Doggy Door or Not for the first month?

[Frances S]

Hi,

I'm new to this site I came across today..We have a puppy goldendoodle that came home this weekend at 8 weeks.  She is crate trained..When do you think we should invest in a doggy door? Thank You..

[Frances S]

Thanks, I'll check out the P.M group.. sounds like a good site for us.. We have a lot to learn :-)

[Jennifer and Jack]

Welcome to DK.. I have debated getting a doggie door for a long time, I chose not to because I simply don't want my dog to have fee access to outside. I want to know where he is at all time, I do let him go outside alone for a few minutes and then I check on him, He is too little to leave out there unsupervised.  Not that I think a dog of any size should be totally unsupervised outside but anyway.

 

For now at least you will have to take your puppy outside to potty and you will need to see when they go so you can have the puppy pee peed outside potty party.....

 

Welcome To DK... We are all madly in love with our doods here.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Like the puppy went potty party! Chloe is 4 and I still do it!!!

[Camilla and Darwin]

I would never get a doggy door for the same reasons.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

We don't have one and not sure I would want them to have "freedom" to come and go as they please, that might drive us nuts.  You should also consider poochie bells that he can ring to ask to go out.  Good Luck and Congrats on your new puppy!!

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

We trained bothour dogs on these bells! Awesome and they try to lie and beat on them when they want to play now that we have a fence, We don't really use them much anymore because they are on a schedule!!

[PoochieBells]

Hello Jennifer, Chloe and Myla. Thanks for your kind words about Poochie Bells! Those pooches are smart, aren't they? That's why we love them - oh, and because they are really cute too!

[PoochieBells]

Thanks for the "ringing" endorsement of PoochieBells, Suzanne, Rosey and Bandit! Very kind of you.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've lived with dogs for 53 years and never had a doggy door. I've never really understood why anyone would need one. Nothing against anyone who has one, but I'm with Caitlin, I would never let my dog be unsupervised outside. And I've lived in homes as large as 5000 sq. ft, with four levels, without having a problem knowing when a dog had to go outside or getting to the door on time.

Especially with a puppy, you want to be with them every time they 'go", to reinforce pottying outdoors with praise and a treat, and you need to see what they're doing out there. They can get into major serious trouble outside on their own. So even if you plan to get a doggy door at some point, leaving a young puppy outdoors alone is IMO not a good idea.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I do have a doggie door and sometimes, but not often, the dogs can go out alone. The doggie door is on a screen porch and I have to open a door to the porch to let the dogs out. On a beautiful day  I may leave the door open to the porch. I like that the dogs have the shelter of the porch if it's raining and they are waiting a minute or so for me to open the door to the house. That said I didn't get the door until my younger dog was over a year old. Young pups need a lot of supervision as everyone has said.

[Michael Gurley]

This is exactly what I have. The doggie door is on the screen porch, on the outside door so I have to open the inside door for the dog to go out. On really nice days, I open a window that Sunny (but not Reba) can jump in and out and have somewhat free access to the outside. Usually I'm outside on the porch when I open the window for her. I didn't get the dog door until my doodle was about 8 months old, and I made it high enough off the ground so that my dachshund couldn't get out.

 

I wouldn't recommend giving your puppy any freedom at all until he's at least 6 months old and fully housetrained!

[Frances S]

O.K. Thanks everyone for the great advice.. We will rethink about buying a doggy dog..I think you all are right in saying that a puppy should not be left unsupervised outdoors...I also do like the "hanging bells at the door" idea.  We look forward in checking out the Puppy Madness site.  Does anyone have a good site where I might find these bells?

Thanks