dog run with a cover.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Jack's Dad said:


> emoore:
> 
> I miss your posts. Hope everything is going o.k. for you.
> 
> A dog door to a dog run would be my choice. Or a dog run with a cover.


Hey, thanks for the kind words. Everything is going well, I'm just incredibly busy with work and my boys. Not much time for internet. :crazy:


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Emoore,

I've had dog doors in every house I've lived in during my adult life. I wouldn't live without one. 

I _love _letting the dogs have the freedom to access my whole house and yard, let themselves out to pee, and enjoy themselves.

I always have a well secured (PADLOCKED GATE!) backyard, and they don't get this freedom until I trust them. They don't fence fight, and my neighbors have told me that they know if they hear the dogs, it means somebody is in the driveway (usually UPS), so they go look--my dogs don't bark at nothing. I actually know my neighbors and talk to them, so I know what they think of my dogs. The dogs do like to spend time on nice mornings lying in the grass watching the birds. (I know because we have a video camera on the backyard and can watch it remotely at work!)

I've never had a critter come in. An human or animal intruder would have to deal with my canine crew, and that's a pretty good deterrent.

I've also often had jobs that required working long hours, and my experience is that this freedom is very good for canine quality of life. They spend _most _of their time in the house, but it's nice to see them on the video wiggling in the grass and enjoying the sunshine on a lovely day. They most assuredly are not ignored, either. 

Good luck!


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I think my biggest worry is that I have a wood-and-wire fence that backs up to a road. It's a dirt road and not many people go down it, but still. A privacy fence would cost tens of thousands of dollars since I have an acre. The only things I have of any value are the guns and those are locked in the gun safe, which is bolted to the floor. Mostly I worry about someone hurting my dogs. 

My back yard really isn't set up for a kennel run because I have a big concrete slab porch right outside the back door.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

Emoore said:


> I think my biggest worry is that I have a wood-and-wire fence that backs up to a road. It's a dirt road and not many people go down it, but still. A privacy fence would cost tens of thousands of dollars since I have an acre. The only things I have of any value are the guns and those are locked in the gun safe, which is bolted to the floor. Mostly I worry about someone hurting my dogs.
> 
> My back yard really isn't set up for a kennel run because I have a big concrete slab porch right outside the back door.


If it is your house and not a rental, you don't have to put a doggie door in a door. We put ours onto the side of the house where we only had to fence in the one side to make a outdoor run for the dogs.


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

jeliya said:


> In my defense, he doesn't like to bother himself to get through boundaries, and the rest of the yard does have a proper chain link fence. In the house, an old posterboard keeps him out of rooms that a gate is too small to block off. Am I the only one who has a dog like that?


NO, our neighbor just recently redid our back fence, all new 7 foot wood fencing. Before that we had planks loose and holes that Zeke could of chewed out of if he really tried, I'm sure. And between the house and the shed we were missing a 5 foot section of fence. So we had a chainlink GATE, just a regular 4 foot tall chainlink gate we bought at a garage sail, leaning against 2 metal posts in the ground, and simply propped up in place resting between the metal posts and the wood fence section/shed. It would of been SO easy for him to jump over it, push through it, knock it down, etc... That dumb dog never once left the back yard or even attempted to escape.

Oh wait, I forget. There was one night my neighbor called me at work because she didn't have my dad's phone number. He had let Zeke out, but forgot that he had left the back gate open. So Zeke had run out the gate... to the front of the house, where he was sitting barking at the front door wanting in! She was afraid to go outside, even though she knows him, just because it was night and he was barking. I had to call my dad, he was in his room on the phone and hadn't heard Zeke barking.

Geesh, that dog wouldn't run away if you TRIED


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

As far as an answer...

We are looking at getting a dog door next summer. Zeke is great in the backyard. He does bark at the neighbor through the fence when the neighbor is working in his backyard, but that is only because he loves him and wants to play. And our neighbor just sits back there and talks to him. Honestly... I think he likes having someone to talk to while he works, because I'll look out the window and see him just sitting on his wood pile talking to Zeke over the fence.

Obviously we have a brand new 7 foot wooden fence. It would take some skill to get over it. And even though Zeke is great when introduced to people, and is a huge attention *****, he is PROTECTIVE, and does bark at strangers coming up to the house. I dare someone to try to make it over that fence or into the house. I think the barking german shepherd alone would be enough to deter them.

As for critters coming in, again the same as above, I don't know if a critter could make it through the yard. However, they do have locking doors that are triggered but a signal from a collar the dog wears, that only unlock to allow that collar-wearing animal in.

