# doggy door ?



## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

Question for those who has one. How long did it take your dog to learn to use it and what tricks did you do to get them comfortable using it?


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## DreadedBowHunter (Sep 22, 2021)

My dogs learned within a couple days. Put treats inside and outside so they can search for the treats without you being there and eventually when they want to go in and out they know it’s as easy as jumping through the hole.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

In a previous home, I installed a "doggy door" and when I got home, there was another dog in the house that wasn't ours. It had explored the house and marked its territory throughout the house. It didn't have tags (licensed) or a chip. It was a friendly guy and I'm sure someone adopted it as it went to the pound. I hit the "Depot" and purchased a new door and hung it. That was the end of a "doggy door" for us.

I've heard stories of racoons and other critters coming in the house through the doors as well.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I just shoved the dogs thru it once or twice and they started using it.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Reminds me of the movie The People Under the Stairs where they used a dog door to break into homes. 

My neighbor has two dogs and put in a dog door. One dog learned within minutes of the ease of going in and out and will hit the door at a full run. The other dog refuses to use it, and it has been 3 or so years since he installed it.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I locked myself out of the house one time and crawled thru the doggie door......not good, I could see why larger dogs may be reluctant to use one.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

My wife and I had a doggy door on the backyard door of our old rental duplex in Cedar City that the cat would use to freely come and go. One day when the mother in law was staying with us the cat crawled into bed with her and released a 🐭 that was still very much alive. We put the stopper in after that and she lost her privileges to come and go as she pleased.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

colorcountrygunner said:


> We put the stopper in after that and she lost her privileges to come and go as she pleased.


The cat or the M-I-L?


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

CPAjeff said:


> The cat or the M-I-L?


The cat. But sometimes the M-I-L pushes her luck too.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

When my oldest was a toddler, she saw the dog go back and forth through the doggie door and decided she could do it too. My wife didn't believe me at first until I got video proof of her crawling back and forth. We took remedial action until she got too big to do it.

As for the original question, most dogs figure it out pretty quickly. If there is a problem, it may be more fear based than IQ based. Provide consistent treat rewards for successfully going through if your dog is reluctant. .


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

The neighbor has had two new pups in the last year or so. Watching them both learn how to unlatch the gate in the fence has been entertaining to watch. But everyone I know who has had one is much like Catherder's experience both with toddlers and dogs.


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## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

A few days.. and plenty of treats!🐶


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## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

I have visions of a raccoon in the house lol


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

JerryH said:


> I have visions of a raccoon in the house lol







-DallanC


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## DitchParrot (Feb 16, 2021)

I've had doggie doors for years and half a dozen dogs learned to use them in no time. Literally the first day. Just be on the opposite of the door as the dog and push the door open and shut a few times while calling the dog. Help them through it the first few times, then get out of the way they'll start coming through it like a freight train. Until they get old, then they may have a hard time pushing it open if you have a good quality door that seals well.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

JerryH said:


> I have visions of a raccoon in the house lol


Ha.........I had a big raccoon getting in the kitchen through our doggy door.

3 or 4 days a week I would find the pantry bifold door open and the bag of dog food all messed up. First I just thought it was my dog although I wondered how she got her paws under the bifold door to open it. Then I thought maybe it was the neighbor's house cat. This intruder thing went on for months.

One Spring night noise in the kitchen woke me up. I got out of bed ran up the stairs to the kitchen and I got a glimpse of a big gray tail going out through the doggie door. I was sure it was that cat. 

The intrusions continued until an early fall snowstorm produced, to my surprise, fresh raccoon tracts going in and out of the doggy door. Good grief! I live in town, right the middle of town! I followed the tracts to a window well where the raccoon had been living for what looked like months....what a stinking mess. I thought raccoons were cleaner than that.

The next door neighbor and I found the big ole raccoon living under his porch. We had the city animal control officer take care of the thing and I never had any trouble after that.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

We had a pet raccoon once. It learned to open the pantry, get out the peanut butter, unscrew the lid and goto town. That thing was fun until it got too big. My dad came to hate it... it learned (IDK how) that the end of a spark plug is nice and shiny... and it would get in my dads F150 (probably while it was still warm), get bored and start pulling the spark plug wires off. We actually got a picture of the **** thing in there red handed... Its a funny picture, I'll see if I cant dig it up.

The skunk was actually funner... they have a crazy personality... only problem is they'd sleep all day and about 10pm its play time.

-DallanC


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

RED HANDED










-DallanC


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

Got the doggy door installed and it took them a couple days to get used to it but now after two weeks, they go in and out on their own all the time.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

😆









-DallanC


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## MrShane (Jul 21, 2019)

DallanC said:


> We had a pet raccoon once. It learned to open the pantry, get out the peanut butter, unscrew the lid and goto town. That thing was fun until it got too big. My dad came to hate it... it learned (IDK how) that the end of a spark plug is nice and shiny... and it would get in my dads F150 (probably while it was still warm), get bored and start pulling the spark plug wires off. We actually got a picture of the **** thing in there red handed... Its a funny picture, I'll see if I cant dig it up.
> 
> The skunk was actually funner... they have a crazy personality... only problem is they'd sleep all day and about 10pm its play time.
> 
> -DallanC


We had a pet male and female way back in the day.
My brother and I were allowed to sale the babies at the Ft. Bridger Rendezvous back in the very early eighties when I was just becoming a teenager.
We would sale out in the first day or two at $100 each.
We thought we were RICH!
I’m sure the Raccoon raiding Goob’s JIF was probably a descendent of one we sold up there….


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