My big dog doesn't scratch up things when he barks but my small dog does. When we sold our house we had to sand and repaint the front door as he had it scratched up on the inside.

so you bring up a good point. More glass might be a better option. I still think they would scratch up the sdl. But less damage than all wood.

people must think we are nuts for putting up with this from our furry friends.

ILoveRed - I have tried to sand and restain the front door in our current house, but it still looks awful. When we go to sell, I think we'll have to replace it with a new one to make the house look better. We had read that the fiberglass scratches less than real wood, so I'm hoping this one can sustain his craziness a bit better. The other thing is in the new house, the foyer is more separated from the rest of the house than our current setup. So maybe he won't notice people at the door as much? I know people think we are nuts for dealing with our crazy dogs, but I love them with all my heart!

Had a furry friend in NJ and he lived to 13, barked but never scratched the door. We've always had solid front doors with no lites in our homes; For our next home, I tried and failed to talk my DW into an easily built to order front door with 18" lites on each side; the door is 10' wide. I fortunately managed to locate a local three generations millwork company who will build the solid door to my specs 10'x8'

Up to you to decide on privacy or not. Since I've only lived with indoor civilized felines--and canines outside where they belong--chewed up, scratched up doors have not been a concern.

solid door to my specs 10'x8'

This we've got to see.

"canines outside where they belong" - lol, you must be talking to my husband. Funny worthy, very funny. My canines are actually better behaved than my children sometimes......but then again I can't train the kiddos with a shock collar. :O Human or no we all have our annoying habits. Unconditional love (canine, haven't met a feline that loves that way) allows you to tolerate a lot of things.

I love both CATS and DOGS actually.

Worthy - Ha! I grew up with an indoor civilized feline and that cat did massive damage to several corners in our house that were covered with wood trim. It was his own personal scratching post. The back of my dad's favorite chair was shredded also!

Lol Worthy! You sound like my brother.

For all of the other dog lovers...My 90 yr old very wise mom says breathing things are more important than non breathing things. That's what I say when I see when I see a new scratch or dog hair on my floors :-)

When I was getting my house design done, my architect, ARG, talked about the dog and where he sleeps. Simple answer, On the pillows of course! Lol

Heck, I am building an entire freaking house for my dogs / future animals.

Nice to know that we all love our furry friends! I've been looking at a few pics of entry doors and I think I'm going with clear. I like the look better, the lack of privacy is a non-issue and I think my dog will eventually destroy the door no matter what we get! Thanks all for your input!

Gthigpen-that's what I was thinking. Either probably won't matter to your furry friend.

Hi gthigpen,

i have clear glass in my front door and 2 door height narrow windows on either side. My Labs bark like crazy too. I am thinking they would bark even more if they could not see through the clear glass. They would probably imagine even more people or animals could possibly be out there. When we build our home in the hill country, I am hopefully going to build a steel door with clear glass. Maybe even on a pivot instead of hinges.

Sorry, but I suspect the type of glass won't have much to do with how your dog(s) behave at the front door since they have a high sense of smell and hearing. And once the doorbell goes off it's like opening the gates for a race--sight has little to do with it. So that's for the canine issue...

As for the human issue and the desire for privacy, do you want folks coming to your front door, ringing the bell and trying to see if anyone is in the house...?

FWIW, my front door is like yours, with clear glass, but with closable white wood shutters installed on the inside face of the door, which we can close as we wish. :-)

I had a similar set up and very similar barking and chewing dogs. When we replaced our door and sidelights, I had plexiglass cut to cover the area. I attached it with the Command easy-release tabs. The dogs still barked but my door and windows were protected. Good luck

worthy: solid door to my specs 10'x8' See
rendering open and closed; this is exactly what it will look like
including custom made door handles; planters and plants may be
different, DW rules there.

Oh, I was thinking (and probably worthy too) about a single 10x8' door. This is a 10x8 French door. Still pretty massive, but makes much more sense!!

Some heavy duty roller hinges needed for those babies!

Great for moving in collector cars to the foyer. Indeed, auto galleries are the latest accessory for the super rich!

doc5md: My bad, I should have said 10'x8' double entry door, each door beng 5' wide in a 10'+ frame opening.

