# Another idea, using 2 doggie doors?



## Shawneeshep (Dec 26, 2004)

My storm/screen door came with a built-in doggie door, which my dog loves. I love it since she can come/go to the fenced in back-
yard to do her business while I'm out on errands, or anytime I'm home as well.

Problem: winter is coming--zone 5, gets very cold, lots of snow.
Stormdoor is NOT heavy, insulated. So.....wanting the convenience of her to go/in out while I'm gone (she's never really had to "hold it") I
came up with the idea of having my great handy-man install another doggie door in my regular, insulated door. That would mean Suzi would go through 2 doors to get out....the gap between the doors is minimal.

Think this would work? Anyone else try this, or am I the only one who gets creative (nutsy?) with possible solutions? Sure, I could leave her in the workshop, where she has one room to herself, and that room has a doggie door to a very large run, but my softy heart doesn't like her being out there when it's cold. (I'd never leave her out there if it was below 32 degrees)

Thanks again!


----------



## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

How big is the gap? Those doors need room to swing. Will they be able to swing, or will the swing of one keep the other one from swinging? Could she possibly get stuck in the middle? 

Is your workshop attached to your house? If so, if you could install a dog door from the workshop into the house. Then Suzi could zip through the workshop going from the house to the outdoor run. 

If you lay down carpet remnants or old towels in between the two dog doors, her feet will be almost dry when she comes back into the house too!


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I have two dog doors in my room, but one is in the door and the other is through the wall. The one through the wall works very nicely. The puppies manage it with no problem. There is not the seasonal door issue. 

I would suggest two things to do about muddy nast. 

First off, no way would I leave home with my dogs having free access to my yard no matter how excellent my fence. Dogs have great success in finding or making weak spots in fences. Furthermore dogs do not NEED a whole yard to play in while you are away. Too much possible issues: digging, eating plants, eating grass, eating tree leavings, finding weak spots, being teased by neighborhood hooligans, etc. I would instead build a small kennel ten by ten or eight by twelve that provides flooring that will not turn into mud and can not be dug out of, such as concrete, or patio blocks. It shoudl be at least six feet and preferrably covered over with fencing and possibly an awning or sun screen depending on the season and location. It needs a gate for the human to walk through and release the dog (into the yard) while they clean up the leavings. Bonusses to this approach is that the outer fence keeps the hooligans away from you dog while the kennel keeps your dog away from the hooligans, the dog may get wet, but he does not get muddy. 

The other thing that I do is I put up an x-pen inside the house surrounding the doggy door. I put a lid on that and use a second "lid" and a couple of pans for the bottom. so the dog gets a 4x4 area inside. When you come home your house and your bed are clean and dry. Your dog is clean, a towel by the door will make him dry. 

Doggy doors are great, but doggies have been known to use the portal to bring in the most disgusting things. I installed baby gates that cut off access to the doggy door at night after one of mine thought the poo-cicle that she found in the yard coud be enjoyed in my bed, Arrrgh!!!! 


Good luck.


----------



## BJDimock (Sep 14, 2008)

On this note, friend, we agree. I have awoken to most unpleasent things that my Sheps have brought in!!! (a rather long dead something, that I could not identify,)


----------



## Shawneeshep (Dec 26, 2004)

thanks to all of you who wrote. My comments--yes, I just thought of the need for the door flap to swing. I have decided to just have a doggie door put in the main door anyway, but came up with a Plan B (if the storm door flap doesn't have room to swing, if Suzi can't navigate through both openings--the space is only maybe 2 inches--and I just this instant got an idea on how I could work with that--I have sheets of rigid foam insulation and could cut a strip the size to fit between the two doors and just stick it in there on the times I'd leave her alone) I will leave the storm door opened up to full extent with that thing on top of door that holds it open, BUT will also have a secure tether line from the outside of the door to the very very adjacent wooden fencing, to keep it from bursts of wind.
Now, I would never leave either doggie door open when I'm home in the winter, it would just be like when I go to church or run my weekly errands. This attached very high fenced, bottom-buttressed wood fence encloses a space of about 30x40 feet; she uses it to eliminate and then sits on the step and surveys her kingdom. There is nothing in it for her to eat, no grass, etc; it is
covered with woodchips.

Someone mentioned having an enclosure for her to run into vs having run of whole house while I'm gone. I have thought of that, it would be a snap, since this door is in my laundry room, which has a door to the kitchen. When she was going through her chewing stage, I did this when wanting to keep her confined to one area for the brief times I was gone.

Re: the suggestion about the workshop dog run--that is a separate building a distance from house. My issue with that is it's a real chore to keep the walk cleared enough to get out there, it drifts over pretty high in a couple spots, and my rotator cuffs are shot anyway! That building is NOT a hardship for her; her room in it is insulated, and I have comfy rugs, bedding, etc for her as well as toys; that room as noted has a doggie door to a cement floored
kennel-fencing area 50x12'. I just didn't use it when it got so cold, though people told me she could handle it, since the temp in the actual room stays above freezing.

So far, she hasn't dragged anything in, the squirrels pester her and then just run to a different tree, but then I only have her use this door during daytime; it gets closed once it's dark.

Anyway, thanks! Then, researching the various doggie doors--another whole subject. Pet catalogs only carry about 3 or 4 different ones, but I've found websites with a huge array........

Any one have comments re: brands of doors, how they hold up, etc?


----------



## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

I have used PetSafe *insulated* doors and have been pleased with them. One of mine is about 10 years old, exposed to rather severe weather and still in great shape. I think the uninsulated doors (although cheaper) are garbage. And I don't like the panel on the larger (GSD-sized, which I think is the XL) door. The smaller ones have thick plastic doors with two locking buttons. The larger one has a thinner metal door with just one locking button. 

But overall, I think it's a good door, and I like it a lot. Dh rigged a better locking mechanism anyhow, and we lock the doors when we don't want the dogs going in and out a lot. (I like dogs that know how to "hold it," so they're truly 100% housebroken.)

And I've never had my dogs drag anything into the house either. I think they know I'd kill them! One night, a neighbor's great dane pup who must have jumped over my fence followed my dogs in and showed up in our living room. That was pretty entertaining. But the insulated panels are pretty heavy and smaller critters don't seem to be able to push through them. And raccoons and other large critters seem to have no interest in coming in the house. I dunno, probably the idea of hanging out with three crazy dogs just doesn't appeal to them.


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I have heard of dead things. I also heard that a fawn followed the dog through the dog door somewhere. 

My first litter worked together to get a huge branch that fell in a storm outside through the doggy door and into the whelping room. The pups were under fourteen weeks old and they got this small tree in there. I was really impressed. 

If you were going to leave your dog in an area that was cold but above freezing, having a dog house in the enclosure inside or outside, would protect the dog by using his own body heat to keep him warm. 

And as for the laundry room. I wound't shut the door to the room, but rather put up a good, tall baby gate in the doorway. Sometimes dogs are freaked out by being enclosed in a room away from the rest of the house. 

good luck.


----------

