Giant Breed Dog Door

[Arcadien]

Over the last couple months I’m working most daylight hours, and my giant dogs aren’t getting walked as much as usual. They have a 3/4 acre yard attached to the house to exercise, but I felt like they were getting a bit cabin feverish. Frequently in the night they were asking to go out (they all know to “ring” the sleigh bells on the door handle) just for exercise/ to alleviate boredom.

Getting tired of up & down nights to let them out & in, one night I just left the door ajar. The dogs were soooo happy. I was happy because they were happy. I considered installing a dog door.

Finally it occurs to me, any suitably sized “dog door”, for these giant dogs, would be more than half the size of the regular door left ajar anyway. So…

Yep, for the last month I’ve just propped the door open at night. :eek:

Friends think I’m nuts. But I turn the heat off in all rooms except the bathroom at night, and rooms don’t feel much colder in the morning with the door ajar. And honestly I feel nice and secure with regular nightly “patrols” done by the giant K9 pack, in between which they come snuggle up again in bed.

Yes, I am the most well protected single woman in New Jersey

Had to share as I thought only Cothers would appreciate the zany reasoning behind deciding to leave a door open for the dogs on 20 degree nights

[Houndhill]

I’ve had many different brands of dog doors for my giant breed dogs (Irish Wolfhounds), and find the heating/AC bills are quite a bit less than if you just left the door open. Msome of them claim to be more energy efficient than others, but all seem a better alternative than just leaving the door open.

[StGermain]

This dog door is double-flapped to keep the weather out and is 15" 23". Although your dogs will be taller than 23", you mount it up so they step over the sill and they duck their head through. You’ll find that almost any dog can get through if they want to.

StG

[Houndhill]

Yes, if you get one with flaps, definitely get the double flaps, it really helps. Hale and Security Boss make good ones, in larger sizes if you need them, though as StGermain says, it is surprising what some can get through! However if you have elderly or compromised giant dogs, you might need a larger size than tAndover previously posted, and Hale and Security Boss make them larger.

Tired of periodically replacing plastic flaps on our five dog doors, I finally got the XL Plexidoor which has the rigid saloon- type doors. It is not yet installed, we shall see. Pricey and a little smaller than i prefer, will be worth it if it works.

http://www.plexidors.com/

The Pickwick and Mason doors are rigid, but noisy, and perhaps smaller than ideal for some giants.

[Arcadien]

Thanks for the links! I guess might be a “step up” from just leaving the door ajar Didn’t know they had dog doors this big!

[JanM]

Years ago I looked at a house that had a dog door that filled the entire lower half. My realtor and I looked at the outside first, quickly retreated out of the backyard, and decided we would ring the bell for a while before trying the lock box. The doors generally do have an inside panel to put in the dog door when you and the dogs are gone.

[EponaRoan]

I’ve had a Hale pet door for 20+ years and all the dogs have loved it. Double flaps. Although the flaps do need replacing every 4-5 years or so which is kinda a pita, but understandable based on use.

http://www.halepetdoor.com/

[maybedog]

These guys make a great door. I have had several different brands but this by far has been the best. Fairly easy to install.
http://www.securitybossmanufacturing.com/sb72-wall-model.htm

Scroll down the page to check out the sizes. I have a tall and is more than roomy for my 72 lb Lab/Boxer but still easy enough for the cats to use. They have a Mammoth size also.

[Beverley]

Gee. Where I live (which is urban but still populated by many wild critters) if I left the door ajar, deer or very occasionally a cougar might wander in, and if I had a dog door for my Great Dane…well, the neighborhood coyote might just make himself at home. So I’m condemned to the exercise of opening and closing the door. Years ago I did keep the garage door ajar for cats- a skunk took up residence under the stairs from garage to mud room (he was well behaved but still…) and the occasional fox visited to snack on cat food.