Worthy: You are not kidding about heavy duty roller hinges. You are too funny. What a great idea, though DW would kill me if I drove a car into the foyer; I'll do it when she's on vacation. Not super rich here, just super crazy, I get to use the left third of the home for my crazy stuff.

Excellent also for entry and exit of marching bands, and large crowds for the week-end music and BBQ festivals...

Gthigpen...we had double doors on our last house that were scratched up. We decided on a single door for the new house.

I like Jenns idea with a single door and the plexiglass to protect from scratching. That sounds like a good solution. In that case the door you posted looks like it would work well.

My mom is going into assisted living next week and has a middle aged dachshund. I may be getting her dog if my sister can't find a home for him which will bring my canine count to three. But I don't think he scratches ;-)

PS..I like clear glass.

ILoveRed - 2 things:

1. Hope your Mom adjusts well - it's hard, I know. And how wonderful of you to keep her dog.

2. Did you see the latest (RED) iPhone announced today - I want one!

PineBaron - that is a seriously big door. No problem getting furniture in the house!

ILoveRed - Very nice of you to take your mom's dog (possibly). My mom has a small Yorkie and I'd take him if necessary but he doesn't get along with my current 2 dogs. Hoping it never comes to that.

jennifw - that is a great idea to use the plexi-glass with the command strips. Not sure my DH will go for it, but it would solve the scratching problem and we could remove it when he finally calms down. If that ever happens.....he's 3 now and is half lab/half catahoula. I'm waiting for the 'chill-out' phase of his life to begin. :)

Virgil Carter Fine Art - Now you've got me thinking if a window treatment might be way to go. Off to find more ideas for my Houzz ideabook!

Sorry, I don't recall the architectural style of the house, but here's an option to installing double doors, which are frequently a problem to actually use, since it's seldom that both doors will be opened at the same time. Solution: Door, Sidelights and Transom. Same rough opening, but much more to residential scale and much more functional, IMO.

Agree Virgil- the only way I'd want a 5' door is if it was one of those cool pivoting ones to bring the scale down to a more human level. Bigger does not always equal better.

This is the type of door I would like to have on our future build.

mark1993, it's a cool, modern door. And matching window wall. It appears to be all steel framing (see those "thin" horizontal members?), so be prepared and get out your check book. :-)

Do you want people looking into your home, especially at night? I think the answer will reveal which glass would work best. :)

Virgil, I really like the door. I will most likely have to give up my "other wants" in order to have it.

Renee, I understand what you're saying, but there is a lot of acreage where we are building. We might have elk or deer peering in though! ;)

I lived in the country and there was a high percentage of burglaries for such a small town. So, as much as I love clear glass front doors the most, there's no way I'd have them.

At night when the lights are on inside, you can be seen but you can't see them.

But, if someone wants to break in, they can break glass whether it's frosted or not and get in.

I just don't want people seeing us and not knowing they're there.

Sorry, but I suspect the type of glass won't have much to do with how
your dog(s) behave at the front door since they have a high sense of
smell and hearing. And once the doorbell goes off it's like opening the
gates for a race--sight has little to do with it. So that's for the
canine issue...

Yeah, I was going to say much the same thing.

Our dog knows when our cars are approaching. When he hears my husband's truck, he runs to the door to "greet Daddy" -- but he is at the door before the truck pulls into the driveway ... sometimes Daddy fools me and walks around the house to enter through the back door, but he never fools the dog. I'm told he behaves the same way when I approach the house. Yet he doesn't lift a paw when other people drive down the street -- he knows the sound of OUR cars. But woe to the UPS man who dares to walk onto dog's porch to leave a package or the yard guys who enter dog's back yard; the dog does not approve of them, and he makes his displeasure known.

The real upshot of this situation: I'm talking about a dog who has been blind since birth. He doesn't look out the windows at all, yet he knows and reacts to people arriving at the house.

So my guess is that your dog is going to do what your dog is going to do. The type of glass you choose will not change his behavior.

Janni...thank you. You are right. It is hard. Thank you for the kindness. Hugs.