Pet Door

[GinaC]

I've still got my original front and back solid wood doors, but they do need some work. I'd really like to be able to save both of them, but a lot of that decision is waiting on what the foundation guys need to do in order to fix my sloping floors. They both currently have metal storm doors which I want to get rid of.

Anyway, I need a small pet door in the back door. I've looked at this page, https://www.vintagedoors.com/pet_doors.html but this is just for the storm door. I want a pet door in my solid door so my dogs can go in and out as they please.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm going to have my backyard fence built in the next few weeks, so I'll want to have some kind of door put in, even if it's temporary. Also, this pet door needs to withstand Northern Vermont winters.

[phil]

you might consider the electronic pet doors so that other pets and raccoons and such cant' get in. there are a variety of vendors if you check into that.

"The door reads the unique signal of the key on your pet's collar and triggers the flap to unlock. When the door no longer senses your pet's key, the flap automatically locks back into place. The key is programmed to only let your pets use the door, so other pets or stray animals can’t use the pet door."

[GinaC]

Hm, my dogs don't wear collars, so that could be a problem. They are Italian Greyhounds with thin, fragile necks.

[1918ColonialRevival]

I'm not sure that I would alter an original door to accommodate a pet door large enough for greyhounds. Aside from possible damage to the structural integrity of the door, I'd be concerned about the dogs' safety and the security of your home while you were away. A co-worker recently had a dog get injured in an unattended pet door. I don't know all the specifics, but it involved a couple of broken bones that required surgery. Also as Phil pointed out, some types of varmints have been known to use pet doors as a means of entry. Raccoons aren't exactly the friendliest of critters.

[GinaC]

Italian Greyhounds are a toy breed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Greyhound

They've been using a (cat-sized) pet door in South Georgia for over a decade with no issues. I'm just wondering how to manage it in my old house, and whether I can save the original door or not.

[phil]

Maybe it could be a skinny door with a high step over. Sounds like the dogs are skinnier than most raccoons. Rats may not want to go into a dog's house. I'd just switch doors, shame to wreck a historic one for that. Hoping they live a long time of course but also many dogs don't have exceptionally long lifetimes.
I use a deadbolt which you can't open from inside without the key, but also you can't get out without the key. I make sure its unlocked when anyone is home because that can be a fire trap. You don't want people to be able to reach the doorknob and unlock it just by reaching through.

unrelated but I found a little flashlight that is charged through a phone charger. its just little, but super bright. the intended purpose is to plug into a cell and it can give light for video. I found the thing in a discount bin.. anyway I saw someone walking a dog with one on it's collar, so the dog had a headlight. I thought it was a nice idea if you walk your dogs near traffic. sure made the dog visible.

the thing has the option to be triggered wirelessly when you snap a pic. i thought gee it would be cool to have a remotely operated light on a dogs collar. Some dogs are great at taking off looking for animals and such. It would be great for finding the dog in the dark. Just turn it's headlight on via a cell phone app it even has a strobe feature. not sure the range is enough but it got me thinking.

[GinaC]

Here's an odd update:

Today as I was driving out of my neighborhood, I saw a raccoon crossing the street two houses over. I guess I really will need a secure pet door!

I found this one, but one of my dogs does not have a chip, so I will have to get a collar for her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_UXXRUKrHA

[phil]

I had one just outside yesterday. It was arguing with my resident crow. i wondered if the crow has a baby , they sometimes have little crows and they run around on the ground before learning to fly.
The raccoons are always around my house. every eve they would use a dirt patch beside my house. I can see they eat a lot of berries and things.
I let my cat out lots and there are two other cats that love hanging out in my yard. the raccoons lived in my boat for a while. The raccoons don't seem to bother or be bothered by cats from what Ive seen they seem to both avoid each other. Maybe if the racoon was starving it could take down a cat and no doubt the racoon would win. no doubt they can make short work of any cat and most dogs. when my cat bit my finger It got infected and I realized something like that could kill a human without antibiotics. it made me wonder if maybe the racoon could die in a similar way even though they are obviously better fighters.
The raccoons are super smart and they have ritual like habits so it's likely where you see them once look tomorrow at the same time and they will be there again. If your dogs don't chase the raccoons they might not really be predators. although they are super tough I think their diet is mainly vegetables, eggs small birds and things. they will climb and get birds nests. they like cherries and they are masters at opening garbage cans.
I've heard lots of people mention fears of them. I know you don't want to corner them but I'm not convinced they are super aggressive hunters when it comes to cats and dogs. they will definitely remember meeting you and they will remember if you are mean to them or not, probably smarter than most dogs. Id suggest trying to live and ignore them unless your dogs want to chase raccoons. they probably get confused because in one yard people will feed them and in another yard they will act like they are some wild predator that needs to die or something. just like a dog they quickly learn who to trust and remember that even years later. my crow recognizes me I think he's even friends with my cat but at a distance. its funny because you expect animals to be foes but are not always. ill see the crow up on the peak of the roof next door my cat inside looking out the window cackling at it. they communicate! I let the cat on the roof and the crow chased the cat in ,, lol.. I have a ladder up against the house and so if I leave my attic window open the cat goes out there and climbs down my aluminum ladder. none of the other neighborhood cats climb ladders so she can get in and out like that if I let her.

when she was little I used to keep a high step ladder in my living room , she loved climbing it so I encouraged her to. id put her up there and let her figure it out. now she can climb ladders. she's lousy at climbing trees though.. funny.

Im wondering if it's more common when people get dogs that get aggressive with them. oh yea a crazy pitbull or maybe a hunting dog will definitely take one on and suffer the result. they will protect themselves but they seem more like thieves than large animal predators from my reactions. My kitty is little but she seems to see them and not get her hair up when they are both outside and within 30 feet or so. they are definitely aware of each other's presence and i think they have a peace treaty .

do others have issues with raccoons attacking cats? I seem to hear of it but I'm not about hearing actual instances of this happening. I wonder if it is somewhat of a common misconception ? anyone ever sen a racoon eat a cat? I never have. a kitten would be game for one I'm sure. or a lap puppy. the greyhounds might be little downsized doglets but I bet they can still run crazy fast. they sound cute. my guess is the greyhounds wouldnt' challenge a racoon and the racoon wouldn't chance hunting the dog unless it was threatened. a mini greyhound puppy might be small enough. I'm not even sure they go for squirrels. mainly fruit and eggs, maybe mice? or anything easy in the garbage. they dont seem to go for my plumbs as much as cherries. probably more nutritious.

[GinaC]

Oh, I'm not worried about raccoons bothering the dogs because they can run up to 25 mph and turn on a dime. I'm worried about the raccoons coming in the house!

And if you haven't seen this, it never fails to get a laugh from me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTcjzaqL0pE

[phil]

wow that definitely demonstrates the effect I'm seeing maybe to an extreme. amazing how little they threaten each other. I have seen some nasty scraps between the racoons themselves. I guess that one is quite young. maybe a skinny door would only let the dogs in. I bet they can squeeze into a pretty tight opening. maybe you could just get them using it , then narrow it until they have to sort of squeeze through.
they sound like neat dogs.

a radio might help deter them. I had a friend fighting with getting them out of his attic and I think all he needed to do is stick a ghetto blaster in there for a while. he called an exterminator who closed up the hole they were getting in but left the baby in there. well mom returned and went nuts on his house for that. with a little noise she would have just packed the baby out then he could have closed the hole. I stuck a cheap transistor in my boat put on the traffic station, they did not like the noise and left right away. eventually they moved back because I couldn't keep it going forever. they ate some of my boat seats I removed the tarp and let it rain inside for now. It can take a little rain.