I do not like doggie doors because it allows these babies access to the outside, usually unsupervised, and there are just too many things that can happen outside, unsupervised. Some people even let their babies go outside during the night, when everyone is asleep and pup has to go potty. I do not live in the country....I have owls and hawks and other birds of prey all over the neighborhood....these birds of prey can carry off one of these babies with little or no effort. They have dive bombed me with my dogs within 10 feet of me....There are possums and raccoons and armadillos that dig under fences at night, allowing the babies to go right under the fence and out into the neighborhood. We also have coyotes roaming the neighborhood at night....they can climb effortlessly over a 8 foot cedar privacy fence, snatch your little dog, and go right back over the fence with no problem. We even had a bobcat patroling our neighborhood at night...then it was seen frequently during the day, at the golf course across the street....I never let my dogs out for even a second, unattended. There is just too many things that can happen to them. This is why I do not like doggie doors....

I have to say I agree with you. Although we dont have some of the animals you do, we do have the brids, foxes, possums, and various other dangerous animals. Every neighborhood has something. I see fox cross the street in front of my house all of the time, and I live in the middle of the city, but have alot of wooded area around my house.

I could never leave it open at night people can reach through it and open your door if it's on a door. There are responsible people though who have doggy doors.

I could see having one if it was like going out onto a porch that has a roof and walls to keep other animals out and pup in.

There was one person on here that had actually set it up so that the doggie door opened up into a doggie run in the backyard, that was enclosed so no predator birds from above could take the pup, and the pup had access to the outside for potty without being exposed to the entire backyard and all the problems that lurk there! An I agree with you...if it opens up to a covered, enclosed porch area, I could handle that....but never on the ground, running around the back yard unsupervised!

Thanks for your reply. I know those things can & do happen. We check the fencing all the time. Luckily, we don't have so many other critters that can wonder in the yard. The doggie door that is in the laundry room leading to the outside deck is in the storm door. We can hear if they go out the first door before they even reach the second one. At night the regular house door gets closed & locked. Our little babies do not go out during the night, ever.

What about birds of prey during the day?

There's not enough room in the fenced area in my yard for a bird of prey to swoop down. It's not my whole back yard that's fenced. It's only about a 35 x 50 foot area with trees. My "kids" are safe & someone is normally with them whenever they go out. I'm not looking to stir anything up & was just interested in why Yorkiemom1 had the opinion she had. I really do appreciate everyone's concern for my "kids". :) I know we would be devastated if anything happened to either one of my babies.

Hawks
 

For sure hawks during the day. We have lurking in trees in my backyard too. Never goes outside without me right with her. She is smaller than a rabbit and rabbit is prey.

Hawk picture
 

Not a very good taken thru window, but there he is and they aren't small. Gives me the creeps.

You and me both Brit!! I am overprotective compared to the "normal" dog owner, but not to the extent that most of YT is. No, I'm not careless, I just don't worry about every little thing in the world, otherwise I'd go crazy and I wouldn't be able to leave the house to make a living to support my little man. He kinda needs to eat and go see the vet so someone needs to bring home the bacon. I keep telling Kaji he needs a job, but he doesn't listen. :rolleyes: :p

I am definitely a worry wart when it comes to the kiddos...I really hate leaving them. I really worry about what if something happens to me and my husband :(...even though we have them all set up in our will/estate planning...I still worry bc we just love them SO much and we treat them like our babies...we'd them treated the same way if we weren't here.

For our house, I had custom stickers made and put them all around the house on the windows: Pet Rescue Stickers: Custom Pet Rescue Stickers

You can also order generic stickers from the same company, here: Pet Rescue Stickers | Pet Inside Stickers, Pet Alert Stickers

LOL... him and Kaji def need to go out and get a job. I'm pretty sure 80% of my income goes to Jax anyway :p:p

My friend who has a doggie door, texted me this morning to tell me that he woke up to his dog barking and wining like crazy at 3 am. He rushed out to his kitchen, thinking the dog was hurt and he was surprised to see a coon in his house eating the dogs food. The coon was not scared of the dog at all. He did run away when my friend came in, but he had the nerve to pop his head back through the doggie door to continue eating the food right in front of my friend.

My friend had his pups food and water bowl right inside the doggie door. I never really thought about it attracting other animals until it happened.


Anyways...just thought of this thread when he was telling me about the coon invasion. Thank goodness he was home to scare the coon out because those things can wreak havoc in a house really quick.

Not a fan of leaving them open at night not because just animals but people can stick there hand through them to unlock and open you door and break in.

We occasionally have hawks and other larger birds fly around and even though Callie is to big for them to pick up I still kinda freak out and make sure she is inside. I swear birds seem to be getting bigger and bigger.

There was a time when I didn't really worry at all. Then I joined YT... I obsessed over everything. Then I got involved with vet med and found a better balance (although I am still more protective than average).

I'd love to spend every waking moment with my dog, but I don't believe that is good for either of us. Besides, most of us to have to go to school and/or make a living. The girl needs kibble money and her vet and neurologist do need to be paid. I get a kick out of the philosophy that 8-10 hours a day is too much time to leave a dog. Where is the money coming from then? lol

I pick my worry battles. Freak accidents are just that, freak accidents. We use reasonable precautions to avoid bad things from happening. But the truth is most dogs die from disease processes. Solid veterinary care is most important to catch problems early. Always leash your pups outside if they aren't in an enclosed area. Always go out with your dogs. And let them enjoy life.

Ha! I thought we were the only crazy ones with the camera! When we go away at night for more then an hour or so, Bailee gets put in the gated kitchen and we have the camera set up to watch her. !!

This.

