# DOGGIE DOOR Dog suggestions



## Sam375

Hi-
We want to install a good doggie door in a wall. What is a good one to buy and what size do you think for a full grown Hav. I heard they can be drafty, so would like a well insulated one.

Any ideas on training him to use it once installed?


----------



## micki2much

Sam - thanks for this question...we want one too and I will be so interested in these responses!


----------



## iluvhavs

I have had a door for years, but don't put it in the wall. The wall is too thick and I wouldn't want to ruin my house for the sake of a doggie door.

The first dog door I had was in the back door. It was a 9"H x 6" wide door marketed as a "Medium dog" door. Find a door that opens into a fenced part of your yard and use the doggie door that goes in a door.

Now what I use and love is a door panel that goes into the sliding glass door in the living room. It can be taken out and reinstalled with the turn of a button. It is insulated so it doesn't let too much cold air in. And it doesn't mar the house or doors. Here's the link below.
http://www.petdoors.com/thermo_panel_iiie.htm


----------



## Sam375

Hi Everyone-
We have glass french doors, so would Have to put it into the wall. but, still wanted feedback on the types, experiences, of doors everyone has out there...


----------



## iluvhavs

You can get french door dog doors. Check this out:
http://www.thepetdoorstore.com/html/custom/custom_door.htm

This is the company I got the panel door from. I was very happy with quality and price compared to others:
http://www.petdoors.com/pet_doors_for_walls.htm

The "Endura" flap is double thickness so it adds a "thermal" feature to the door itself.


----------



## davetgabby

Sam375 said:


> Hi-
> We want to install a good doggie door in a wall. What is a good one to buy and what size do you think for a full grown Hav. I heard they can be drafty, so would like a well insulated one.
> 
> Any ideas on training him to use it once installed?


That Harry is a doll. I think he needs a doorman. LOL


----------



## arla

*Pet door*

I have Solo automatic pet door installed in the wall of my house. Check out this website. They aren't cheap, but you never have to worry about the dog being able to go outside when you aren't home.
http://www.moorepet-petdoors.com/So...oor-s/83.htm?gclid=CJXIgb3Zk5kCFRENDQod5X6qZg


----------



## tabby2

*Wall mount dog door*

Hi, I've had a wall mounted dog door from Moore pet doors (the Max Seal one) for five years and have never had a bit of trouble with it and my dogs love it. I've had the kind you put in the tracks for sliding glass doors -- those work pretty well, too, but aren't as secure (fairly easy for an intruder to push in). A friend who's handy at these things put the wall mounted one in for me and he was impressed with the quality and ease of installation -- the size for Havs fits right in between the wall studs, which is great. Also, the Moore on-line people were really helpful when I had questions about size/color. Good luck!


----------



## cjsud

We had a small in a side door but Mr Hobbes got a little too chubby and we had to put in a med. I was worried about the raccoons sneaking in after watching an americas home video clip on tv but so far so good.


----------



## sweater32

Thank you everyone!! I thought we couldn't have a doggie door because of our patio doors, which we want to switch out for French doors in the next year and lookie I now have solutions for both!!! TY TY TY Simba and Bailey said TY too!


----------



## Sam375

davetgabby said:


> That Harry is a doll. I think he needs a doorman. LOL


He does have a doorMOM...me, and I am tired of doing it!ound:
Especially with my 1.5 yr old around...

This info is great for the dog door!
We are going to have to measure between studs to see what the max size we can fit will be. We have french doors but they are a solid glass, no grids, so we are looking into possibly a wall doogie door or maybe even a window one because Harry would have access to a low window which he could go in and out of....
Keep the info coming!


----------



## Havtahava

Maybe Poornima will see this thread and comment. She installed a doggy door into the wall, and then put an ex-pen on the other side that had a roof, so the dogs were still fully contained even when they went outside. The roof had the ability to shelter them from the rain when they added a tarp to the sides. This method allowed the dogs to go outside to eliminate, but still be safe.


----------



## MopTop Havanese

We have a two flap dog door from Home Depot that hubby installed in the corner of our dining room- it gives my dogs access to the side of our house, which is fully fenced. He also put a roof over half of it, for shade and protection from the rain. My dogs are very safe when they go back there. They don't have access to my entire backyard. So I know they can't get into anything they shouldnt, and I don't have to worry about gates being left open and them escaping, etc.
I also have the sliding glass dog door insert in my bedroom, out to a smaller fenced dog run. I will say the sliding door one is way more drafty than the one installed in the wall.


----------



## iluvhavs

Wow, I like that Moore automatic door. My problem is, the basement sits under the house and the wood house structure doesn't begin until about 2' off the ground. The lower part is the concrete foundation. I'd have to build a stairway from the dog door to the ground for them to use it. I agree the sliding door panel would be easier for an intruder to push in, but they have to come and go through a 6' fence to get to it. We bolt the slider closed so the opening is only as wide as the panel (about 10").

Our sliding door panel is drafty, also. We keep the curtains closed in front of it during the winter and it does accumulate frost when the temperature drops down in the teens.


----------



## Tom King

We wore out 2 a year until we finally broke down and bought a Plexidor. The ones we liked the best before are sold at Petsmart and have a pretty well sealed, oval shaped door, but they didn't last long with 12 dogs running in and out all day. For one or two dogs they would be a good choice but puppies did like to chew up the wide weatherstripping around the flap. Sorry I don't remember the brand name.

The Plexidor is not cheap but is easily the best made pet door and the weatherstripping has held up fine for a long time. You can lock it with the supplied key.

