Dog door

[Chattycatty]

Does anybody use a doggie door and let your dog use it while you are at work, I'm going to have an extension built in the summer am having a cat flap put in. I know the dog will use it but I'm wondering if the garden was secure and non visible to people passing would you let your dog use it when you weren't home (4 hours 3 times a week)

I wouldn't, no.

No I wouldn't have one.

My garden is secure and very few people pass it as it's in a fairly secluded place.

However, even a reasonably secluded garden could be accessed by someone determined enough to steal a dog and dog thefts are rife at the moment.

Apart from that, unless you live a very long way from your nearest neighbour a dog in the garden on its own is going to spend a good percentage of that time barking at every noise and every leave that blows in the wind. There will be no one at home to tell it to stop barking and your neighbours will end up hating you and will be complaining to the local council about the noise.

Nope, not a chance.

Too much risk, for me.

We had one at our old house when we had a fairly elderly labrador some years ago. It was brilliant for him as he could just potter in and out as he wanted to. He couldn't be seen by the road and he wasn't a barker, so was no trouble to other people. We currently have a slightly mental adolescent retriever and I couldn't consider that for him at the moment, but might do once he grows up a bit.

Our back door is only closed at bedtime.. We had a Rottweiler for 10 years. Really no need to worry about security! Sadly she died last year. Weather here is too cold to have it open now so currently like a loon letting 4 out for a wee!!

No way. Have a St Bernard 🤣

We have a dog door - Plexidor. Lockable and incredibly useful. Our garden is very secure, though.

Nope

Even without thieves...

A secure garden is really only as secure as long as a dog decides it is unless you’re living in Fort Knox and gardens are usually full of stuff that could be quite hazardous.

My rottie tried to follow my cat up a tree once, they would not have ended well if there’d been no-one there to rescue him, I know of a Dalmatian that broke her back trying to jump on a garden wall... but even just normal stuff like getting a collar stuck on a bush can be pretty deadly.

No chance you don't know what would come through that door.

No and I also have an incredibly secure garden .

Nope, no way on earth.

Thanks everyone for your views. The door ive seen is chip activated so only accessible from my cat and the dog, she's a pug so not able to climb the 6ft walls or the tall gate, we live very rurally and dont hear of dog thefts here but it did cross my mind.