Pet doors

[Buford T. Justice]

I am considering putting a pet door in so my pooch who lives outside can get in the garage during the winter months. My personal dilemmas are: Is there such a thing as a quality pet door (one that keeps the heat in and cold out, will I be wrecking my new steel door to accomplish this, etc.

Anyone here have photos of yours? Can you suggest a good one? Are you happy or unhappy if you did this? Looking for any info

 

[toolchaser]

Get one with the magnetic strip that keeps the flap sealed. I think I got mine @ HD. I'm suprised mine's not laying in the backyard the way my dog crashes through it...

 

[JRW]

I bought a Plexidor online. It is double doors with brush seals. They are not cheap, I paid about $300 7 or 8 years ago. I would buy another.

 

[thdewey]

I bought a Plexidor online. It is double doors with brush seals. They are not cheap, I paid about $300 7 or 8 years ago. I would buy another.

WILLIAM H. MACY That's a lot! I didn't pay that much for 2 of my people doors.

I need to put in a kitty door myself and don't really want to go through the steel door. I guess I could put it in the wall though. I will probably figure out a way to make my own.

 

[Keep]

Make your own. Take a look at all the doors online and draw up some plans. They are not that complicated.

I used the store bought doors and got sick of replacing the flaps at $70 a pop. No matter how hard you try to do it, sealing it is going to be a chore. Especially on windy days.

 

[onewaydave]

And there is the occasional unwanted visitor.

Dave, who removed all pet doors and provides dog house and kennel.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

We had a pet door for years, had problems with the dog bringing in live animals it caught, but that door let into the kitchen, not the porch. Also, it faced the south, commonly there would be a gallon or two of water on the floor when a good storm rolled through (it would blow open and let in rain and water, was also a problem with winter winds). We had the flexible plastic style that had magnets in it, it was rather quiet, but you could here the magnets mating up when a cat our dog came through. Don't remember the brand, seem like it was around $150 for the extra large size.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

Thanks for these replies. I'm also worried about the unwanted visitor, including the dirtbag human ones. My dog is an adult German Shepherd who wouldn't care for the unwanted visitor but I'm still thinking "what ifs" here. snow blowing in the pet door is also something I don't want so I really want to come up with something well thought out if I build and something quality if I buy.

 

[zsuperbee]

http://www.petdoors.com/petsafe-electronic-smart-door.html

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Thanks for these replies. I'm also worried about the unwanted visitor, including the dirtbag human ones. My dog is an adult German Shepherd who wouldn't care for the unwanted visitor but I'm still thinking "what ifs" here. snow blowing in the pet door is also something I don't want so I really want to come up with something well thought out if I build and something quality if I buy.

People could fit through our door, our rather large teen boys would crawl through it when they locked themselves out. Im not a real big fan of dog doors, only after having one, which is why we don't anymore, it got to be a PIA.

I manually let the dogs/cats in and out now.... woke up one morning with a live rabbit on my bed the cat caught,....birds, mice, no possums or raccoons, but I was expecting it, my German Shepard is half terrier and loves running down varmits, squirrels, chipmunk, ground dogs, she even tries catching the "killdeers", we got acreage in the country.

 

[HedleyLamar]

Installed a Cat/Dog door from HD. The dog and cat used it along with Eastern Diamondback 5' (1), Pygmy rattler (2). Found the Pygmy rattlers after cleaning out the garage post haste after the visit from the Eastern Diamondback. If you live in the South not a good really a good idea to place one of these doors in a garage or house door/wall. A young girl (16 yo.) died after being bitten by a Diamondback in the family's clothes drier. The snake crawled thru the drier vent tube and was in the dryer. She reached in for the clothes and the Rattler bite her. The family didn't have a land line and her cellphone was broken. Ran to the neighbors 1/4 mile away. By the time she arrived at the hospital she was in bad shape and died. A Pygmy rattler bit me twice on the leg while hunting. Brushed against a Palmetto bush. Drove myself to the hospital with the dead snake. Lets just say its very painful. If you are bitten be sure and take the (dead) snake with you to the hospital. Walked in the Emergency room with the snake in a cooler. From the moment I said snake bite to being anti venomized it was at most 2 minutes. When the emergency room nurses and doctors hear snake bite they move very, very quickly. Would rather face a Crack Addict with a AK47 than this animal.