I kind of did the same thing. I went from being TOO lackadaisical, then probably a bit too protective, and now I'm at somewhat of a balance/somewhere in the middle. Although I don't think I was ever protective to the point that some people are.

But then with certain things, I've gotten more... aware. Like I used to let Jackson in the big dog side of the parks and not even bat an eye. But then I started seeing some things happening, that I was not comfortable with, Jackson as he got oler became a bit more defensive with rough big dogs, etc, and I decided that it's not worth the risk anymore. I'm fine with him being around big dogs that I know and trust but the unknown makes me uncomfortable now and I did not used to worry about it.

Then on the flip side, I sometimes am shocked at what I used to allow. My moms dog was kind of a 'farm dog' so she was just always loose on the unfenced property. I actually used to open the door and just let Jackson outside, I let my stepdad convince me that it would be fine. I remember being uncomfortable with it, but I still allowed it for a brief period of time (up until he was maybe 6 months). Oh, and my stepdad also gave Jackson a rib bone once as a pup (cooked). Eeekkk, thank god I researched that afterward. :p

I feel like I've definitely become smarter when it comes to vet care, food choices, AND training (I used to worship Cesar Millan, too :rolleyes:), etc, as well.

The main thing I'm paranoid about is Lola eating something she shouldn't. She's like a vacuum cleaner, she'll pick up anything and everything. IMO this is justified.

I'm working on training her, but I have no idea how to really stop the behavior.

I also worry a good bit about big dogs, dog food recalls, and getting hurt while jumping.

I live in a heavily wooded area, this is what I choose because I LOVE my country area, I would NEVER fence in my yard and not be able to see the beautiful woods. When I moved here I had 2 yorkies, both over 10 lbs, 2 weeks after moving here I had an attractive dog run built,(white lattice attached to 4x4 post) 24 x 8 ft wide. I have a good size yard, by the next summer I felt so bad that my babies did not have the freedom to run loose, I purchased rabbit fencing, 28 inches high, it's just about invisible, this kept my dogs inside the yard, and allowed me to be able to still have my wooded area. Maybe DH would agree to that type of fencing.

I carry in my purse at all times a letter size note that reads.
"in case I am in an accident and am hospitalized, injured or killed, please contact (give name & phone #) to go to my house and get my dog." I have 2 friends name on this letter in case one cannot be reached the other can, these ppl have keys to my house in case anything happens to me, I know my baby will be taken care of. Maybe you should carry this kind of note, car accidents happen, and it would put your mind at ease. Just "food for thought"

I have ALWAYS been OVER PROTECTIVE when it comes to my babies,... I just adopted a 2 y/o male yorkie, 10 lbs. not a wee lil bit.. I am still getting to know him. I have a low fenced in yard, when I take him out I always go with him. Hawks and other predator birds cannot swoop down on him,,,1-he's 10 lbs. 2-it's a heavily wooded area, no room for "swooping" but we do have coyotes bobcats, raccoons, possums, fox and in the spring, summer & fall black bears and SKUNKS (eek) I have installed LTD flood lights in 4 diff. areas of the yard for night time. Day time I would never leave him out unattended, I THINK he eats things, one time I was leash walking him and I believe he picked something up, by time I PRYED his mouth open there was nothing I could see. The deer do jump my fence and my concerns are he may eat the poop, as I said I am still getting to know him, so I don't know if he would eat wild animal poop. I have always checked my fence to make sure a critter didn't dig under the fence, still I would not leave him out alone, I could with my girls, they were older when I moved here, and trustful, but they were never left alone outside for more then 5 min. and they didn't like to be outside unless I was with them. My girls I could leave them home and not worry about them, besides I worked at that time, I am now retired, with this lil guy I worry when I have to leave him alone, not that he does anything naughty. I have home security cameras through my wi-fi and I can check on him, he sleeps, but he's use to me being home and he gets upset when I leave him alone, I always rush home, I hate to leave him. In the car he's on a security leash that gets hooked into the seat belt, for short stops he doesn't fall off the seat. I won't let anyone baby sit for him, not even a family member. My babies were always # 1, if they can't come, I don't go. He may not be a 3 or 5 lb boy, but he's very precious to me, his safety is # 1. My friends say I am "over the top" what they think matters not to me, better to be safe then sorry. We all love our lil furbutts, we do what we do to protect them, and ease our minds. All the posts I have read are normal to me lol, these are our kids. To others they may think it's extreme, these are our children, our babies. I do not see OVER PROTECTIVE, I see love, and concern for precious babies.

That's really a good idea especially for people who don't live with anyone else or have a spouse.

Thanks I'll run that by him!

Awwwwww, GOOD idea and don't forget picky eater instructions! Which I have on my fridge! Lol

You said it sister!
 

Yep yep yep

Cameras
 

Oh tell me more! I'd love to keep an on mine too when I leave. I just haven't haven't researched it yet. Where to get them and what kind ? How many do ya all have?

SO SMART. What a great idea!

Overprotective Yorkie Mom too
 

I've had my sweet Watson for just over a year and he is 16 months old. He is small, 4 1/2 pounds and I am overprotective. I love this little guy more than I ever thought I could and I do everything in my power to keep him safe and happy. We have Hawks in our yard too so he never goes outside without me or my husband being close at hand. We put gates on our deck so he couldn't get off and we watch him closely even then. I take him for walks and even worry if his little feet get to worn or hot on the ground or pavement. He has more toys than my children ever had and eats some of the best food. He even has his own Thirty-one bag with his name on it. People think I'm crazy for brushing his teeth and if anyone thinks that I am wacko for giving him such attention then too bad. He brings me more joy than I could ever give him and I am going to do all that I can to keep him safe.