Dog door design?

[Gofor]

Does anyone have a design or advice on constructing a pet door that they would care to share?

I am in the process of enclosing my niece's carport to transform it into a kennel. She and her hubby recently moved here from CA, and his business is selling pedigree boxers. We "dried in" the carport this past week (despite the 115 heat index and having to drive home through torrential rain, hail and high wind last night). As soon as her sister's friend (licensed sparky) runs a wire for the AC, it will be suitable for part-time occupancy by the "kids", but the final objective is to install three dog doors so they have access from inside to outside kennel runs.
I framed in 19 1/2" w by 30" h spots for the doors, but have not cut through the sheathing yet until I have a prototype built. Am in the process of messing with some designs, but could sure use some inspiration!!

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[Travis Porter]

I haven't made one, but when we bought our house there was one installed in the garage door like this one.

http://www.moorepet-petdoors.com/Max...oors-s/140.htm

It actually wasn't a bad design. There was a thick piece of flexible plastic/rubber with a magnetic seal at the bottom and it wasn't hard for the dog to push in and out. Additionally, it had a slide door on the inside so you could lock him in or out. Unfortunately, my dog is a HORRENDOUS chewer and chewed through that part of it. Otherwise, it seemed to be pretty good.

[Gofor]

Thanks for the link. Magnets and sheet aluminum may be players. I will assume these are "chewers" also as they stripped the telephone cable off the outside of the house and chewed it into itty-bitty pieces. Will also need the night-time security, as they live in the country, and on the edge of the woods, so 'possums, 'coons, and other critters are potential unwanted visitors.
The plan for next year is to put a full indoor kennel on the adjoining lot which they also bought, so for now I don't think $1000 in doors will be a player. The press for this right now is to relieve the pressure on the inside of the house. With the temps, the last litter of ten was whelped and paper trained in the kitchen, as well as the grown dogs being inside for the heat of the day and at night for security. With the added air-conditioned area, at least the grown dogs will have a good shelter without having to keep them in the living quarters. Really got to hand it to them. With all this, you don't know they have dogs in the house 'til you see or hear them (ie you don't smell them).

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[vbgregg]

We bought a pet door for our cats which was pretty nice. It had a knob with 4 settings. One let the door swing in and out, one let it swing in only, one let it swing out only, and one did not let it swing either way. This was convenient because during the day we wanted to let the cats go in and out freely. At night, we wanted them in, so we changed the setting so that once they came in, they could not go out. And once they were all in, we changed it so that nobody could go in or out. We never did use the out only setting, though I was tempted at times...

Gregg

[DavidF]

Originally Posted by vbgregg

We bought a pet door for our cats which was pretty nice. It had a knob with 4 settings. One let the door swing in and out, one let it swing in only, one let it swing out only, and one did not let it swing either way. This was convenient because during the day we wanted to let the cats go in and out freely. At night, we wanted them in, so we changed the setting so that once they came in, they could not go out. And once they were all in, we changed it so that nobody could go in or out. We never did use the out only setting, though I was tempted at times...

Gregg

That sounds like a neat idea! You can also get electronic ones that detect a transmitter on the collar so that stray dogs can't gain access. Take the collar off at night and they can't get out.

[Dusty Sawyer]

Something to consider if there are pups would be how hard it is to push the door open, how hard it swings shut, and how high it is off the ground - ie can they get out but not back in again.

The former owner of my house and self-proclaimed Mr.Fixit had cut a hole in the back garage door and drapped a couple of sheets of heavy plastic over them for his dog. Functional, but terrible looking.

I put a frame of aluminum angle around both sides of the door and drilled holes on each side at the top for a hinge pin. I took the frame back out to mount the swinging door to it. For that, I took a piece of plexi and mounted a metal rod across the top to act as the hinge and dropped it into place and put the whole unit back into the door.

The only things I would add are magnets at the bottom to help keep the door down when the wind blows and some sort of dust sweep around the frame to keep the bugs out. Oh yeah, I would probably have bought a commerical unit had it not been for the size of the hole that Mr. Fixit had cut.

David

[Gofor]

Thanks Dusty: The pups won't be using the swinging doors; They're for the adult dogs. There will be three doors leading from three inside kennels to three outside runs. That way they can keep the males, females, and mating couple separated.
The aluminum frame with a lexan or polyethylene panel seems like it may be the answer, altho I may slice a piece of 3/4" pvc pipe to put on the bottom where it will rub on their backs. I have already picked up some 3/4"d ceramic magnets that I can glue in the ends with opposing ones in the casing to hold the door closed against wind. Does anyone know where I could pick up some polyethylene sheets (the stuff they make the "plastic" cutting boards from) in the Goldsboro, Wilson, Smithfield, Rocky Mount area? I would like pieces 18" x 30" if possible. I found a restaurant supply house in Kinston, but they won't sell retail.

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