Opinions on Doggy Doors??
 

I am thinking about getting one. I have to wait a few months cause Pixi is still too little but I really want to stop using potty pads and have these girls go outside. I have a big gated yard. The fence needs to be repaired which is another reason I have to wait. I will make sure there is no ways out.
What is your opinion of doggy doors? In other words, do you think it is safe to let little dogs like these outside unattended at times?

This is MY opinion only. For myself I hate doggie doors. I am always outside with mine when ever they are out. I don't believe that dog's should be unattended outside. All it takes is second for something to possibly happen.

I have a 6 foot fence all the way around my yard, no way for them to get out, but I am still out there with them.

Also, IMO, I don't agree that dogs should be left unattended outside or have that free access. There are just too many horror stories.

But what solidified it for me was the neighborhood cats and even raccoons that were coming into my folks' house to eat their cat food. And they live in a busy city! :eek:

Okay, my opinion -

Doggy doors are good for bigger dogs. Not for high dollar small dogs like Yorkies. Why? Predator animals and predator people. Too risky. They are one of the top stolen animals right now and they are constantly being scoped by hawks, owls, and coyotes.

When I lived in the country and had a bigger dog, we had a doggy door and it was awesome. So, doggy doors have their place. I'm not against them in general. Just with certain dogs - especially my Yorkie.

I have to agree I would not let my yorkie out alone but if I had a bigger dog I wouldn't mind

Absolutely agree with everything said so far...but would add that bigger doggie doors will admit bigger intruders. The best doggie doors I have seen...but have not used...are the electronic kind that they wear a collor for. You can set the door to allow them access in one or both directions or not at all, but wild critters and even humans cannot just push them open easily to come inside uninvited.

We have a doggy door- and I love it and so does Peanut!! However when he walks outside his doggy door he is inside a chain linked doggy run. Also DH installed a chain link on the top so it is all enclosed. Peanut loves it, he has enough room to potty and to sun bathe and I don’t have to worry. Granted I still keep an eye when he is sun bathing, but I feel comfortable knowing he is safe- I will say his doggy door is closed at night, and during the day when we are not home. The only time it is open is when we are home. :D

I wouldn't use one for a dog you don't want outside unobserved. A Yorkie is usually at risk outside from predators of all kinds - animal and human. People will take them right out of the yard and so well birds of prey and other large animals. They can find ways to escape the yard, etc., get into all kinds of mischief when you aren't watching.

Also, with most of the non-coded doors that you dog activates with a device on his collar, anything small enough can crawl through that door - field rats, possum, cats, stray dogs, lizards and other critters. I'm too afraid of the uninvited to use one and afraid to have my Yorkie outside whenever he chooses. If I wasn't home and there were a rabid cat out in the back yard, he'd be right out that doggie door!

I've thought about doing something like this. We have an inside-only-outside-supervised cat and I'd like to install a "catio" or enclosed outside area. One day! :)

Oooooh I think you should! Peanut loves his little area, and I don’t have to be out there with him LOL, Before we had it he would make me sit out there with while he sun bathed!! LOL Little Stinker.

My Yorkie is 16 pounds and to big for a bird of pray so it works great for us but with smaller yorkies I would not do it unless you had the doggy door going to a gated kennel like thing with a some kind of top or your dogs may become a hawks dinner. We have lots of windows so I am able to watch her when she is out there but most of the time she just loves laying on the deck in the sun.

:thumbup: this is what I recommend for small dogs

This sounds like an answer, as long as there is a top on it to keep critters from jumping over the fence to get at your dog or flying into it. A person trying to steal you dog could get into the pen if you aren't watching and small vermin might still be able to access your house through the door, depending upon where you live and whether you have many creatures like that nearby. We live in the suburbs with miles of other homes and manicured lawns around so we don't have much besides alley cats and tiny lizards, grass snakes in the way of that kind of thing. That's not a big thing to some but I am extremely fearful of creepy crawlies and little scurrying things so I can't have anything one critter anywhere near might find his way into.

It really works great for us, granted Peanut is beyond spoiled and also has potty pads around the house!! However he can choose where he would like to go- as long as it is one or the other Mommy and Daddy is happy!

The only critter’s we have had come in through the doggy door was a bird, which I 100% blame on Peanut! He should have heard that little rascal come in and went in guard mode!! However I was home from work sick and I was sleeping and he was passed out next to me!! LOL He was rather fun getting out of our house! LOL We also had an alligator lizard and a really long hideous centipede!!!

This is what I wanted for my kitties...the kind that was programmable.

Programmable? Mine is just a regular doggy door that you install on the wall. They didn't have a small so we had to get the medium one, which is just a little taller. I also had to take off both plastic flaps because my little boy is deathly scared of them and WOULD not go through with them on!

I agree with those who say you need to have a very secure enclosure if you use a doggy door. There have been so many attacks on and thefts of small animals in backyards that it is not worth taking the risk. Good strong chain link fence with a chain link cover is all that I would consider. You also have to make sure no one can dig under the fence.

I live outside of town in a wooded area. I think I would be invaded nightly by the forest animals if we had a doggy door. We have stay cats around that would be coming in for a snack when they wanted one as well.

