Doggie Doors

There are ones for large dogs where the dog wears a special electronic collar that enables the door to open and close. It prevents people from opening it and crawling through.

I have a few clients that have big dogs, big houses and big dog doors and definitely alarm systems.

Some also have Glass doors to the exterior so some of them have dog doors in the actual doors as well as some through outdoor walls.

They use the systems where the dog has a device on their pet collars that allows the dog to go through the dog door, but not set off the alarm.

Of course these homes also have sensors to alert them to where movement is going on in their homes also. So I am not sure how all of that works.

My business partner actually tried to crawl through the doggie door on one of them, just to see how it worked. She is crazy. She definitely needed the collar to get the thing to work.

What my husband learned a long time ago by installing/repairing alarm systems, and now working for the police is that if someone REALLY wants to break into your home, they will figure it out.

But 90% of the time, "OUR" homes are not the ones people want to break into. The crooks tend to be lazy and to take opportunities that appear to them.
Garage doors left open.
Doors leading into the actual home left open or unlocked.
Cars that are left unlocked.
Bikes left unchained or poorly chained.
Packages or things left on front porches and front steps.
Any door or window left unlocked.

He says the police reports are filled with notes that "Door was left unlocked" Yes, even in your back yard, Your garage doors. Even if you have pets.. you still need to lock your doors.

I would say to install it into a door instead of the wall if at all possible... More easily replaced if you someday decide you don't want/need it any more.

I have seen doors that are wired into the house's security system, and the dog wears a thing on the collar that keeps the alarm from going off. Maybe something like that would help with your security concerns... Though, having a large dog is typically a pretty good deterrent. (Especially if you put up a "beware of dog" sign or two.)

The doggie door shouldn't effect your alarm system unless you have alarm sensors installed on it (like your windows and regular doors).

I have a doggie door but my dog is only 13 lbs so I don't think anyone is going to fit. I would check out all the different options out there, I like the suggestion of an electronic sensor on the dog but what if someone followed your dog into the home. Not sure of the temperament of your dog, some are extremely friendly and will let anyone near them.

I would love to have one. I understand you can get sensors on them similar to the babysitter chime on the doors and windows of your alarm system.

We can't have one because we back up to a large wooded area with lots of wildlife. I'd end up with a raccoon, bobcat, coyote, squirrels, snakes or worse in my house. One of our neighbors already had a copperhead snake inside his house this season and it was due to someone leaving a door open.

Like Laurie said... if someone wants to break into you house bad enough they can and will. My dogs are a good deterrent and I also have several cameras outside monitoring the property.

We have one and can't imagine living without it. Our backyard is fenced in so our dog can go in and out as she pleases all day. We haven't had any security issues with it.

I'm not a dog owner, so I'm not too familiar with doggie doors. However, I would think that a doggie door big enough for your dog might be big enough for a human to get through; would that pose a security concern? Could an intruder get through the door? Just a thought.

My dogs are my alarm system, so I can't speak to whether doggie doors cause complications with electronic alarms. I'm on the small side and have entered the house that way when I locked myself out.
My dogs love the doggie door.

We love our doggie door! Right now our puppy is too small to use the door, we are anxiously awaiting the day he can get in and out on his own. Our last dog was a100 lb lab/ retriever mix. We put in a doggie door and have never had any safety issues at all. The way I see it, if someone wants in badly enough, they will get in doggie door or not.

We have ours in our door. We carefully placed it so it is near impossible to reach the door knob. unless you are particularly small. If we ever sell our house, it will be much easier to replace the door than to fix a giant hole in the wall.

Most security systems are set up to be "pet safe", meaning a critter shouldn't set it off, especially if the door remains closed.

I think people would think twice about going into a house that had a dog or dogs that big. Just put up a sign that says beware of dogs.

I'd be worried a person would come in for sure. I don't know that I would do that except into the garage where the doggy could go on some piddle pads.

We put a doggie door in our bedroom door. You know that a cat is ALWAYS on the wrong side of the door....lol.