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gale, hellenjeks, krysyna, ruffian

Dog Door
Causing more problems than its worth...
Found [15] Posts :: Page 1 of 1
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Posted: 10:19:57 PM 7/13/2006
i have two lab mixes who are almost two years old. We have a fenced in area in our backyard where they both poop/pee and they have been using this area as their potty area for the past couple months with no problem. We just recently put in a doggie door so that they can go in and out as they please. Both of them go freely through the door all day long and don't seem to have any fear of it or anything like that. One of them has been consistently good about accidents in the house since we got her--she was housebroken in record time and never had an accident again. Now, since the dog door, I've had to clean up poop in the house TWICE! The first time I chalked it up to a fluke, but the second time I am wondering if it has something to do with the dog door. I totally never expected to have this issue with this dog--maybe the other one who has given me housebreaking issues from day one--but not this one! Anyone have any ideas/suggestions--about this or about using doggie doors in general?
Posted: 10:21:51 PM 7/13/2006
Did you use to go out with them before the door? I know that my parent's dog will only potty outside for an audience.
Posted: 10:26:01 PM 7/13/2006
Nope--I just used to open the door and let them out....
Posted: 1:12:37 AM 7/14/2006
Sorry, I've never had a doggie door, but I do have a question. It sounds so silly I'm sure but I honestly don't know. If you have a doggie door for the dogs to go out, what prevents other critters from coming in? Ok, everyone can stop laughing now :) I really don't know!
Posted: 1:23:34 AM 7/14/2006
We have a similar setup without the doggie door where we have a fenced area inside our fenced yard enclosing the back door. Since they will take full advantage of the freedom to go in/out all day (I'm thinking of installing a simple revolving door, lol) they are walking and running in the same area more than they were when their time was limited. It is quite possible, and I've seen it happen, where one of the dogs does the unthinkable and steps in its own poo and tracks the scent inside. This can confuse the dog's sense of where they are supposed to go because now there is a spot in the house that smells appropriate. Make sure you remove all traces of where the "accidents" occur to prevent it from continuing and try to clean up their yard as frequently as you can.

***Edited By: arachyd on 7/14/2006 1:24:26 AM***
Reason: had to
Posted: 7:41:10 PM 7/14/2006
when I was growing up, we put in a small doggie door in the wall for my pomeranian , willie. He was about two years old when we got the door, and while he knew how to run in and out of it, he also started having accidents in the house almost daily.

Now I know most people will say this doesn't work, but I would show him (we didn't scold or yell at him) the accident, and then I'd carry him to his doggie door and say "outside" and coax him through it...four days of this and he got the picture :) Good luck!
Posted: 12:01:45 AM 7/15/2006
Gina, it was not a silly question. I have read & actually seen on AFV a video of several raccoons coming in the doggie door & eating the food. The owner realized he was using a lot of dog food so he set up a camera. It was a real hoot.

There is also the danger of dogs using the door & being stolen from the yard when no one was home. Or getting loose out of the yard. For these reasons many rescues & shelters will not adopt to people with them.

There are newer ones that are only activated by a radio wave from a collar worn by the dog. It will not open if the radio wave doesn't tell it to.

Of course there is always the danger of the collar not working or the door not working & a dog being stuck outside in extreme heat or cold too.
Posted: 12:41:01 AM 7/15/2006
Thanks. I have wondered about that for a while, but just couldn't figure it out. I'm glad it was a legit question :)
Posted: 11:53:57 AM 7/16/2006
Thanks for the replies....my computer was down until this morning! I'm glad to hear my dogs are not the only ones who regressed with a doggie door--it makes sense about the tracking the scent inside. Since I posted, neither of them has had an accident and I've been making sure to reward them if/when they go outside and go potty. thanks!
Posted: 2:31:29 PM 7/17/2006
Gina, i trained my Dobes to not allow any other kind of animal in the house.It started with the barn cats thinking it would be dandy to come in the house,after all the dogs come in and it's nice and cool/warm in there. well the sneaky cats were also on the counters eating the dog food, licking up my french fry oil,etc so i just encouraged the Dobes to chase them out, and now nothing can get into the house via doggie door, and i bet that would go for burglers, too DOBERMANS RULE


at least at my house
Posted: 12:14:31 AM 7/18/2006
Personally I like the doggie door because they can go out when they need too. I have thought about what you said about something coming through it. We have a neighborhood cat I have been worried about getting in our yard. I am so afraid my dogs will kill it. If that cat ever came through that doggie door I would have a heartattack right there. You could close it off at night but then the dogs couldn't get out if they needed too. Guess you just have to hope that all the other critters stay away.
Posted: 6:20:17 AM 7/18/2006
I LOVE our doggie door! We have 6 Dobermans (agree with schoolbus gal Dobermans RULE!). They have about 4 acres fenced in and they love to run in and out. I only contain them when Amish horse and buggies go by in the early morning and late afternoon. I don't want the horse freaked by their barking.
We never had a problem with the barn cats coming in the door, as they never even come in the fence. I think our door is far enough away from the fence that no animal, like a raccon, would try to get in.
Putting it in was the best thing we ever did. I realized after we did that I must have spent every minute at home opening and closing doors for my Dobies! LOL

***Edited By: Hazels_mom on 7/18/2006 6:21:31 AM***
Reason: spelled member name wrong, that is rude!
Posted: 8:52:46 AM 7/18/2006
We put in a doggie door for our dogs at home, although it took a few days for the newest memeber to get used to it, she began to follow the others out. We also have a seperate enclosure in the yard that the doggie door leads too. We have not had any problems with other critters coming in though, YET :) My cats even use it!! Of course, we have pit bulls and a rottweiler, so I dont think anything would try ito come in through it, even though the dogs would probably hold the flap open for them.

My youngest (4) also uses it to go outside, she thinks it's funny and the dogs follow behind her!!
Posted: 9:19:24 AM 7/18/2006
i have heard of other people having backwards slides with doggie doors.
i tried to help a couple who adopted form us a few months back, they are using a doggie door and coming home to a giant mess. they dont want to block the door off and start from the basics, but then again, the dogs arent using the door as it is.
Posted: 10:23:15 AM 7/18/2006
For these reasons many rescues & shelters will not adopt to people with them.


Fabulous. Yet another reason for rescue freaks not to adopt to good homes.

We don't adopt to people who aren't home all day long

We don't adopt to people with young children, old children, thinking of having children.

We don't adopt to people who don't have a fenced in yard.

No wonder people get pets from the Petstores.

Sorry but I think most rescue people become absolutely anal about finding the *perfect* home. There isn't ONE! This is reality.....I wonder why so many animals wither away in shelters..

Sorry to hijack the thread. ;-) that statement just got my goat.

Slinking off now....
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Found [15] Posts :: Page 1 of 1
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