We obviously don't have a dog door right now, but we have one of those magnet screens on the back door to keep bugs out, and on really nice summer days where I haven't taken Zeke to work, I've just left the back door open while I was at work. That way he could come and go. Again, I have no fear of someone breaking into my house with him patrolling.

Back when we had Luther, obviously he could NOT be trusted alone in the backyard for extended periods of time, especially with the bad broken fence we use to have. Just because of his aggression issues. But because he had diarrhea and stress colitis so bad all the time, we did consider just building a large covered run along the side of the house, and then just keeping them locked out there during the day. With a house for shelter, obviously. I was going to put a kiddy pool out there, Luther loved playing in water. Toys obviously. Just another option if you're concerned about a doggy door but also concerned about incontinence issues in the house.


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## Zenithtb (Oct 7, 2012)

*Poison*

This is not pro nor anti dog-door. Just a warning that where I live (rural area) we have a problem with people breaking into houses. Some people here commented that their dogs would stop this. In the area where I live, burglars come equipped with a bag of poisoned meat. If the house they want to break into has a dog in the garden, they throw some of the meat over and wander off for a while. Come back and the dog is no longer an issue.

It's happened to a few people around here. They simply drugged one neighbours' guard-dog and stole it as it was a fashionable pedigree dog.

I hope this is taken for what it is meant to be - just a heads-up.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

zenith, here many of the burglars have guns. So they just shoot the dog - no waiting.

However, even in rural areas, a barking dog is a deterrent. But NEVER a dog that barks at anything/everything because those type of dogs are just ignored by the owners and the neighbors. 
Also, it's pretty easy to teach a dog to not touch meat/food that is left on the ground. It's one of the first things I teach a puppy.


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## jae (Jul 17, 2012)

Dainerra said:


> Also, it's pretty easy to teach a dog to not touch meat/food that is left on the ground. It's one of the first things I teach a puppy.


I'd want to say this is nearly impossible for myself. I've only been able to successfully implement this behavior during crate games. He would eat 6 pounds of meat if he had access to it and come begging for more. He has eaten 1.75 pounds of kibble that was behind a cracked closet door, ripped the bag open and I come home and their isn't a kibble in sight, bag is in pieces everywhere. On the flip side, the treats I leave scattered around he doesn't even notice, even the ones next to his water dish  I'm pretty sure he's part hyena...


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## Tim W (Oct 5, 2012)

You might try installing the door up high enough so the little woodland creatures can't reach it.
I put in a dog door for Otto that led into the screened pool enclosure-it was two and a half feet off the ground so it was a small hop for him but the rest of nature couldn't get through. He was 8 at the time and learned to use it after tossing a treat through a couple times.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Dainerra said:


> zenith, here many of the burglars have guns. So they just shoot the dog - no waiting.
> 
> However, even in rural areas, a barking dog is a deterrent. But NEVER a dog that barks at anything/everything because those type of dogs are just ignored by the owners and the neighbors.
> Also, it's pretty easy to teach a dog to not touch meat/food that is left on the ground. It's one of the first things I teach a puppy.


Guns attract a lot of attention, most people don't want to just start popping off rounds at the local dogs to break into the house. Most of the time, a big barking dog will intimidate enough that they'll move on. That said, if they are looking for houses with dog doors to break into, they'll expect encountering a dog. MOST dogs, even GSD's, won't attack, and most of them know that.

Regarding training not to eat meat - it's much easier said than done. My dogs know not to eat things off the ground as well, when I'm there. But I can guarantee you that 99% of the time, if you chuck fresh meat or treats over the fence, your dog will eat it. I would not rely on that for poison training. It's just not practical - they are dogs.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Emoore said:


> Some of you may remember I got divorced a few months ago and my life and the dogs' lives are going through some big changes.
> 
> Thankfully I was able to get a good job, but the hours are long and it's on the other side of Dallas, so I am gone from 6:30am to 5:30pm Monday thru Friday. I had one of the neighborhood kids coming by and letting the boys out in the middle of the day, but he moved out of his parents' house and got a job (he's early 20's) so that's no longer possible.
> 
> ...



First, I want to say I did not read the whole thread, so pardon me if I say something that someone else already said. Will go back and read. 

I think you are thinking like a person rather than a dog. Your dogs may be bored. But they should be fine while you are not home in the house, or kenneled, either way. They will sleep most of the time. I really don't like crates for long periods, but I do like doggy doors that go to a secure kennel -- not a huge yard. 

