Dog door options?

[BuddyRoo]

You can skip straight down to the bold for the question, or read the background if you’re so inclined. But any suggestions are much appreciated!!!

Back story: Once upon a time when my lab was on meds for seizures, he started needing to go to urinate more frequently. I ended up purchasing the coolest dog door thing that fit into my sliding glass door. Glass pane on top, dog door on bottom, fit right into the track. Awesome. Also very handy when I locked myself out of the house as I can fit through it.

I have been using the same dog door since I moved in w/ my now husband. Still awesome.

At our new place in VA (a rental) there is not a sliding door into the yard. There are french doors. Hubby informed me that we’ll just have to not have a dog door–and frankly, I thought that would be fine given that I won’t be working so I’ll be home to let the dogs out regularly.

Epic judgment fail. The movers packed up the dog door and last night was our first night without it (I’m still at the old house). It’s literally freezing here (no really, was 30 degrees overnight) so I couldn’t leave the slider open.

I let them out at 9, and went to bed. My old guy woke me up around 11 to go out. He wasn’t screwing around, he just went and did his business and came right back in. About an hour and a half later, he asked to go out again. This went on until around 3am when I went back to bed thinking we should be good.

Got up at 5am (movers here today loading up) and there were 4 piles greeting me in the basement. This is where he goes if he can’t get outside.

I do not think I am going to be able to live w/o a dog door.

So… Anyone have ideas for doggy doors that can somehow fit into french doors? Maybe take one off the hinges? I’ve never seen a full door sized panel like the one I used with a sliding door.

[BEARCAT]

Google is your friend
plugged in "dog door for French doors " and hit the "image " Icon = lots of options!!

[BuddyRoo]

Thanks. I saw the custom kind that go in in lieu of a pane of the window, but these aren’t those kind of french doors. More like two front doors with big glass in the middle. That’s why I was wondering about a whole “replacement” type door maybe. I’m not finding that…but I can’t be the only one whose ever wanted to do something similar.

[Bluey]

I had that problem, went to a sliding door company, they added a sliding door with a dog door in it in front of the french doors, really parlor doors, one is fixed, the other opens.

Ask around, some company that replaces windows and screen doors may have a solution for you.

Big box stores like Lowes or Home Depot may have something you can use.

Guess that you don’t have any other room with a wall to the yard you could add a wall dog door to, like a laundry room?

[BuddyRoo]

Thanks Bluey. To be honest, I’m not 100% sure of the whole layout as I’ve not seen/been in the house yet. All I know for sure is that the basement french doors are the only doors out to the back yard and the front yard is literally 10x10 with no direct access to the back. I’m not sure the owners would be hip to us cutting a hole in the wall for a dog door anyway, but I think the walls downstairs are brick to boot.

I will double check w/ hubby when I can get a hold of him.

[jetsmom]

Do you happen to have a regular door that goes outside? If so, we usually buy storm doors that go on outside of the regular door, and put a doggie door in the bottom of it or buy the storm door that comes with a doggie door already in it. Home Depot/Lowes both sell them. If we move, and someone doesn’t want the storm door, it easily comes off, small screw holes can be filled and touched up.

[BuddyRoo]

Good idea Jetsmom. I know the front door is like that. I think the only doors at ground level to the back yard are the french. But I will check. Worst case, we could maybe modify the fencing and give them access from the front if your suggestion would work.

[jetsmom]

If you didn’t mind it looking a little funny, a contractor can easily add a frame to the center of the french door and you can put the storm door on the frame. It would mean you coudn’t open the other side of the french doors. But it would be easy to fix before you moved, if you wanted to move.

[BuddyRoo]

Yeah, we don’t know how long we’ll be in the DC area before heading overseas. Could be 9 mos, could be a year, for me could be 2 or 3 years if my husband ends up with an unaccompanied post. Don’t know at this point. But I really do NOT want to stay up all night to let dogs out else be cleaning up messes every morning and it’s not fair to the old man to be put in that position either. If he can’t hold it, he can’t hold it. Sucks to get old!

[SonnysMom]

Here are two options for a french door made from 1 pane of glass. The second option looks more realistic

http://www.dogdoorstucson.com/In-glass.html
These people likely are not close enough to you but they still may be able to help you with suggestions.