[Houndhill]

[QUOTE=EponaRoan;7334861]
I’ve had a Hale pet door for 20+ years and all the dogs have loved it. Double flaps. Although the flaps do need replacing every 4-5 years or so which is kinda a pita, but understandable based on use.

http://www.halepetdoor.com/[/QUOTE]

I love the Hale doors, but my flaps last only until barely out of warranty, one year, and are very expensive to replace.

[Houndhill]

[QUOTE=maybedog;7335059]
These guys make a great door. I have had several different brands but this by far has been the best. Fairly easy to install.
http://www.securitybossmanufacturing.com/sb72-wall-model.htm

Scroll down the page to check out the sizes. I have a tall and is more than roomy for my 72 lb Lab/Boxer but still easy enough for the cats to use. They have a Mammoth size also.[/QUOTE]

I have two of these, barely outlasted the Hale flaps, but probably good if you have normal dogs.

[Houndhill]

[QUOTE=Beverley;7335284]
Gee. Where I live (which is urban but still populated by many wild critters) if I left the door ajar, deer or very occasionally a cougar might wander in, and if I had a dog door for my Great Dane…well, the neighborhood coyote might just make himself at home. So I’m condemned to the exercise of opening and closing the door. Years ago I did keep the garage door ajar for cats- a skunk took up residence under the stairs from garage to mud room (he was well behaved but still…) and the occasional fox visited to snack on cat food.[/QUOTE]

You can get dog doors that are activated by an electronic device on the dog’s collar, keeping out unwanted guests.

I haven’t had any issues to speak of, once they brought in a squirrel which I was ale to rescue (you haven’t lived til you’ve stripped off your sweatshirt and wrapped it around a chattering squirrel, while five drooling wolfhounds look on). And of course the odd black snake, actually only one I recall.

But, I did have a friend with an English Springer Spaniel, who brought into the family room her water oscillating sprinkler…

[JanM]

For the Hale or Johnson (or whatever brand name they go by this week) I found the outer flap safety release to be a problem when my boy hit it full tilt (apparently a squirrel emergency calls for a full scale doggy door exit). If he hit the outer seal right, it pulled away. So I took my leather hole punch, and punched a hole in the solid part of the outer flap, and then screwed it back in. When he hit it, then it was OK, and the flaps lasted longer, but he didn’t hang up on it, so it was still safe for him.

[EponaRoan]

[QUOTE=Houndhill;7335353]

But, I did have a friend with an English Springer Spaniel, who brought into the family room her water oscillating sprinkler…[/QUOTE]

One of my GSDs tried to bring the hose in when he was a puppy. That’s why the hose reel is still mounted several feet off the ground even after he’s been gone for almost 4 years. :lol::lol::lol:

[Houndhill]

[QUOTE=JanM;7335467]
For the Hale or Johnson (or whatever brand name they go by this week) I found the outer flap safety release to be a problem when my boy hit it full tilt (apparently a squirrel emergency calls for a full scale doggy door exit). If he hit the outer seal right, it pulled away. So I took my leather hole punch, and punched a hole in the solid part of the outer flap, and then screwed it back in. When he hit it, then it was OK, and the flaps lasted longer, but he didn’t hang up on it, so it was still safe for him.[/QUOTE]

That would be the Johnson, I forgot about those! The Hale are much more spendy, and each plastic flap is one piece.

Those Johnson doors had a “perimeter” piece of plastic. Didn’t last long in my house, and did have a wolfhound become entangled before ripping it out.

Your fix sounds very smart! I’ve also drilled holes lower down in the plastic flaps, threaded a plastic zip tie through, and attached it to a staple above the door. I’ve gotten a little more life out of them that way. The plastic always rips away at the top, on the side. My guys tend to flip the doors open with their muzzles at the top instead of using their whole head in the middle or bottom.

[JanM]

Houndhill-my boy was a Mini Schnauzer, and the medium size was a little big for him, so when he launched outside after a squirrel, then he would sometimes pull the flap outside the inner flap. Then when he went outside it would rip the side of the flap off, so the extra holes made the inner flap a little higher, and the flaps wouldn’t get tangled up.