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Oh my!  Not even thinking of doggie doors, how do these dogs learn to use the regular doors in your house?  We only have two knobs in our house, on the front door and coat closet, and the dogs have not figured out how to turn a knob yet, but they can (and have) worked all the other ways to get doors open.

First of all, a sliding glass door.  Hondo used to stand up on the door and shift his weight to open the slider.  Freaked out a repair man who came to the front door and a huge dog opened the slider to come in the house.  We have since replaced this door with a heavier one that is hard for even me to open.

Next are the pocket doors.  We have them for all interior doors and closets.  No problem.  Dogs just put their paw on the door and slide it enough to get their nose in the crack and then open the door.  We have locks on the bathroom doors for privacy, but all other doors can be opened anytime they want to open them.

Exterior doors and doors to the shop and garage are levers so they can be opened easily when your hands are full.  Well, that is the specialty of our ALD.  He has figured out that if you want to open a door you just stand up on it and push down the handle.  So we have to lock the doors from the side not facing the outdoors when we are out of the house.  You can imagine the confusion there!  One time I came home to find Harpo waiting for me in the driveway.  He had opened the door into the shop and then the door out of the shop to the front of the house.

So security with dogs?  Luckily, usually one of us is home but privacy and security are not the things our dogs are concerned with.  They just love the independence of being able to let themselves in and out when they are so inclined.

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LOL! Did he ever get into your pantry?

One day after I left the house my brother called to say that Charlie was scratching at their front door. He lives on the same block about 10 houses down. I guess she figured that if we had abandoned her she would just go to my brother's. The first couple of times Charlie got out I figured that I had not shut the door properly or that the kids had left it open. Then one day I heard her doggy friend barking outside and Charlie jumped up and went to the front door and let herself out. We had a lever door handle on our front door and she would stand on her hind legs and open the door and let herself out. This particular doorknob will move even if it is locked. So... we had to replace the front handle.

Luckily, she has not figured out how to turn a doorknob but I don't underestimate her anymore. These dogs are smart!

Sadly, one of my Chocolate Labs broke through a new, full-view screen door by forcing it open. He pressed his nose at the base of the door which put pressure on the handle to spring.  He ran out to chase one of his friends who was jogging with his owner.  He was hit instantly and killed by a car  as I ran and called out his name. I was just a few feet away.  It all happened so quickly ( 1998) 

I was sued by the driver for over $2,000 on my home owners insurance for the damage to his new truck.  Even though he was speeding ( proven ) my dog got loose and caused the accident. My fault. It was a huge loss for us. Crushed by such a simple yet deadly accident. 

I purchased inexpensive hooks and eyes to secure the doors.  Wish I would have thought of that sooner or had known sooner that a $2.69 piece of hardware would have saved a dog's life. 

Spud can open the back door but it leads to the fenced area of the yard.  Usually he rings the bell but if no one comes he just gets it done by himself.

Yikes, and my husband got a "retractable" screen that we use on our screen door (but it is on the back of the house) in summer.  You can open it just by pushing on it.  It comes in handy when he is coming into the house with a pan of BBQ or his hands full of groceries, etc.  That is terrible that you were sued by someone who killed your dog.

So another mention of hooks and eyes.  I do not know what those are, but my husband probably does.  BTW, the pictures are in the mail and a UPS guy should be around later this week.

Oh, I cant wait!!!   Surely that will brighten up these rainy rainy days. Looking forward to seeing the picture  :)

Lynda, here is a simple hook and eye. 

We actually use something similar to this to keep a door open! They use them on ships, so doors don't bang and shut with the wave motion. In our case, it keeps the utility room door open just enough for cats to squeeze through to eat and use the litter box and at the same time keeps Doodle noses out!
What a tragic story. So sad.

Sorry to hear about your lab. 

that's so sad and tragic Joanne!  so sorry that happened :(

Clever dogs.

I like to think my pup is unmotivated rather than stupid.

Everybody tells me what smart dogs these are.

I tell them the jury is still out on this one.

I tell Gerogia it's a good thing she's cute.

Georgia is still a pup. But she goes in and out of the back door to the yard all the time. If the door is open less than 4 inches she barks for me to open it and let her in. I've tried to teach her that the door moves but she doesn't get it.

Hahah our pyr does this with all doors! If she cant fit her shoulders through, she thinks she needs our help. It is actually kind of convenient as it keeps her from bolting out when we are bringing in groceries or something like that. 

I am not letting Finn read this…you raise very smart doodles!

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