Question:
I have the sliding door type and its great. Security wise, the back of a house is usually wide open for anyone who has a clue of how to break in. The dog door has an insert to close it at night (keep critters out). It’s security is not quite as good as the original door but one could beef it up with a few more screws on the install and a second lock on the door. I would have considered the through the wall but no good place and no way to fix the siding if we take it out.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I ended up finding a few sites that actually had lots of information on doggy doors. After researching a few different types, we are now considering the wall type doggy door as an option also. So now we have 2 types of doors we are considering; patio slider door insert types and the enclosed wall type units. If anyone wants to view some of the information I found, you can go here; http://www.petdoors.com — Tim http://www.kingcountyhomes4sale.com – Seattle Area Homes http://www.golfstockmarket.com – Fantasy Golf Stock Market http://www.tritongolf.com – Premium Golf Balls
Response:
I ended up finding a few sites that actually had lots of information on doggy doors. After researching a few different types, we are now considering the wall type doggy door as an option also. So now we have 2 types of doors we are considering; patio slider door insert types and the enclosed wall type units. If anyone wants to view some of the information I found, you can go here; http://www.petdoors.com — Tim http://www.kingcountyhomes4sale.com – Seattle Area Homes http://www.golfstockmarket.com – Fantasy Golf Stock Market http://www.tritongolf.com – Premium Golf Balls
Response:
I built my own out of wood one time. This was in Sunny, CA so we didn’t have to worry much about weather. As for security, the dog pretty much provides that. Yeah, we wondered if Daisy would just bite anyone who might try to get near our house through the back door. I just have this feeling that some bad guy jumps our fence, comes into the back door, and starts petting her and she rolls over. <g
Our dog might roll over as well, he is smaller and more ‘cute’ than say a german shepherd type dog. But given a choice, a burglar wanting to break-in (thru a back yard) will probably choose a (yard) house without a dog. If the burglar sees a dog it opens the possibility that more dogs are around. I suspect they’d much rather not even deal with dogs if they don’t have to. A dog doesn’t have to bite to be a good protector. Sometimes its presence is enough to deter unwanted visitors. mikey. ps. any burglars out there, just forget you ever read this. Just move along to the next house if you see a dog. Or better yet, march down to the station house right now and turn yourself in! 
Response:
The plus side of having a permanent (cut into the wall) doggy door, is that you can pretty it up and also have the security of the wall still in place. The only burglars then would be midgets.
Put a doghouse on the *outside* of the dog door, and anyone spying will assume that the dog is going into the doghouse, not the real house. My dog door is large enough for a huge human, so this is absolutely necessary. Keep in mind that a dog can carry critters indoors… don’t ask about the possum <g. Get yourself a copy of Dog Fancy magazine at the newsstand… there are ads in the middle for any number of sliding door units, some better and more secure than others. Most of them have websites listed…. don’t necessarily assume that the one available locally is the best one. — Toni http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com
Response:
I built my own out of wood one time. This was in Sunny, CA so we didn’t have to worry much about weather. As for security, the dog pretty much provides that.
Yeah, we wondered if Daisy would just bite anyone who might try to get near our house through the back door. I just have this feeling that some bad guy jumps our fence, comes into the back door, and starts petting her and she rolls over. <g I’ve seen aluminum versions in pet stores that have some sort of latching mechanism, but I’d be curious as to how well they really work.
That is the type we seen and our considering. I will probably do a search on doggy doors after reading this newsgroup to see what types of doors are out there. It might give me an understanding of how they are supposed to be secure while sitting in between the original wall and the slider door. Our next doggy door (we moved) will likely be cut into the wall of the house. No human doors involved.
We thought about this, but we are not sure we want to have a permanent doggy door setup in the ‘dining’ area. If we end up reviewing these style of doggy doors that fit in the slider door area, and find we don’t like the set up, we will probably end up doing just that. The plus side of having a permanent (cut into the wall) doggy door, is that you can pretty it up and also have the security of the wall still in place. The only burglars then would be midgets. — Tim http://www.kingcountyhomes4sale.com – Seattle Area Homes http://www.golfstockmarket.com – Fantasy Golf Stock Market http://www.tritongolf.com – Premium Golf Balls
Response:
I built my own out of wood one time. This was in Sunny, CA so we didn’t have to worry much about weather. As for security, the dog pretty much provides that. I’ve seen aluminum versions in pet stores that have some sort of latching mechanism, but I’d be curious as to how well they really work. Our next doggy door (we moved) will likely be cut into the wall of the house. No human doors involved. mikey. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Anyone have any experience with doggy doors that fit into the slider of a patio door? We are thinking of purchasing one, so thought I would ask here if anyone has used one and if they hold up. Particularly wanted to know if there are any ‘gotchas’ of using them. The one we looked at supposedly goes in between the door edge and the existing slider door. I didn’t go real deep into the how to’s of this type of door yet as we were searching for something else; but we do plan to go back and get a doggy door of some kind. I want to check how it works thoroughly as how will the back slider door be secure from burglary if it is not part of the door in some way. I would think if something like this was only a couple of feet wide, that someone could just kick it down if they really wanted to. I guess we are so used to having a slider locked and no problems develop; and having a slider with this insert seems like it could be easy to get into someone’s house. — Tim http://www.kingcountyhomes4sale.com – Seattle Area Homes http://www.golfstockmarket.com – Fantasy Golf Stock Market http://www.tritongolf.com – Premium Golf Balls
Response:
Anyone have any experience with doggy doors that fit into the slider of a patio door? We are thinking of purchasing one, so thought I would ask here if anyone has used one and if they hold up. Particularly wanted to know if there are any ‘gotchas’ of using them. The one we looked at supposedly goes in between the door edge and the existing slider door. I didn’t go real deep into the how to’s of this type of door yet as we were searching for something else; but we do plan to go back and get a doggy door of some kind. I want to check how it works thoroughly as how will the back slider door be secure from burglary if it is not part of the door in some way. I would think if something like this was only a couple of feet wide, that someone could just kick it down if they really wanted to. I guess we are so used to having a slider locked and no problems develop; and having a slider with this insert seems like it could be easy to get into someone’s house. — Tim http://www.kingcountyhomes4sale.com – Seattle Area Homes http://www.golfstockmarket.com – Fantasy Golf Stock Market http://www.tritongolf.com – Premium Golf Balls