by Charles Fawkes

Created on: October 11, 2009   Last Updated: October 12, 2009

Make You and Your Dog Happy- How to Install a Doggy Door

Do you have an indoor dog? Doesn't it always seem that your dog wants to use the bathroom at the least opportune moments? I know my dog seems to want to go outside just when I sit down to eat dinner or when my favorite TV show comes on. And sometimes dogs forget to tell us when they need to go. Then we get to clean up their mess inside our house! After experiencing these problems for a few months, I decided to install a doggy door.

I put off installing the doggy door for a few weeks. I thought to myself I don't know how to install a doggy door. It seemed complicated, involving saws and measuring. And I didn't want to mess up my door, either. However, I will tell you this: installing a doggy door is much easier than you think.

To start off, I will tell you which supplies you will need. To install a doggy door, you will need a drill with a 3/4 drill bit, a tape measurer, a pencil, a jigsaw and sealing caulk. To be safe, you will also need eye protection, such as goggles. And the doggy door, you don't want to forget that!

I started off with most of the necessary supplies to install the doggy door. However, I had to purchase a few items. I picked up the doggy door (for a medium sized dog) at the local Petsmart for $40. The jigsaw, which I thought would be expensive, was a mere $20 at Wal-Mart.The sealing caulk was about $2. In addition to being easy, installing a doggy door isn't as expensive as you would think.

I would allot about 2 hours to install the doggy door, maybe less if you have a partner to help. Here are the installation steps:

Removing the door from the frame (optional):

Although this step is not absolutely necessary, I found it better to remove your door before installing the doggy door. If you decide to take your door off of the frame, I would recommend a partner to help. My door was quite heavy so I am glad I had an extra hand. To remove the door, I simply unscrewed the screws that were holding the three hinges to the door frame. I then laid the door down on two old dining room chairs.

Measuring hole to cut

The time to be most precise is when measuring the hole for the doggy door. I used a tape measurer to measure 5 inches up from the bottom of my door. Make sure you make the hole at least 3 inches from all of the doors borders. This will insure that the door retains its structural integrity even with a doggy door in it. I wanted my dog's door in the middle of the house door, so I measured

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