How do I get a doggie door in the back of my garage? Is it possible?

Question

Winter is coming and my big lab has a dog house, but I dont want him out there in the Illinois winter. I cannot put him in the house because he is so destructive. Its not a good idea.
I though about building a pre designed garden shed with windows from a manufacturer, and putting him in there, but again, he chews and would destruct the shed, so now I think I will just put a doggie door in the back of the garage. How much do you think it would cost? Whats involved? I want a door that swings like saloon doors or something that.
Any ideas to help me decide what to do?

My back yard is fenced in around the side and the back of the garage, so the dog would be loose in his fenced in yard. The garage is made of wood and I do not plan to put a door in a door, but a door in the wall of the garage. The walls are 2x6's I think and covered with wood. The siding is that old lap compressed siding they used in the 1970's. I want the door to be about 2 ft tall and wide enough to squeeze a fat choco lab thru. The dog will have access to the garage this way because the doors will be down and the side door closed. What I would not do for my dog. Lord!!! I just installed $4K worth of chain link fence for him and now he has learned to dig. I keep a wheel barrel full of dirt to fill holes in about once a week.

Answer 1

You can purchase pet doors at building supply or hardware stores... the type you would most commonly see located in the bottom half of a 'human' door... but you can also mount these in a wall. The installation is the same as putting one in a 'human' door.

I would go with one of these rather than 'swinging' doors... with the flap on them, they keep the warm air in better, and most versions have a feature where you can slide a panel down over them to keep the pet inside, or out, as necessary.

I would also suggest that you think about getting a 'crate heater'... this is a small heating pad, that slips underneath your pets bed (about $25).... it will keep em warm all winter :) Also a heated water dish (about $10) to keep the water from freezing. You don't want to dehydrate your pet.

Have Fun

Answer 2

There are really some questions that I have. Otherwise I would say no problem just get someone to install a doggie door in the wall. It wouldn't be difficult to get a carpenter to make you the type of door you are thinking about. But is your backyard fenced in so the dog isn't on a chain. If he is on a chain I would say your door would have to be of the curtain variety or he might get caught up in the door.

My son made doors for our porch that have wooden doggie doors in them. If I could I would post a picture of them. We actually have an out door and an in door. This because the previous doors were light screen doors and they were made with one opening out and one in so the dogs could push the whole door open. So he just made the smaller doggie doors to open in and out the same way. Certainly the doggie door insert could have been made to swing as you have suggested. Also I have a suggestion about your dog being destructive. Dogs need a lot of exercise, and generally they won't exercise on their own they like company. I have seen several cases where a problem dogs exercise was increased and the bad behavior became a thing of the past. Labs can be high energy dogs, so if you aren't exercising the dog very much you might want to see that it gets major exercise twice per day. Also you might think about watching Cesar Milan 'The Dog Whisperer'. He also has a book out. His thing is to teach the owners to be the Alpha dog of the pack. His methods work.

As to cost . . . ???? It would depend on the situation. What kind of walls do you have in your garage? Is it brick? Do you have a fenced in yard? Do you have a man door that opens into the fenced in yard (if you have one.)? As you can see it would be difficult to put a price on the situation without knowing all the particulars.

Answer 3

try lowes, menards, any large out let, pet shops , there is a doggie door thats in a kit, most have a magnetic door flap, and a plastic cover to block it,
exept to pay around $50,