[Dailydrool] Pet doors

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

A couple years ago we installed a pet door in the wall of our back  
entry. I looked at all the pet doors at Home Depot, Lowes, and  
PetSmart, but decided to go with one I found online at Moore Pet  
Supply (www.moorepet-petdoors.com) because it seemed to be the  
sturdiest and had the strongest lock.

It also comes with a metal panel that can be screwed into the dog  
door frame if we're going to be away for long periods of time. I  
found myself in the position of having to get into Friend Jennifer's  
house through her bassets' dog door and was appalled by how easy it  
was to lift the plastic "security" panel that slides down in front of  
the flap. I was able to get through the dog door with no problem,  
even while wearing a dress! Fortunately none of the neighbors saw me  
doing this. But now that I know I can get through a dog door, I know  
it'd be even easier for our friendly neighborhood thugs to send their  
young nephews through, so I like having a door that can really be  
secured.

Our dog door has saloon type doors that the dogs push through,  
instead of a flap that goes up over their heads. They were used to  
the regular flap kind of dog door from Jennifer's house, and it took  
them awhile to get used to the feeling of the saloon doors on the  
sides of their bodies and along their tails as they went through  
them. Two weeks and a lot of treats later, and they were pros at  
going through it.

We had the handyman who installed the door build a faux doghouse to  
go in front of it. That way people walking past in the alley can't  
see that we have an easy access into our house. All they see is a dog  
house up against the back of the house on the deck. The dogs go into  
the doghouse and make an immediate left turn to go through the dog  
door. The doghouse makes it a lot harder for someone to try to kick  
the dog door in. An unexpected bonus is the weather/wind break the  
doghouse provides. I'll be glad to send photos of our set-up to  
anyone who's interested.

Elizabeth