Or this:
http://www.plexidorglass.net/

[Bluey]

I bought this dog door 9 years ago, took it to the screen door people and they made a door for it and came and put it in:

http://www.halepetdoor.com/products/7-screen-pet-door.html

Mine is not rigid plastic but a very thick flap, that is held down very well with magnets and has a little brush strip all around to keep anything from sneaking around the flap.

In the winter, I put a transparent thick plastic sheet you can buy at Farmtek over the screen door itself, to make it air tight.
Any more, I have been leaving that plastic up all year around.
You know how tentative fixes end up staying forever.

I can leave the house glass door open just enough to let the dog use the pet door on the screen door.
I could also have mounted the door in the glass of the main door, but choose first to go the screen door route, as it was the easiest, if it would work and it did work just fine.

Depending on your weather exposure of that door, you may prefer a dog door in the glass, not the screen door option.

[JanM]

You can take the moving door off the hinges, and the door people can cut and fit a solid wood one, with the right size doggie door installed in it, and then when you move you just remove the solid door, put the other door back and put the locks back into the french door. If your hubby is gone, then you need to get pros to do it, because of the weight of the door, and any handyman service can do it. I knew someone who actually traveled with a solid door for just this reason, because she was in rentals. And because they have to modify the door to fit the hinges and frame, then you need solid wood because it’s the easiest to modify the hinge locations and drill for the locks so they match the existing frame.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=JanM;6630819]
You can take the moving door off the hinges, and the door people can cut and fit a solid wood one, with the right size doggie door installed in it, and then when you move you just remove the solid door, put the other door back and put the locks back into the french door. If your hubby is gone, then you need to get pros to do it, because of the weight of the door, and any handyman service can do it. I knew someone who actually traveled with a solid door for just this reason, because she was in rentals. And because they have to modify the door to fit the hinges and frame, then you need solid wood because it’s the easiest to modify the hinge locations and drill for the locks so they match the existing frame.[/QUOTE]

Good idea!

Home Depot has outside doors with a dog door already in them.
All you have to do is switch doors, then switch back when you quit renting and sell the one with the dog door on Craiglist.:yes:

[BuddyRoo]

You people rock.

My brain is so fried with all of the things related to moving, ending my job of 10 years, dog being all sickly and such, yada yada…I feel almost brain dead. Thank you for the help.

[Chall]

http://www.solopetdoors.com/SoloSliderDoor/SoloSliderHome.htm
http://www.moorepet.com/Solo-Fully-Automatic-Opening-Pet-Door-s/74.htm

They have them for sliding and patio doors but I can’t find a pic.

I use the cat door. Three advantages

1. Very high quality, I opened it up to admire the mechanics of it.
2. It absolutely is draft free, better than the door in which it is installed.
3. No other animal can use the door. Raccoons and other cats learned to use our flap door. This door ended that.

It’s also gentle, I’ve put my hand in there.

[EponaRoan]

Another thumbs up for Hale - I’ve had a through the wall type door for 20+ years and the dogs all love it. They have a variety of products and might be able to give you some suggestions.

http://www.halepetdoor.com/

The only negative is that I’ve had to replace the flaps a few times, but I guess given the number of times dogs have gone in and out something was bound to wear out!

[helenmoore]

Have you checked out the pet doors you get at a pet store? These stores usually have a wide range of doors to choose from. Or, you get a new sliding patio door instead of a French door, and then get a pet door installed in it. We have that at our place, and the dogs love it. We got ours from Champion Window, and I think they are in VA too, so you might want to see what they have.

[rmh_rider]

We had a sliding door and wanted a dog door.

What we did instead of messing with the sliding door is we chose a side of the door and put a dog door in the wall right next to the sliding door. Cut out the wall, put door in it. Easy. Problem solved.

Our dog door now is in a door. We have a 2 flap design we got it from a big box store. The 2 flap design keeps cold/hot air out. Also it helps if the wind is blowing really hard against the door, the dog door still stays shut on one side or the other. And it will not be blown open with the weather.

[Clark0]

Hi everyone today am here to ask something which is that My dad is thinking about getting a dog door for the garage, but we have no idea what the smallest size possible would be. Our current dog is about the size of a husky, but we want to have the option of getting a bigger dog. We are lost as to how big the door has to be for a dog to easily go through.

[jetsmom]

Probably a large or extra large. they usually have the suggested breeds/weights on the outside of the box.