 

[mustangmccance]

I have a little different situation. I built a small room in my garage where I keep the dogs at night. they have a dog door where they can come and go during the day but I don't want them out at night. they bark at the deer and other critters all night so I installed the door then I put some aluminum rails along the side and bottom then I slide a piece of 3/4 inch plywood into these rails over the plastic cover. this keeps the weather out nicely and keeps the dogs in and the critters out. I can also lock the doors into the kennel so even if they get in through the dog door they can't get into the garage if I lock them. works well so far but the first night I put the rails on my big dog wanted out and he chewed them up a bit. it doesn't look so good now but it still works.

 

[hetkind]

no more pet doors for me...cats would bring all kinds of LIVE critters to play with, in the house.

Howard

 

[GilsGarage]

I have an electronic pet door made my Solo. It's built like a tank and is activated by a magnet installed on the pet's collar.

I installed a large one big enough for a Husky. I also had a cat with the magnet and both used the door. It works great and have never had a problem with strays coming in the door.

A friend saw mine and installed the small version for her 6 cats. It's also worked perfectly for years and eliminated the problem of possums and racoons getting in her garage to eat the cat food.

http://www.solopetdoors.com/home.htm

 

[Gary S]

And there is the occasional unwanted visitor.
.

I can't believe you don't want the local raccoons visiting your garage at night and playing with your tools.

 

[38Chevy454]

I have one that I installed in the wall of the laundry room. That way at least the dogs remove some of the dirt and mud before getting into the house. Emphasis on some. Plus they do carry in the occasional live animal they caught. Overall the benefits outweigh the negatives. The way the dogs fly through it I keep waiting for it to break. Cats use it too, but it is sized for large dogs.

The one I got has two flaps, separated by the 6-inch wall thickness, both sealed by magnetic strips. I live where it is cold and snow, have not noticed any problems with excess leakage or blowng in. For security or to lock the dogs out you can put a flap in, but it really is not going to stop a determined person.

 

[2chipped]

I installed 1 for a customer( forgot the brand ) it had magnetic flaps on each side and a board that could be dropped into a slot to block it off.

 

[Keep]

I must be lucky then, I have had my door for over 11 years, 5 dogs (3 currently), 2 German Shepherds and one GSD mix. They come in and out as they please, though the dog door is closed (with the dogs inside) while we are away from the house, as the female dogs love to bark at everything (imagine that).

No stray animals even though 3 of them have been sprayed by skunks, yeah thats real fun at 3am when the dogs are rolling all over the bed trying to get the smell off. That would be the only incident in all the years. Since then the back yard fence has had all the holes filled so no more skunks in the backyard.

I would not want to go without a dog door after having one for so long.

There are those doors that are activated by the dongle on their collar, pretty neat touch but pricey.

I forgot to mention, our door opens into the basement, so I am not concerned with a little chill down there in the winter, as it can let a fair bit of wind in.

Oh yeah and if it is raining and you forgot to close the door, this may happen

http://www.netquickposse.org/photos/index.php?album=dogs&image=5nov+001.jpg

HAHAHAHA oops

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

I should mention, I have talked down the door, the specific placement, size, and design of our house had put an unusual wind load on the doggy door we had, basically it was not properly placed, but the proper place to put it didn't exist, which is why we got so much weather through ours, I was constantly putting the "steel door" on it because I could see weather coming and then there where the storms in the middle of the night that would flood the kitchen (I slept through them).

 

[trailwart]

my neighbor has labs in an outside kennel. they have access to a cubicle/inside shelter in his garage thru a small door. when he originally put the door in, they had access/free roam to his whole garage and it was an issue. the cubicle he built inside the garage for them is made out of x2 framing and sheeted with osb. it is about 8' wide and comes in from the back wall 4' and is 36" high. the top is hinged so he can get into/open it up to clean it out, he also has padlocks that lock the lid closed. he also has 1 duct from his heat system that feed the cubicle heat for the dogs.
if i didn't explain it good enough, just imagine a shoe box, cut out 1 side and put the cut side against the building wall and secure it, cut hole into building wall for access for dogs into the box.