We have the medium size.
http://www.dogdoors.com/productView.php?id=31

Ours goes through the wall in the dogroom out onto their porch.

This is a picture of the kind we used to use. Notice the weatherstripping is well chewed. The second shot is the outside view. I used some of the synthetic decking material to frame the opening in the wall for the door so there was nothing spllintery to rub against. It's used several hundred times a day.


----------



## Sam375

WOW GETTING SOME GREAT INFO! Keep it comin..


----------



## Poornima

Havtahava said:


> Maybe Poornima will see this thread and comment. She installed a doggy door into the wall, and then put an ex-pen on the other side that had a roof, so the dogs were still fully contained even when they went outside. The roof had the ability to shelter them from the rain when they added a tarp to the sides. This method allowed the dogs to go outside to eliminate, but still be safe.


1) *Wall doggie door*- The first picture-

The white frame in the back wall is the doggie door. It opened into our family room. I think the doggie door size is 8 1/2" to 11 ". We bought it from Petco or PetSmart. We later on extended our deck and the entire ex-pen with the roof sat on the deck. Benji and Lizzie both hate the rain so we covered the sides of the ex-pen with heavy duty shower curtain during the rainy season. We kept the piddle pads in the covered ex-pen and they got to go on dry piddle pads. 

2) *Sliding door insert doggie door*- The last two pictures:

When we moved to Long Island, we installed an insert into our sliding doors of our family room and it works great. This door opens onto our covered patio and we have put the ex-pens all around the covered patio to contain them ( you can see the ex-pen in the pictures at the far end). I put piddle pads and a wooden plank on the covered patio as Benji is very fussy about having a dry floor to do his business. :biggrin1: The silver frame on the right is the insert. I think DH bought it at Petco and we had a handyman insert it. If you have a security alarm on the door, you may have to extend the wire of the sensor, but it is nothing major. They can do it literally in 10 minutes.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Jane

If you have French doors and do not want to cut a hole in your wall, you can order a custom made doggie door that will fit in one of the panes of your French door. Here are links to three vendors:
http://www.moorepet.com/Custom-made-pet-doors-for-French-Doors-s/31.htm
http://www.petdoors.com/custom_dimension.htm
http://www.thepetdoorstore.com/html/custom/custom_door.htm

The only thing is that you may need a ramp or step up to make it comfortable for our short-legged Havs to go in and out of.

Here's a photo of our setup:


----------



## Dawna

This is what we have. Our builder told us he had put in many over the years and all of them he had seen except for the Plexidor, were just pretty flimsy and let in too much air. These are great. Not inexpensive, but great. http://www.dogdoors.com/products.php?cat_id=14


----------



## Miss Paige

I have a wall mounted door-I wanted the door panel but hubby said Nope-so he cut a hole in my wall. The dogs love it but Miss Paige & Ms Frannie still like to have me as their "door man". Rommy uses the dog door even if I have the sliding door open.

They love to stand in the door with half their body outside & the other half inside. 

I got mine at Home Depot-have had it for almost two years. Seems to be holding up okay.

Pat (humom to)
Miss Paige
Mr Roman
Ms Frannie


----------



## Evye's Mom

Dawna said:


> This is what we have. Our builder told us he had put in many over the years and all of them he had seen except for the Plexidor, were just pretty flimsy and let in too much air. These are great. Not inexpensive, but great. http://www.dogdoors.com/products.php?cat_id=14


What size did you get?


----------



## Tom King

That's the door we have now. I ordered the medium simply because it fit in the same sized opening that the other door was in without having to redo the framing. I think it's the right size anyway but a Hav could fit through the small one too. If I had it all to do over with from the start I would still get the medium.


----------



## Dawna

The medium is also what we have. The small was really teeny.


----------



## Evye's Mom

arla said:


> I have Solo automatic pet door installed in the wall of my house. Check out this website. They aren't cheap, but you never have to worry about the dog being able to go outside when you aren't home.
> http://www.moorepet-petdoors.com/So...oor-s/83.htm?gclid=CJXIgb3Zk5kCFRENDQod5X6qZg


I really, really like this door...but I image the dogs have to wear a collar in order to wear the sonic device? That could be a problem. Any other info you can provide.


----------



## Evye's Mom

Tom, I like your door as well. It states it locks...can you describe the locking mechanism?

Ad reads: Plexidor Wall Unit frames up to 12" deep wall: includes *petdoor with lock*, security plate, aluminum exterior frame & tunnel unit, stainless steel screws, caulk, & aluminum jig saw blade.


----------



## arla

The dog has to wear a small magnet that attaches to a collar. My dogs always have a collar on, so this is not a problem for me. I like it because it only goes up for an animal wearing the magnet which keeps out anyone else's pets or random critters that are around.I have mine mounted through a wall and have had no problems in the almost 2 years I have had it.


----------



## Evye's Mom

Thank you. We are seriously considering this one. I don't keep a collar on the dogs but I would consider it a small inconvenience to putting on a collar in the morning and removing it at night, as opposed to trying to trap a feral cat or worse, a raccoon, should they manage their way into the house.


----------



## Sheri

This was such a good thread and I've got great links saved to my favorites now. Have any of you that were considering a wall door put one in? I'd love to see more pictures, and know what ones you used, and how satisfied you are with them.

Thank you to those of you who already posted the links and photos!!! I never would have thought you could put one through the wall.


----------



## Sheri

Well, I'm about to bite the bullet and have a doggy door installed in the wall. I'm planning on using the Plexidor medium wall unit that Tom and Dawna recommended. Are there any more opinions to add to this link by anyone?


----------

