Dog flaps, are they a good idea?

[Dashie]

I would be grateful for some advice please.

We will soon be getting a working cocker spaniel puppy. Once she is settled in she will sometimes be left at home from 09:00-18:00. This will be for around 2 days every month.
We are looking at using a dog walker or sitter on these days as did this with our previous dog.

We have recently moved house and our back garden is small and enclosed. We are thinking that an alternative to a dog walker would be to put in a dog flap so that she can go in and out when she wants to. Also, if we were out for even a short time she could take herself out as needed.

My two main concerns are firstly, the back area is mainly gravel and brick with not much greenery. Could we use something like a large cat litter tray and train her to use it? Our front garden is larger and has grass but too visible from the road.
Secondly, the neighbours back garden, which runs along side, is easily accessible via a low unlocked gate. Is there too much of a risk that someone might try to take her?

Thanks for any advice. Sorry if these are daft questions but we're in a different situation to how we were with our old dog and he was bigger so a large dog flap wasn't an option because of security.

I'm not sure I'd ever feel safe with a flap in the door and a dog wandering outside just in case of trouble. More than that, though, the point of not leaving a dog so long is only minimally about toileting. It's much more about boredom, loneliness and the stress that can cause.

The flap solves the toilet issue but not the others. A dog walker/sitter solves all problems and so - for me - is the far superior option.

We love our dog flap, but we do have a dog sitter who comes and takes our little dog 8-5 the days we work :)

I think they are a very bad idea - there's the risk of the dog being stolen (a very real risk these days), and of your dog finding things to eat/do that are dangerous.

My ddogs have always used a large catflap/dogflap can't imagine life without it.

My ddogs have always used a large catflap/dogflap can't imagine life without it.

I hate our neighbours dog flap.
dog is bored and barky and runs in and out all day and night.
the flap makes a loud noise (click click electronic bolt)

because it's a big dog the flap is big, I would worry that a person could be able to get in through it.

I wouldn't.
Risk of theft.
Dog could eat things it shouldn't.
Dog could bark all day and really annoy the neighbours!
How about doggy daycare for just those two days?

Thank you, very good advice.

I'm thinking that a cocker spaniel sized one would be too small for a person.
I think, as it's a small area and surrounded by walls that are too high for her to jump, that we could make it safe.

I am worried about someone finding out that she was there and trying to take her.

The point about companionship and not getting bored is most important as obviously her welfare is what matters most.

How long would you be happy to leave your dogs for from that point of view?

Yes, I think on reflection that doggy day care is a much better option.
Would it be worth getting one for when we are out for a couple of hours?

We have a show cocker spaniel. He had always had a dog flap. He is on his own for 4-5 hours at most and has always really enjoyed it. My neighbours say they see him rolling on the grass and generally having a lovely time. I would definitely recommend it.

I was thinking of getting one for my dog, then I thought about them digging in the garden and running straight in to snooze on the sofa....

We have one and our two dogs happily go in and out all day whilst we're at work. In the summer I usually come home to find them sunning themselves on the deck.

Dashie an adult would be ok in the house for a couple of hours.
The other option is finding a friend who is happy to have your pup on the rare occasion you're not there all day.

I'm loving the images of dogs rolling on the lawn and sunbathing on the decking!

I think the best option is doggy day care for longer periods but maybe a dog flap for when we are at home or if we are away for a short time only.

Thank you!

We have a cocker spaniel sized flap and are happy with it. Admittedly we live in a very safe area and our dog just likes to go in and out and have a nose. He’s almost never left but when he is, it means he’s got a choice. If it’s very wet and muddy outside we make sure he’s been to the toilet and lock the flap before we leave him (3 hours max) so he doesn’t trail mud all over the house).

As an extra benefit, the postman puts parcels through it. But on the flip side, baby DS occasionally crawls out of it!

Our Yorkshire Terrier learnt to use the cat flap (eventually - at first he thought it only worked one way and woild often wake us up barking in the garden in the middle of the night). Although it wasn't intentional and we didn't encourage it, it is a blessing now as we inherited him as an adult and he wasn't ever trained to pee on command like our Labrador so he can go out whenever he needs to. We have an enclosed garden with no rear access.

The problem is if he goes out and starts barking it would be your neighbours that suffer as you would be out.

Good point. Fortunately our only close neighbours work during the day too.
If she was barking a lot I would be worried that she was stressed/bored/bothered about something though.

Seriously dog theft is big business. I wouldn't. And if you have no close neighbours about she could spend all day barking and you wouldn't know.

Our dog never barks in the day not left more than 5 hours but loves her access to the garden, we have a stair gate up so she can't go any further than the kitchen when we're not there.
She loves it and so do we. We have a very enclosed garden so no risk of anything happening to her

How did I not know you could buy dog flaps?!

I'm guessing they can't be fitted to French windows though so now we're going to have to move house

I considered a dog flap because my main worry is a fire while we're out that DDog couldn't escape. But there was a FB post of a lovely little white dog that had been stolen.

Attempted burglars had been captured on their CCTV trying to break in but failed. Little dog came to investigate and was snatched. Broke my heart. I wish I knew if he'd been reunited.

So no dog flaps here. And no electricals on while he's home alone!

I highly recommend using daycare for your dog instead of leaving it that long.

About dog flaps, I personally wouldn’t get one. Before DP and I got back together I was seeing somebody who had a dog flap. There were a couple of occasions he accidentally locked us out which meant me going through the dog flap

I could’ve been anybody. So easy for burglars

Thank you all. Seems like mixed opinions.
I'm going to look into recommendations for local doggy day care. Thank you!