I use one and love it. If your yard is very secure, and you know your dogs can't get out, and your neighbors are not wacky, go for it. Never had a problem with any other animals trying to get in.

 

I have had a dog door/cat door (my dogs are small) for years and never ever had an uninvited guest. I also have cats so that may have helped. Most strays won't jump four foot chainlink fence so no one's ever bothered us plus my dogs would chase away any strays who tried to get in our yard.

I've never heard of a squirrel learning to use a dog door. If you're really concerned, you could get the kind of dog door that works with a signal. The dog wears a collar and it transmits a signal, like a garage door opener, when the dog is close enough and the door opens. No other critters can get in and out except the one wearing the collar. I know you can get multiple collars for multiple animals in one household, too. They're expensive but I've heard they work very well.

I LOVE having a dog door, except when I want to keep them in! If you used the collar one, you just remove the collar and the door will not open

 

I live on 1/2 acre in a rural area near water. I have a doggie door that the dogs have access to during the day when I am gone. I've had this setup for almost a year and have had no unwanted animals in the house. I know during the day, there is at least one animal asleep in the room where the door is, so I imagine that is what keeps the unwanted animals out. My doggie door is on the storm door, so at night, I close the back door blocking access either way.

They do make electronic ones that only open for your pets and they are expensive. Also, you should know that training your dog to use it should be very easy. I had 2 in the house when I got it (they learned how to use it in a couple of hours), and the 2 that have joined since picked it up almost as fast.

 

I miss my doggie doors. I never had a problem with critters except the ones my dogs would bring in. Never had a problem with any of my dogs getting out of the yard. The only time I ever experienced a problem was when my neighbor had a dog who they left in their backyard all the time. My dog wanted to play with him and tried to dig his way under the fence to get to their dog. We solved that with cinder blocks.

My new house does not have a fenced in backyard but when it does, I will have a doggie door again. Since this is a townhouse I will only let the dog door open when I am home. All my meters are back there. (gas, electric, etc.) I wouldn't want the people trying to read those meters to let my dog out or something worse to happen.

 

There is a doggy door tht has a collar that activates it so ONLY the desired animal can go in and out. If I owned my own house I'd have one IN A HEARTBEAT!!!! The collar activated on would be the way I'd havet ogo because my cat is indoor ONLY and would slip ot of a conventional doggy door.

 

Our yard is very secure, but we have a ton of fruit trees which means a ton of wildlife visitors. In addition to the raccoons, possums, squirrels, etc. we also have a lot of neighborhood cats visiting (presumably lured by the wildlife).

I have had a doggie door for several years and have NEVER had one uninvited guest enter my home. I love having a doggie door and so do my dogs. I always know when they go outside too because I can hear the door "flap". So if I'm watching them for any health reason or whatever, I still know when they go out and can follow them out.

Doggie doors are great.

 

I love my doggie door. I live in an urban area, but we do have squirrels, opossums, small rodents, skunks, and stray cats and none of them have ever come in the house.

 

I have 2 dog doors and I love them! It took a little while for a few of my dogs to use it they were afraid of it lol but after a few hundred treats they gladly use it.

I have only once had something other than a dog come in and it was a stray cat looking for food.

 

I have a Solo Automatic Pet Door - I spent a bit more as I have 2 indoor cats that aren't allowed outdoors and flaps just wouldn't do. This is magnet activated and it's brilliant.

I have a husky mix who just loves to go lounge outside, or chew a nylabone outside, and before the door it was in, out, in, out, in, out. I work from home so it was very disruptive. Now she does what she wants and when she wants, and she loves it.

So do I.

 

Thank-You All For Your Responses!!!


Good to hear so many "success" stories.

I'd never really heard of a "critter-problem" with a pet door, but like [HEYKRISTY] Sidney has 2 back-yard friends next door.

Very sweet dogs, and part of our plan may actually be to put a pet door in the gate between our yards too; so the "children" can play together.

Well, my next logical thought was that if we do that we may very well end up with Sid, Reesee, and Sissy all over to our house for a "play-date."

That would be fine with us, but it started me thinking, "Well... who else might decide to drop by for the party??!!??

The more I consider the less I think we'll go with the gate door.
Sid has 2 sisters (cats) and the 3 of them have a very sweet relationship. Im not so certain that will hold if suddenly the "ladies" have to deal with an actual "pack"...

Also very interresting to hear about the "smart-gates"...
Had heard about the doors that only open for their collar "keys" but was thinking they were battery driven. Worried Sid may end up outside in the rain with a dead battery if we weren't careful.

But it sounds like [NAMRAH] has something different with the magnets. Something that would open only for Sid and/or his sisters; but not for a wandering possum may help my wife's peace-of-mind too.

In any event, sounds like it remains the solution for Sid's new schedule I was hoping for!

Thanks again all for your input!!!

 

You know, I was concerned about raccoons and the like, but I do have the indoor cats - one whom is in liver and kidney failure; her getting out would mean her death, most likely. Plus they're both exotics and prime candidates for being "kept" by either some well-meaning family or ... well anyway.

Plus, the cars - they scare me.

In any case, my cats don't like my dog but there is the chance that they will follow her out at some point. It's something to keep in mind.

Now, this is hard-wired into the electricity, you can either plug it in or hard-wire it and I had my handyman hard-wire it (looks nicer). It's *huge* but it's paintable. I had my siding re-done and they flashed the dog door too, which is awesome. It wasn't cheap (I think $750 installed) but it gives Elka a great deal of happiness, me a great deal of peace, and will be in use for a long, long time.

Oh, one thing to note - the magnet got stuck on her crate and came off. I now have it in a USB thumb drive bag hanging from her collar. LOL! What can ya do, eh? It's more secure that way, and I remove it when she goes to daycare.

Oh, and the door has a switch on the front to turn it off. It is also gravity fed downwards (motor up) so that it can't close on the dog and cause injury. At worst, Elka has hung out in the door to end up with the door resting on her back - she didn't like that and it hasn't happened a second time. It did not deter her from using the door - it's a very self-rewarding event. We did start out throwing hot dogs through the door, but she learned it more quickly than anything else. It's great for house-training too, I no longer have to worry about taking too long to get the door.

If I go out, and the house is pristine, she has run of the house and the yard, too. She gets a bit destructive at times though so if I've been untidy, she gets crated. I've been debating putting the crate right inside the house by the dog door, so she can come and go to the yard, but not with the run of the house.

I babble, anyway.. good luck!