# Pet Doors - Good Idea? What brand ?



## kimrocks (Jul 26, 2015)

Have been considering a pet door - Wall type - so that Rex can go outside to do his thing anytime he needs to.

Has member here tried this?

Any concerns?

What brand and size do you recommend for a 75lbs GSD?

Appreciate any insights/photos you can share.

Thanks in advance.








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## CeraDean (Jul 9, 2019)

I can't speak for the correct size door or a in-wall door. (Our baby GSD comes home today, super excited!)

We have a dog door in our storm door. We removed the bottom panel of the storm door and made a cut out in cement board and installed it on the bottom panel spot. We love it. We can easily restrict access and the dogs rarely get completely free access. On cold days the dogs can get back in the house exactly when they need to. Also, if we are hanging out outside, the dogs can get back in the house and get water so we don't have yucky outdoor water bins for them. 

The only downside we've found is messy feet. We are a lot less likely to keep their feet mud free if they chose when to come in and out.

For the storm door, the doggie door had to be very thin so it would be a different model than you would want, more than likely. We used the brand Dog Mate.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Hands down my favorite dog door is the Endura Flap door. It has a higher aspect ratio, which means it is narrower, but taller, and is mounted lower, so it's easy for a dog to walk through. I have the Large, which is 10”x19”. I know that sounds little, but my great big 90lb male could blast through it, no problem. 

Its rated for 50 mph winds, which is very important here in Oklahoma. Every other dog door I’ve had would blow open if it got windy. Not this one. The magnets are very strong, and the average house cat isn’t strong enough to open the door, which is nice if you have cats that you don’t want escaping. It’s kind of loud when it closes, but it’s the trade off for strong magnets. They have door and wall versions. It’s been my favorite dog door ever.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Nope, nope, nope. The problem is usually not the dog, but what the dog might bring in with it, or what might find its way in. Believe me, I've lots of horror stories to tell you!

Dog brings lawn sprinkler in through dog door. Yes, there's a YouTube video out there of this one, if you care to look.
Dog brings in prey: mouse, rat, snake, frog, etc. etc. Prey is not quite dead yet.
Dog gets skunked and comes inside.
Dog gets upset at not being able to exit door 24/7 and pees on floor. If allowed 24/7 access to yard, will go outside in the wee hours and bark at the moon and upset the neighbours.

The worst experience I've ever had with boarding a dog was a spoiled rotten little Yorkie who'd had a pet door at home. It was winter time, so I couldn't leave the guillotine doors in the kennel open for very long. I'd open the door, feed and water the dog, then come back 10 minutes later and close the door.

Fifteen minutes later, I'd come back to find the dog had pooped or peed in his cage. He would also attack the sliding door, and managed to destroy the lift rope, even though most of it was encased in a metal sleeve.

I've met some perfectly charming Yorkies over the years. This was not one of them. He hated the sight of me, and would bark and growl and try to bite my ankles if I got close. It made bathing him for the trip home something of a nightmare. Thank heavens, that was the groomer's job, not mine!


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## CeraDean (Jul 9, 2019)

Sunsilver said:


> Dog brings in prey: mouse, rat, snake, frog, etc. etc. Prey is not quite dead yet.


I'll admit, this has happened to us. We've had voles brought in from the yard. Our dog was very proud...us, not so much. I'd much rather find her conquests out in the yard.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

We've been very pleased with our Security Boss Max Seal Wall Model for our 3 GSD's ranging from 70 pounds to 85 pounds. It has 2 flaps. The flap opening is 12" wide X 24" tall which is the XL Grand.



https://www.securitybosspetdoors.com/MaxSeal-for-Walls-p/sb-maxseal-wm.htm


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Forgot the WORST story I've heard.

Coyote finds its way in through door to a multiple dog household. Owner comes home to find her dogs dead. A coyote can easily jump a 4 foot fence, so a fenced yard is no barrier to them.

Have also heard of other people's pet dogs getting through the door. This is more likely to happen with cats, rather than dogs, but the risk is there. And of course, raccoons, skunks and other wildlife can find their way in, too.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

You have to use common sense with a dog door, as with everything else. 

A sprinkler in your living room? Don’t put a dog out with a sprinkler going. Yes, I’ve come home to a bird that looks like it exploded in my living room. It’s happened once, in over 20 years of having a dog door. Don’t want to keep the neighbors up all night? Then close your dog door when you go to bed. Also, it’s very easy to teach a dog to ask to go out if the dog door is closed. It doesn’t replace actual housebreaking.