 

[cowboyjosh]

In Colorado and Arizona only a fool would install a pet door; like the Rattlesnake story, we too in both states have venomous snakes that will enter thru a pet door, as well as Raccoon, Mountain Lion, Cougar, Coyote, Fox, and don't count a Bear out either, especially in Colorado where if a Bear smells a food source and follows it, it will make one hell of an attempt to enter the house, every year there are many of stories on the news about a bear entering a house; recently in Castle Rock, Colorado a bear opened and entered a car in the middle of the night. So for the wildlife reasons we rarely recommend pet doors. Another thing, lots of folks will cut in a pet door on their fire door between the house and the garage, rendering the fire door useless. Just my thoughts.

 

[e-tek]

I was going to, but good ones are EXPENSIVE! That and being big enough for people to get in stopped me. I've had natives in my 2-car garage trying on my shoes.....

 

[lowbucktruck]

In Colorado and Arizona only a fool would install a pet door; like the Rattlesnake story, we too in both states have venomous snakes that will enter thru a pet door, as well as Raccoon, Mountain Lion, Cougar, Coyote, Fox, and don't count a Bear out either, especially in Colorado where if a Bear smells a food source and follows it, it will make one hell of an attempt to enter the house, every year there are many of stories on the news about a bear entering a house; recently in Castle Rock, Colorado a bear opened and entered a car in the middle of the night. So for the wildlife reasons we rarely recommend pet doors. Another thing, lots of folks will cut in a pet door on their fire door between the house and the garage, rendering the fire door useless. Just my thoughts.

Yep, ditto on pet door allowing wildlife access to your home or garage. We have plenty of raccoons in our neighborhood; one of my neighbors actually had a raccoon get into his garage via pet door and try to take off with the entire cat food container. Not a good idea.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

I very much appreciate the input here. Ya, I'm thinking and re-thinking this plan trying to weigh out the benifits vs. critters, idiots and weather getting in. I am a deputy sheriff and could name off about 30 idiots I know wouldn't hesitate to use it to come in and **** on my pillow too if they knew me and pooch were gone. I'm a lock and solid door fanatic so maybe this plan isn't for me. Not sure yet...

 

[xyster101]

Why do you have a dog that is not allowed inside your house? Seems more like a farm animal then a dog.
Build a dog house and put a small heater in it for the winter if you don't want the dog in your house.

 

[HenryAZ]

We have used Moore Pet Doors for a number of years. Ours are in the wall, but they make all styles, of very high quality. We favor the double flaps with magnetic closures. Only a very strong wind blowing directly at the door will cause the flaps to swing in slightly. Since we have an Irish Wolfhound, we use their "Behemoth" size.



Note, the dog in the picture is not the Irish Wolfhound. She's an Ibizan Hound, somewhat smaller than the big guy.

 

[6768rogues]

My son bought a beach house and got locked out. He had his 4 year old son crawl through the dog door and unlock the door from the inside. I would not have one in my house or shop.

 

[kbs2244]

This house had an outside wall into the garage 12 x 12 pet door when we bought it.
We came with a cat, and she kept it for her use only.
(She was a "put the cat out at night" type pet.)
The cat died and "no more pets", so I put paint cans in front of it.

No problems.

 

[gerryw]

Never any problems with my 2 doggie doors( one into garage, then one from garage into house) for 6 yrs, had 2 boxers, no racoons or any other issues, a small adult or child accomplice could fit through, but then i had 2 boxers on the other side lol.

Edit; when you size a door, you measure from chest down to ground, and thats the bottom height of door

Gerry

 

[snowman3]

not sure why we are all replying to 8yo thread, but here goes....

Build a dog house along the outside wall of the garage. The back wall of the DH is your secret doggie door entrance into the garage. It won't stop critters, but the roof + walls will block weather from reaching the doggie door. And only people that have seen the inside of your garage would know there is a doggie door in there.

Essentially, the doggie door gets a doggie patio.

But at that point, you are just one step away from nixing the door and just adding plumbing, lighting, and HVAC to the dog house.