When you are home, you can open the gate and let the dogs run in the yard. 

Depending on how wet your area is likely to be, it may make sense to put a baby gate up to keep the dog in the mud room or back hallway wherever you put the dog door. Dog doors do NOT need to go through a door. They can go through a wall and work just as well. It just depends what makes the most sense to you. A 10 x15' kennel outside and a 4'x 4' or 4'x8' area inside should be sufficient. So if a baby gate will not work for your dogs, using and x-pen and putting eyelets into the wall and clipping it to the wall will keep the dog who might get muddy or poopy in his safe area until you get home. 

I prefer to use concrete on the bottom of the outside area, because a dog with the time might dig its way out. If it does, you still have your outer gate, and hopefully your dog won't dig out of that too on the same day that you notice the dog digging out of the kennel, but if you just install a dog door, and it starts to dig its way out, then you might not know until your dog is road pizza. Making a small kennel with a concrete base will keep your pups safe. I cover most of mine over with fencing, but a few of my areas are not covered, just 6' tall, and so far I haven't had a climber. 

Pictures are fun:
Uses the back door:









Doesn't use the back door (inside area):









Clean puppies when you get home can sit on the couch when you are home:









When not home, 4'x4' is a little small, but serviceable inside. I think this is a 36" tall x-pen with a lid. Bigger than a crate, and they can go outside and move around:









Their outside area:









And then when I am there, they can enjoy the field:




































Ok, got carried away. I don't like the idea of dogs having the freedom of a large yard while there is no one to supervise because of the possibility of digging, getting filthy, eating poisonous stuff, getting out. etc.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I agree with everything everybody has said. I just really hate the thought of them having to "hold it" for 11 hours a day, five days a week. Plus the times they get sick, I really REALLY hate having to clean it up LOL. 

I haven't made any decisions. I'm still thinking about it. Thanks for everyone's input.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

Actually, training not to eat meat off the ground it's pretty simple. Take a piece of meat, lace with pepper sauce and toss it in the yard while the f dog is inside. The only dog that took more than2 tries was singe but that is because he likes the taste of hot sauce so e had to upgrade to a bit of habenaro pepper. Once or twice a year I retest to make sure they won't take the bait.
And I will add that these have all beendogs that are at least partially raw fed. If one of the family doesn't give it or say"ok" it doesn't get eaten.
Its not a pleasant lesson to learn but bears watching s dog die from poisoned meat or, the favorite when I was growing up, broken glass.


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## KentuckyGSDLover (Nov 17, 2011)

Emoore said:


> I think my biggest worry is that I have a wood-and-wire fence that backs up to a road. It's a dirt road and not many people go down it, but still. A privacy fence would cost tens of thousands of dollars since I have an acre. The only things I have of any value are the guns and those are locked in the gun safe, which is bolted to the floor. Mostly I worry about someone hurting my dogs.
> 
> My back yard really isn't set up for a kennel run because I have a big concrete slab porch right outside the back door.


I'm considering a kennel run on the concrete from my walkout basement door. Just a place to go out and pee, if needed. With the concrete, nothing can dig under, and all I'd need was to add a predator panel and it'd work. If you use welded wire kennel panels you can make it any size you want, and if you attach hardware cloth about 2' up, it will keep out even most of the smaller critters.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Dainerra said:


> Actually, training not to eat meat off the ground it's pretty simple. Take a piece of meat, lace with pepper sauce and toss it in the yard while the f dog is inside. The only dog that took more than2 tries was singe but that is because he likes the taste of hot sauce so e had to upgrade to a bit of habenaro pepper. Once or twice a year I retest to make sure they won't take the bait.
> And I will add that these have all beendogs that are at least partially raw fed. If one of the family doesn't give it or say"ok" it doesn't get eaten.
> Its not a pleasant lesson to learn but bears watching s dog die from poisoned meat or, the favorite when I was growing up, broken glass.


If that's really how you are training, I wouldn't trust that at all with a stranger feeding, or random chunk of meat that appears in the yard that they find next time they are let out. They can smell the pepper sauce in that meat and they'll know it's going to taste foul. They've acquired the good sense to know that you've laced it. Meat that doesn't have a pepper sauce smell is going to be a much harder temptation, and unless you've had friends throw random chunks of meat (I'm guessing you'll say now that you have  but just something to think about) over your fence when you are at work, I wouldn't trust that training at all. Dogs are ANIMALS. They will generally eat what they find that's edible.