I put my original dog door in when my older Dobe couldn’t hold it all day when I was at work. My Italian Greyhounds thought it was a magical portal to the outside world. They would all pile out and sun themselves in the deck. The GSDs, of course, love it. Given the option of a dog door, Scarlet would camp out on the patio all day long. 

Yes, sometimes things would go missing and I’d find it out in the yard. Sage was famous for it. I found my shoes, reading glasses, a pillow, a Kindle, all outside. She never tore anything up, just relocated it. 

I have a very secure dog yard. I control when the door is open or closed. Bad weather is one. I seriously love having a dog door.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)




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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Sunsilver said:


> Forgot the WORST story I've heard.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Pretty sure coyotes (which we have) are not scaling my two 6’ stockade fences to access my dog door to tangle with my GSDs. My particular dog door is too strong for a small dog or cat to open, so that possum I see occasionally strolling across my driveway can’t open it. 

Dog doors are not for everyone, but there’s no reason why, if you want to use one, that you can’t make it work.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

We use this door. Ours has held up well.

Ideal Pet Products Designer Series Ruff-Weather Pet Door with Telescoping Frame, Super Large, 15" x 23.5" Flap Size https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077TJDM2H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WgkMDbB9YWB3X

We have a fenced off dog yard.


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

We have one in wall with double flaps. The dogs only use it for emergencies, which the could easily alert me to as well, so it’s neither a good thing or bad thing at this point. They follow me everywhere, so they only go outside when I take them. Makes it easier to have them use the doggie door than having to have them all in a sit before I open the back door. So it’s handy for that, but I have 4. We are also fully fenced in with 8ft brick walls, and one 6ft brick wall. And we live in Suburbia, so we don’t have the wild animals issue to deal with.


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

We have Larson pet door, which has worked out well. 

What I like about it:
1. It's a Storm Door with a pet door in it, so the "real door" can be closed and locked when we go out.
2. Weatherproof flap - doesn't make your AC or thermostat run
3. Looks stylish (I like the clean white design)







Reason for getting:
Diarrhea.
Got up every few hours all night, for two nights in a row, to open the backdoor for him....couldn't leave backdoor open because it was January. Sometime in the middle of the night, I decided we needed a Pet door!


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

I have a dog door and like everything else, used sensibly it's good. Forgotten about? No good. I open it when I want them to go in and out freely. I have a secured fenced yard. Stockade that in buried into the dirt or touching asphalt. Nothing will get under. It's 6 foot tall and only 2 things got in..a hawk, and a cat. The cat lived which is how I figured out we could give it a go with a kitten lol 

It has not caused any accidents in the house. If the door is closed they still indicate they need to get out. I mean I would not let a pup learning to be housebroken use one freely.. I took my dog in the yard and housebroke him that way. Let him start going in and out on his own at like 4 months. Zero accidents.

The ugly- it is harder to control muddy feet in and out. And I had to buy a firewood box because they kept bringing in the firewood for our fire pit in lol

It's just common sense. I get in the shower? Dog door closed. I am sitting working, chilling out whatever? Nice day? They go on and out.

I recommend them, but I also recommend still monitoring their time of use.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Just gonna leave this here. Coincidentally, it popped up on my FB feed today. :grin2:


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## Hellish (Jul 29, 2017)

Momto2GSDs said:


> We've been very pleased with our Security Boss Max Seal Wall Model for our 3 GSD's ranging from 70 pounds to 85 pounds. It has 2 flaps. The flap opening is 12" wide X 24" tall which is the XL Grand.
> 
> https://www.securitybosspetdoors.com/MaxSeal-for-Walls-p/sb-maxseal-wm.htm


We just had this model mounted in size XL. I am enjoying the size because it allowed for a lower mount to accommodate the 12lb. corgi puppy and the height of it is leaving enough clearance for a dog taller than my shepherd. And I am impressed with how beefy the door is.

Prior to that, we have had Ideal door panels mounted in the sliding glass doors. But since Mr. Shepherd is a maniac and flings himself thru the door I had been worrying about breakage. 