I walk Gracie a couple of times a day and go out back with her when she has to go so she potties outside mostly. We do have potty pads for nighttime and for when the weather is bad or I have to be away for a while. You can train your girls to potty outside without a doggy door if need be.

I totally agree. Maybe doggie doors are good for the large breeds, but I would never let my little ones outside unattended!

I'm in agreement with Texas Vickie! And not just because I'm also in Texas; I ALWAYS go out with Graysee. Even though she has never tried to nibble on any plants, I DO have lantana and hydrangeas, both of which are toxic to dogs. Also, since we lost our big pine tree, in the middle of the yard, to Hurricane Ike, I am concerned that a hawk or eagle could swoop down and make off with her. I realize that is probably a bit irrational, but I take no chances. Also, a doggy door around here would invite squirrels, raccoons, opossums, skunks, whatever, to take a peek inside. Even though our fence is over six feet tall, I just like to monitor Graysee. Plus, she's so used to my accompanying her outside, it unlikely that she would even use a doggy door!

I also wanted to add we have a brand new fence less then probably 6 months old, our fence is not visible by the rd, we don't have woods per say but we don't live in the city either, we don't have coyotes, no plants, nothing she can get into as well as about 10 windows where you can see the whole back yard in one open room. Sorry I'm a little over protective of my doggy door because sometimes I feel judged for having one when I have taken a lot of steps to make sure Callie is safe and some people forget she's around 16 pounds. We have had one for 5 years and nothing has come inside and my parents have had one for a lot longer and outside of there fence they have woods and nothing has ever come in. Also Callie is never left home alone so she doesn't go out there like with no one home. One of the good things about doggy doors is if you do have one if like your house catches on fire or something your dogs could get out. I even have a doggy door on my bedroom door that was put there to try and help Callie with her night time anxiety and she can come in and out to check on me if I'm in there during the day or something. I put a retractable gate on my hallway and close it off at night so she had access to my bedroom, hallway and bathroom if I left my office door open she would have access to my office to. I am badly allergic to masquetos so I can't go outside that much in the summer like for her potty brakes because if I get bit to many times I have to get a steroid shot and antibiotics of course if something was wrong I would go out right away not caring.

I would still be afraid of those raccoons that you have :eek: :)

We moved in October and I actually haven't seen any raccoons just bunnies lots of bunnies.

We also have like one tree and its pretty much the same for our neighbors

Yeah, I understand. I don't have ANY trees ( well a few palms across the way) and we see raccoons daily. But that is just me. I am paranoid. Probably not healthy :p

We have a doggy door and we love it. :)

We have an attached garage and the back door leads right into out dog run. Our dogs think that they need to go out side evey two hours. Before we got the doggy door we would just leave the door open, but it was exhausting and frustraiting dealing with the birds coming in and building nest and crapping Everywhere. It was nasty. So, we had to do something. Before we installed the doggy door I built a gate in the garage like a bifold door to separate their access to the garage but gives us access when needed. It prevents them from doing their business all over our garage floor on those bad weather days.

We plan on putting another on in the door that attaches to the house so that during the summer they have full access to the dog run. My pups are tea pots so there is no threat of birds of pray. They bark like lunatics when they see a racoon, opossum or rabbits so we dont have to worry about that either. We've lived in our home now for 17 yrs and have only had one incident with a racoon who would come to eat our grapes. Grape vine has been gone now for eight years so, no problem their now either.

But for those of you who have wee little pups I would definitely think twice about giving your pups access to a dog run or yard through a doggy door unsupervised. Fortunately we dont have to worry about that.

:eek:!! Haven't you read "Bunnicula"??

;):p

I am all for doggie doors if you have the proper fenced in yard or area for them!

We actually have a cat door in our bedroom which Fiona uses to come in and out of our bedroom....wish We had one for them to go outside with! :D

This is what I do too. My run is covered. Love it!

not to mention what if they brought something dead inside lol.
now if I had a encloser like lovespandp, then I wouldn't mind having one.

[QUOTE=Sami_girl;4189273]I am thinking about getting one. I have to wait a few months cause Pixi is still too little but I really want to stop using potty pads and have these girls go outside. I have a big gated yard. The fence needs to be repaired which is another reason I have to wait. I will make sure there is no ways out.
What is your opinion of doggy doors? In other words, do you think it is safe to let little dogs like these outside unattended at times?[/QUOTE]

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ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, UNQUESTIONABLY NO!!!!
These dogs are a "hot ticket item"....people are willing to try to snatch them from their owners arms, in broad daylight, in crowds of people, in public places....why would anyone let such a hot ticket item be allowed to come and go, unsupervised and left unattended? Would you allow your toddler outside unattended and unsupervised? Small dogs of all breeds, but especially Yorkies, are high dollar quick turn around items....there have been many, many cases of these dogs getting stolen from back yards....
Then there are the predators that can take small dogs...owls, hawks, coyotes, bob cats, snakes....alll these are dangers to your baby....even if you live smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood....and it only takes a second for your baby to be carried off or bitten by a posionous snake. I hate doggie doors and I will not sell my babies to people that have doggie doors.