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

What if you put a dog door in with a camera you could watch remotely?

I couldn't do one here, we have sliding doors as the only access to the back yard, plus the house just listed today so I don't think potential buyers want me knocking holes through walls. That would be my drawback, if I had to go through a wall, what about when I potentially sold the home. I dealt with a mail slot through a wall at a previous home and it was a PITA. I mean I bought it with a mail slot, but then I closed it in.
I might consider it if there were no neighbors or friends close by. The other issue I would have is a dog door for a Saint Bernard, is just basically a regular door.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

ozzymama said:


> What if you put a dog door in with a camera you could watch remotely?
> 
> *I couldn't do one here, we have sliding doors as the only access to the back yard*, plus the house just listed today so I don't think potential buyers want me knocking holes through walls. That would be my drawback, if I had to go through a wall, what about when I potentially sold the home. I dealt with a mail slot through a wall at a previous home and it was a PITA. I mean I bought it with a mail slot, but then I closed it in.
> I might consider it if there were no neighbors or friends close by. The other issue *I would have is a dog door for a Saint Bernard*, is just basically a regular door.


I got a "temporary" door for the sliding glass door, pops in/out very easily. I got the xlarge and my 120lb male fits thru no problem.
I will say that if I could ever order a new one I would get one with a low rise. I got a high step over and I think the older dogs really would like it better if they didn't have to step over it.
Ideal Pet Patio Pet Door Inserts


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

kiya said:


> I got a "temporary" door for the sliding glass door, pops in/out very easily. I got the xlarge and my 120lb male fits thru no problem.
> I will say that if I could ever order a new one I would get one with a low rise. I got a high step over and I think the older dogs really would like it better if they didn't have to step over it.
> Ideal Pet Patio Pet Door Inserts


Wouldn't low rise = more critters coming in?


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

shepherdmom said:


> Wouldn't low rise = more critters coming in?


If any critters want to try to get...good luck. Actually I think higher would deter small critters. My sunroom also has sliding glass doors into the house so the room is closed off to the rest of the house. There is also a removable piece to close the door. But since it's so easy I just take it out at night.


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

kiya said:


> I got a "temporary" door for the sliding glass door, pops in/out very easily. I got the xlarge and my 120lb male fits thru no problem.
> I will say that if I could ever order a new one I would get one with a low rise. I got a high step over and I think the older dogs really would like it better if they didn't have to step over it.
> Ideal Pet Patio Pet Door Inserts


Interesting, I didn't know such things existed. How well do they seal though? My worry would be in the winter in this house the patio doors unfortunately are in direct line with the thermostat. That was the issue before we replaced these doors this year, there was a draft directly hitting the temperature control and kicking on the furnace when it wasn't necessary.

I don't think I understand the sizing on the page though, according to the page the super large is 15x20", if it's supposed to measure 1-2" above the dog's back, does that mean the top of the doggy door would be at 36" if my dog is 33-34" measured to the top of her back? I wonder how that would work, Oz is 25", Dolly is 9" taller... I wonder if it ever would be an option LOL! One more thing to irritate my realtor with, I need a house to install a Doggy Door in... It actually could be an option as 2 of the ones I'm looking at tomorrow have separate, heated garages which have "man" doors to the backyard.


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## Olivers mama (Oct 13, 2010)

Emoore - do you have a room with a tile floor you could keep them in? Secure, outdoor kennels work well. We're putting 1 in that has gates on both sides that are padlocked. Totally enclosed, including top.

No doggie door.

I'd heard the stories where some insurance companies won't insure certain breeds. When we were looking to adopt Ziva, I called my agent. No problem with GSD. However, he offered that, in my county - they won't cover any damage, theft, etc. if it's due to a dog door. In other words, if someone breaks in by crawling thru the dog door, they won't cover it.

So - no doggie door.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

ozzymama said:


> Interesting, I didn't know such things existed. *How well do they seal though?* My worry would be in the winter in this house the patio doors unfortunately are in direct line with the thermostat. That was the issue before we replaced these doors this year, there was a draft directly hitting the temperature control and kicking on the furnace when it wasn't necessary.
> 
> I don't think I understand the sizing on the page though, according to the page the super large is 15x20", if it's supposed to measure 1-2" above the dog's back, does that mean the top of the doggy door would be at 36" if my dog is 33-34" measured to the top of her back? I wonder how that would work, Oz is 25", Dolly is 9" taller... I wonder if it ever would be an option LOL! One more thing to irritate my realtor with, I need a house to install a Doggy Door in... It actually could be an option as 2 of the ones I'm looking at tomorrow have separate, heated garages which have "man" doors to the backyard.


