Dog Door or No?

[DogPaddle]

I am moving and starting a new job or two. The new job(s) either put me out of the house for 9 hours and 45 mins in a go or have me gone a few times a day for 3-7 hours depending on circumstance. I have a roommate who likes the dogs and will let them out etc but don't want to rely on him or put him in a position where he HAS to care for my dogs so:

I'm thinking about a dog door. What do people think - security related especially.
- My general neighbourhood is okish but it has pockets of crime generation that are a problem.
- There was a daytime home invasion in my neighbourhood once since I moved here.
- We have never had any thefts or vandalism to our residence ourselves.
- I have home owners insurance but that does nothing for my dogs.
- I can gate the dogs in the kitchen and they can have access to the yard but not get near any rugs.
- Yard will be privacy fenced.
- Roommate is ok with the idea, so long as they are gated in the kitchen.
- The boys will bark at people who come by the yard which is good and bad. Don't want an eviction notice but on the other hand barking is good for keeping burglers uninterested.

In short, I'd love to do it but I'm wondering how many people have heard of dog door breakins.

[Carolk9s]

I have a doggie door for my crew and cannot imagine life without it. I have not heard of any doggie door break ins.
The door I have has a METAL insert for when I leave town or just wish to close it off. I would stay away from any that have only a pressed board insert.
How visible will the doggie door be to the general public? Any way to shield it from view if it can be seen?

[ObedienceGrrl]

I would love to have a doggie door.

But my boys would be obnoxious all day. They are VERY vocal to everyone who walks past the house (but again, they are GSDs.....so I'd expect it).

And, I have cats and the do NOT go outside.

So both of those things just make it difficult to have one.

[Malamum]

We have a dog door and I love it. I don’t think we could function without it.

Going by the size of my dogs I’m sure you can imagine how big our dog door is. :lol: :lol: If one of us forgets our keys we just climb the fence and go through the dog door.

So yes it’s a potential security risk but weighted against the benefit my dogs get from having the door it’s one I’m prepared to take. With that said we do have six foot solid wooden fences and the gates are padlocked. Yes, it’s easy enough for someone to climb the fence but it does involve a bit of effort on their part. Also Indy is quite imposing and has a very deep woooooo that people don’t realise isn’t aggressive so a person would have to be pretty game to enter our yard.

So in all I think the fences and the dogs are enough to deter teenagers looking to do a quick easy break in and if someone is determined to beak into your house they are going to do it anyway dog door or not.

[JackieMaya]

If I lived in the country, I would most definitely have a dog door. But living in the 'burbs, my dogs are too vocal to let them go in and out. Also, it would probably be a little difficult with Maya being on a cable.

[Horsefeathers!]

Dog door... definitely not an option in my 'hood. :o

I personally would be very hesitant to put a dog door anywhere in a residential area. If we're ever off in the boonies, sure, but as long as we have neighbors, no way.

Maybe a happy medium... install the super duper deluxe dog door like Carol mentioned that could be secured pretty well, and it could just stay accessible by the dogs when roomie's home, and he could secure it when he leaves. I don't know how much he's home during the time you'll be working, but it seems theoretically like the dogs would have plenty of freedom and maybe not have to be stuck inside for more than a few hours at a time. I don't think it would be a huge imposition for him to simply leave the barrier off when he's home and put it on when he leaves (assuming it's some easy to attach thing). Assuming your room mate is the reliable type, it might work, and you wouldn't be stuck having to count on him to let the dogs in and out. It's not perfect, but it could just cut down on the time the dogs spend in the house without compromising security.

[courtnek]

if you have the money, there are dog doors that will ONLY open for the dog. there is a radio signal attached to a collar. the dog approaches the door, it opens. once through it, it closes. think of it like a supermarket door, step on the pad, and it opens. however, with these doors, the radio signal is coded to the door, so only the dogs can open it. a padlocked privacy fence is a must. and be careful of people throwing things over the fence if they're mad at the dogs...there's a lot of things to consider....

8)

[DogPaddle]

Sadly I don't have enough money for the radio ones. That would be cool though. I will have to check on the security insert thing. Definately will lock the backyard and as I am building the back half of the fence myself I can ensure some extra privacy. I may have to rebuild the side fence as well as my neighbours to be have a sign in their window saying beware of dog and I wouldn't want a fence war going on between the dogs. Actually, I am excited about renovating the backyard - I am getting 2 square yards of pea gravel to make a dog elimination area in the back yard - which will result in 2 square yards of dirt which I can use to make raised beds and things. (Of course my yard will be a patio smaller than my living room but the boys and I will make do, and take lots of walks.)

[JackieMaya]

[quote name='DivineOblivion19'][color=indigo]I broke in through a doggy door once! :o

I was actually dog sitting a malamute and malamute mix. I went outside to get their water bowls and fill them and when I turned around to go back in the door was locked. :o No big deal, the keys were.... on the table in the house! :o :o So I did the next best thing... go through the dog door! So there I went smashing my fat @ss through the dog door. My boobs are so big they almost got me stuck, but I finally made it. The looks I was getting from the dogs were priceless. :lol:

[/color] :niewiem: :evilbat:[/quote]

Now THAT was a Kodak moment! LOL

[gooeydog]

I'm one of those who doesn't let their dogs out when I'm not home, and several of them not alone outside at all, so I may be a bit biased, but here's my thoughts anyway.

I think the idea of having the door for the room mate to open when he's home and close when he leaves sounds like a pretty good plan, so long as he remembers, and doesn't mind doing so.

I too would be concerned about someone tossing something harmful over the fence (even unintentionally, ex: trying to make friends by giving chicken bones), so IMO, if they're going to be out all day long, I'd feel safer with them in an enclosed area out of reach of objects thrown over the fence, could you fence an area around where the door would be? Or even put up a kennel for them if you don't use the door frequently?

[mouseatthebusstop]

it wouldn't work for me - but my garden is overlooked on all sides

[Kerislc]

I would never go back to not having a doggie door. However, I live in a very low crime area, with a fully fenced and locked back yard. And I have an extra small sized doggie door for my 10 pound dog.

It does make it really convenient when you cannot be home to let the dogs out. I think it keeps Scout from getting too bored. He gets to run around outside a little and he just loves to set on the back porch and wait for birds to fly in the yard.