I had the kind with the collar. It made a click sound when activated, scared the dog and he never went outside. He was a Rottweiler. He passed and I got two dogs. They tore the door up and one chewed the other's collar. It was 200 or $300.00. I've had several dog doors since. My biggest complaint is letting the weather in, it's on a north door. Even with the panel in, snow has blown in. Several things have been taken outside. 9 rolls of toilet paper and three rolls of paper towels. The coffee pot, clothes, towels, etc. I've learned to keep rooms closed and counters cleared. The only thing they've brought in was a dead mouse. I put the panel in at night so they don't run in and out all night. I wouldn't give up the dog door though. The neatest one I ever saw was on tv, a big German Shepherd walk out of a kitchen cabinet. It would solve the weather problem but I didn't see how he opened the cabinets to go out.

DH & I have whelped about 10 litters of basset hounds over the past 25-30 years, all while liviing in the city, with the last 27 being in the inner city. We also had an average of 6 adults for a lot of those years & none seemed paricularily troubled that they didn't have fields to run in. The majority were show champions & were quite content with the freedom a dog door allowed; one was a little retarded & we had to keep him crated if no one was home because he'd start fights but that had nothing to do with the lot. The yard had a lot of scars but our dogs have been known for their sweet temperments. Sooz, when we lived in rental houses & couldn't cut into the landlords' doors, we always stored the original & bought a cheap, paintable hollowcore & put the dog door in that. When we bought our current old house, we wound up doing the same thing for our basement door & added a window to the top portion. I have only 2 dogs now but can't imagine not having a dog door.

I LOVE my doggie dog. I've had it for 14 years and it enables me to venture to the "big city" for the day without having to worry about my dog being shut in the house for so long. It is installed in the bottom of a low window and opens onto a covered patio. My dog door story: So many coincidences in this, but it's all true. My son, who lives out of town, came to visit and was out late visiting a friend. First, he had forgotten his key. Second, unknown to me, the phone was out of order as was the doorbell, which I did know about. Third, I had gone to bed and taken a sleeping pill. Since I was in that first deep sleep I did not hear him pounding on the front door or even my bedroom door which opens to the backyard. Nor did my no-so-vigilant Polish Lowland Sheepdog, who sleeps in his crate in my bedroom. Of course my son was quite alarmed when he could not raise me, so my 6' 4" 210 pound son crawled in the dog door anxious to see if I were dead or alive. Probably saved an emergency visit by the police or fire department. Other than my son, I've never had anything else enter via the dog door, except the dog. For those who may be familiar with the PONs, they are known for stealing things, so he has taken various interesting things out and hidden them in the flower beds, like my son's jockey shorts and a 10 pound barbell. (Had to keep the barbell set in the bathtub so he couldn't get to them.)

Judiegal, do you mean building my own? That's an idea I hadn't thought of. What kind of material do you think I would use for the door and how would I lock it? Vanpiressrn, good website. It helps that they have videos. Looks like the best one for my situation is quite pricey. I'll contact them to see if they have another suggestion. Thanks