I am smack in the middle of a master planned residential community and every yard has tall brick walls so any wildlife needs to overcome many such yards before getting into mine. The critters that are coming in are limited by the size of the cat who brings it home at 4am.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Since my dogs can hear a leaf rustle 6 blocks away, the likelihood of some small woodland creature making into the yard, much less into the house, is slim to none. 

When I got Russell, I would take him out constantly to go pee, and I would also shove him out the dog door after the big dogs went through. He never had the opportunity to have an accident in the house, and knew outside is where you went. One time, at only 10 weeks old, he jumped up, tried to go out the dog door, got stuck, looked me and we raced for the other door to go outside. He peed and pooped, then scrambled back in the dog door. What a good boy! I’m telling you, that dog door is magical, lol.


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## readaboutdogs (Jul 8, 2001)

I've been tempted to get a dog door over the years, how are they with the geriatric dogs, and is there a problem of mice getting in? The screen door looks nice, but I always wondered how it'd hold up, when the kids were little they were pretty rough on screen doors! Lol!! Our yard is secure, but would lock it off if we weren't there. 
I have just left the door open when we're home, the shepherds loved going in and out! Over the years we had a bird or two fly in, but the hawk someone mentioned was probably a little more "excepting"!! Did you just shoo it out?!!


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Never for us. I will decide when they go out. It might not teach them longer bladder control. If it's large enough to allow a GSD through, it can fit a person......


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Never in a city with crime. People have squeezed through doggie doors that seemed way too small for that and robbed houses. 

We can get coyotes and dangerous snakes. There is no way I would open my home to that possibility. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-07-17/coyote-kills-pet-buena-park-doggie-door


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

For anyone worried about access to the doggie door by other animals, they do have ones that only open if a collar is on the animal you want to use the doggie door. They also have ones that can be locked with a key, with steel/thick metal closures. They obviously run higher than an average doggie door though. I don’t worry about anyone or anything coming through my doggie door, and good luck to the idiot that tries!


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

When I first got my dog door over 20 years ago, I had two Dobermans. People would ask me, “aren’t you afraid someone will come through your dog door?”. I would say, “have you met the Dobes? No one is getting in, not without a battle”. Those were some serious girls.


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

readaboutdogs said:


> I've been tempted to get a dog door over the years, how are they with the geriatric dogs, and is there a problem of mice getting in? The screen door looks nice, but I always wondered how it'd hold up, when the kids were little they were pretty rough on screen doors! Lol!! Our yard is secure, but would lock it off if we weren't there.
> I have just left the door open when we're home, the shepherds loved going in and out! Over the years we had a bird or two fly in, but the hawk someone mentioned was probably a little more "excepting"!! Did you just shoo it out?!!


Mice, yes. Unless you get the flaps that are heavily weighted. 

Lyka can use the doggie door, but ours is a bit smaller than needed for her, and is raised up about 8-9 inches from the concrete patio, so it awkward for her. I don’t allow her to use it, she has to do a weird bend her back and slink to get in and out, and I don’t want any additional stress on her hips and joints. She just waits for me by the actual door so I can let her in and out with me.


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

On top of all the reasons @Sunsilver listed, I don't know about any of y'all's dogs, but mine tends to pee on his front legs/paws and on occasion will step in other dogs' (and other animals') poops. I don't need it trekking those urine soaked paws and poop into my home and especially onto my expensive Chinese & Persian rugs. I also don't want to constantly be cleaning the floors.

Another reason is...I like to keep a somewhat strict (military-like) schedule. Everything happens roughly at the same time everyday. It makes my life much easier to know when he eats, when he poops, when he pees, etc... And it makes his life easier too. If I put in a doggie door, there's no structure to his schedule and he'd go outside anytime...sometimes in the middle of the night. That would bring another problem of him barking at the deer, foxes, raccoons, etc and waking the neighbors in the middle of the night. I don't need that headache.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

My oldest dog ALWAYS barks when she goes outside. She puts her head up in the air, and barks, just to see if any other dogs are within earshot, and will answer her.

It's not something I want her doing in the wee hours of the morning!


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## Massastar (Nov 13, 2020)

Now I am also dealing with this question. We built a new home and, now, we work on our interior design. Of course that I don’t want the cat to scratch new doors and walls, so I don’t know what I am going to do. For the entire house, we chose painted doors which are quite expensive but high-caliber. The only entrance suitable for pets is in the kitchen for the garden entrance. It is easy to open and made with strong glass. Well, I will see how I will manage to take care of all doors in the house.


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