I had to put more weather stripping than they gave me. There is no heat in my sunroom. So I still will have to figure out what I am going to do once the temps really drop. Since my 2 older dogs haven't been going out thru the dog door while I am at work I guess they will be fine in the house for almost 10 hours anyway and Lakota has a bladder of steel. As far as the sizing I had no choice but to go with the "shorty". Since hubby wasn't on the same page I couldn't ask him for help measuring, it took me a while to finally order. I called and the woman on the phone was helpful.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

If I couldn't find that special person to let them in and out midday, I would probably consider doing a dog door into a secure run for potties. My idea of a secure run would probably look Alcatrazish, because I do not trust my dogs - or 3 year old children - to make good choices. Nor do I expect all other people to be good when it comes to opportunities to be idiots. 

So they would go out the dog door, onto the concrete slab and then - I am not good at building but would imagine there would be a way to anchor a wire kennel to that area. I would then put wooden privacy panels around it, and on top of it, attached. So it would not be visible what was in there, there would be some ventilation, somehow it would need to be gated (locked securely - this is my one area of worry unless the dog door was attached to a physical door - in which case the gate would not be needed and the kennel opening could be flush against the house) so that you could get in and out to clean it. But this is the start of my idea...neuroses can be helpful.

My nightmare is a story I read of dogs coming in through someone's dog door and killing the dogs in the home...awful. Medium sized dogs killing larger dogs, too.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

Actually we've tested it with unlaced meat after the first couple times as well as having the neighbors bring something over when we aren't home. Each time the meat is still laying there hours later


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## jang (May 1, 2011)

Emily..I have nothing to offer as a solution to your quandary ..however..It is really good to hear from you after such a long time and I am so pleased to hear you are ok..I have thought about you often and am very impressed at your strength through a VERY hard time. My thoughts are always with you and you should know you have done yourself proud..Blessings your way..jan


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

My Pup gets put out into the yard every day at 3 for an hour, but sometimes more alone. She doesn't eat anything, doesn't dig, and generally will pee, play a bit, and then lie down near the house. I know it's not EXACTLY a dog door answer, but dogs can be trusted. I didn't trust her when she was a wee pup, but this started when she was over 8 months old and continues on every day till now. 

I do have the ideal yard conditions for a dog though:Tall privacy wood fences; neighbours on all 3 sides don't have dogs and have quiet, peaceful yards; really safe neighbourhood. Puppy isn't a barker, since there is one outdoor dog in the neighbourhood, and he barks ALL the time. So pup is desensitized to barking dogs from far away. When she does bark, something is amiss. 

Hope that helps you feel better about letting your dog go in the yard.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Well, after giving it a lot of thought I don't think I'm going to do the dog door. I just don't feel good about them having free access to the outside world for 11 hours at a stretch. Too much they could get into. 

I really appreciate everyone's insight.


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## crowealethea (Oct 11, 2012)

You should install a pet door! Your dogs will love you for it. My little girl is in and out of the patio door - it's a little game for them! She is happy, and so are we! Call a contractor for an estimate.


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

I haven't read the other responses and this may have been mentioned already,but there are doors out there that come with a tag that your dog wears on their collar so that only they can come and go. That may be an option if you are worried about 'others' coming into your home.


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

emoore, the doggie door alone may not feel right for you, but the doggie door with a chain link 20x20 or so fenced in area will allow your dogs to potty and stretch while keeping them out of trouble and safe from other dogs, wildlife and stupid people. i prefer fences at least 6 foot high, and if you use gravel, lay "left over" fencing "scraps" under the gravel. prevents dogs from digging there way out. i got my scrap chain link fencing from different fence places who were happy to vave me cart there there left over stuff away for them.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

shepherdmom said:


> I have had doggie doors for many years. My current dog door leads to a spa room which leads to another dog door with an enclosed in fenced pen inside my larger fenced yard... so someone would have to get over two fences to mess with my dogs and they would have to go over or under two fences to get out. I live in the desert but we knock on wood have never had critters come in. The dog door is up off the ground a little bit so the dogs do have to jump to get in it. We have never had a person use it except for our daughter when she locked herself out of the house.  and like hoplite when I don't want dogs to have full access to the house I can close the french doors and the dogs have outdoors and a inside spa room for shelter.


This is basically what I was going to suggest ... a dog door leading into a fenced in pen of some type within the main yard.


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