Dog door in sliding glass door

[Floopsy]

We would like to get a dog door in our sliding glass door. Has anyone done this without preventing the door from sliding? There is a clearance of 1.3cm on the outside, any wider than that and we would not be able to open the door.

We don't have a dog atm, we would be getting the dog door in preparation for getting a small dog.

If you have, which brand did you go for? If it's not doable, are there any work arounds?

Thank you

You'd need a whole new pane of glass i think with the door fitted in it. Could you put it through a wall? I have a friend that did that for a cat flap

Yes, it will mean a whole pane of glass.

I had this done for a cat flap in a single width glass door in 1999, cost me nearly £100.

Had to have it done by a glazier and they had to remove the door and take it to their workshop to do it.

Can't imagine what it would cost now.

I would also be very wary of having a dog door if it's for the dog to have free access to your garden while you're out. Thefts of dogs from gardens is rife all over the country.

Hmm I don’t know of any pet flap that would work - they all protrude too much to allow sliding doors to pass each other.

I did find this which saves you making a hole in your doors. But I don’t know if I’d trust it for security.

Thank you all.

T-@dementedpixie We don't have a wall it could go through, it would have to go through the door.
@pigsDOfly Our glazier has explained that we would need new glass but wants us to find a dog door that would fit. It's difficult to find one, very few of the descriptions state how far the front of the flap sticks out.
The garden is really secure - we have two metre high walls to the sides and a three metre high wall at the back. It's a bit difficult to describe but all the houses from four roads back onto each other in a rectangle - the only way in and out of the gardens is through gardens and then through a house.

superiorpetdoors.co.uk/product/g-sddc-maxi-dual-glaze-glass-fitting-cat-door-clear/ this tells you how much it protrudes

@dementedpixie

Thank you, that looks perfect.

Do you need a dog door? I would just open the door when you want them outside, leave it open if you want in summer. I don't think I would want my dog outside without me knowing. Dog thefts are huge now.

I would also check whether a dog door is ok with your house insurance . I agree with pp , no garden is totally secure and dog thefts are rife and you may get issues with neighbours if the dog just stands outside barking whilst you are out.

It’s great that you’re thinking ahead for a dog but is there a reason for a dog door? It’s not like with cats when they’re out for a prolonged period and need to get back in at random times.

Unless your garden is 100% secure, I wouldn't go down the road of getting a dog door. If your dog is unsupervised in your garden, it'll be a prime target for theft. It takes seconds for someone to grab a dog from a garden and drive off.

Another thing to consider is your garden gate - is it used by the postman or delivery services? What happens if someone leaves the dog open and the dog does a runner? By the time you get home and realise what's happened, the dog could have been gone hours.

The final worry is if the door isn't safe, people can crawl through or reach in and access your home. I know you say a small door, but if you have valuables or keys or anything within arms reach, then they could easily reach in and steal things.

Personally I hate the idea of a dog flap unless you have a very, very secure garden that nobody has any way of gaining access to.

And like a PP said, the final thing to consider is your neighbours. If you have a barky dog and a dog door, what's to stop the dog spending all day yapping in the garden and causing a nuisance?

Why do you think you need a dog door when you get a dog? Most people don't. Dogs will tell you when they need out and they shouldn't be left home alone long enough they can't wait until you get back.

We thought a dog door would minimise the risk of accidents and allow for some stimulation and exercise when the dog was alone. We had thought that up to four hours alone time a day would be OK. Maybe longer if there was an emergency that meant I couldn't get home quickly.

Thanks for pointing out the issue with the home insurance - I'll look into that.

The garden is very secure. I'll try to upload a diagram Each garden has a 2 or 3 metre wall round each side. The only way into a garden is through a house. And the only way out would involve scaling several walls with a pooch under your arm - not impossible but seriously difficult. No one would be able to walk past and take a dog - you can't see into the garden from the street.

Thank you all for the helpful advice

A dog door won’t minimise accidents as a properly house trained dog should be capable of not going whilst you are out if you are not out for hours .If you plan to get a puppy then you won’t be able to leave it for anything like 4 hours for quite a long time .

Sounds like the garden's very secure but as pp mentioned barking could be a massive problem for your neighbours.

Some dogs will bark at anything and if a dog is alone and feels it is protecting the home, or it suffers from separation anxiety it could bark non-stop.

Agree, a properly house trained dog won't need to go out so often that you need a dog door.

It sounds secure which rules out one set of issues.

But it won't prevent accidents, and it doesn't stop the problem of the dog potentially going out and spending all day barking or digging in the garden. Access to a garden is not a substitute for exercise and dogs really shouldn't be left out unattended as they can cause a real nuisance to the neighbours.

By the time your dog is old enough and reliable enough to be left for four hours, they should be toilet trained and won't need garden access while you're out.

We wanted to get a rescue dog, so hopefully we won't have to house train from scratch. We might have to 'untrain' any barking behaviour. Perhaps a door won't be necessary after all

I have drawn a diagram BTW - I can't attach it to a post.

No idea why you would need a dog door?

PetWALK doors! Pricey, but really lovely

Ours will be wired into our alarm system, and fully burglarproof for insurance companies.

Our dog always liked going outside to lie on the grass. Was never really about toileting.