Dog Door Security - Please Help

I usually contact the slide...but that's only effective when you put the slide in (keeping the dog from going in/out).

You could, in addition to the motion detector, also contact the interior laundry room door. But, the bad guy is already in the house on that one too.

If the dog doesn't go in/out at night put the slide in, or have a sturdier door installed.

If the dog is small enough maybe you can construct a man-trap (dog trap in this case), where he'd have to make a turn to get in the house, but a person couldn't.

Install motion detector lighting outside on that side of the house.

Although I've never seen or installed one, I've seen security dog door devices advertised at Smarthome dot com. The dog wears a collar with an access control activator and the door wont open unless it senses the device in the collar. It may have some down sides, but you'd have to investigate it to find out if it would work in your case.

I guess worst case . ...... you might wake up one night with some guy standing over your bed ...... wearing a dog collar.

It depends on how much trouble you're willing to go through to make it work. One fellow I know of rigged a solenoid lock, controlled by a prox reader to keep the door closed. He attached a prox tag to his dog's collar. When the dog is within a few inches of the door it releases. When the dog is elsewhere the door remains secured. IIRC this gentleman's problem was not burglars but other neighborhood pets.

There are other things you can do which cost less but are not as secure. One method is to rig up a pet resistant motion detector outside the dog door. When a human enters the area it can trip a sounder, turn on a light or whatever.

in (keeping

laundry room door. But, the bad guy is already in the house on that one too.

door installed.

this case), where he'd have to make a turn to get in the house, but a person couldn't.

The motion detector lighting is installed, now. I've been looking for sturdier doors, but can't seem to find any that look very robust. The auto open/close doors are made of plastic and look easy to break. I like the idea of contacting the interior door, but then again that requires not allowing the dog to get out and in that case I might as well board up the door.

Shesh! Why didn't you just replace the door?? js

We trained our dog to ring a bell when he wants to go out. I wouldn't have a doggie door..besides the security issue...I hate strange animals in my house...like rattlesnakes, cats, scorpions etc. Out here if you have a small pet, they're basically owl or coyote snacks so you don't wanna leave Fluffy on her own out back :-)

Some of my clients install the pet door on the side of the garage so the pet can get in and out of the garage but not the house...not great solution since the garage gets real hot...but it works for some.

Crash Gord> I usually contact the slide...but that's only effective when you put the slide

in (keeping

laundry room door. But, the bad guy is already in the house on that one too.

door installed.

this case), where he'd have to make a turn to get in the house, but a person couldn't.

The motion detector lighting is installed, now. I've been looking for sturdier doors, but can't seem to find any that look very robust. The auto open/close doors are made of plastic and look easy to break. I like the idea of contacting the interior door, but then again that requires not allowing the dog to get out and in that case I might as well board up the door.

Newsgroups: alt.security.alarms From: "Robert L. Bass" - Find messages by this author Date: Sat, 9 Jul 2005 01:25:38 -0400 Local: Sat,Jul 9 2005 1:25 am Subject: Re: Dog Door Security - Please Help Reply | Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse

One method is to rig up a pet resistant motion detector outside the dog

door. When a human enters the area it can trip a sounder, turn on a light or whatever.<

You are an absolute bozo, Bass. Heat & movement.......yeah let's put a "pet immune" motion detector outside.Stick to selling tube tops and try keeping your piecatcher shut when people are looking for alarm advice. You have no clue, never had a clue, and will never have a clue about this industry. You must think there's a little midget in the "pet immune" motion who says "There's a doggy there's a doggy" or "Hey that's a person I better trip the switch". 99% of the time your posts are so moronic they border on amusing but this is just f****ng insane. Goofballs like you endanger the lives of end users when you pretend to know what you're talking about., and it's downright disgusting. If I didn't think it would pollute the water I'd tell you to get a job as a boat anchor because you're just deadweight.

Not only that but it must have been fun tightening stove bolts into those drilled (round) holes. :^)

A dog door of the size you described is just an open way of entering the house and, in my opinion, an uncessary security risk.

When I bought my house, I had just such a dog door in the garage side entrance. I went to a local machine shop and ordered two identical

1/4" steel plates with twelve 3/8" holes pre-drilled into the perimeter. Holes were drilled in the door to match the plates. I put in steel stove bolts on the outside and nuts and washers on the inside locked down tight. Then I painted both sides with Rustoleum (including the threads of the bolts).

Problem solved.

Beachcomber

I would have bought a new door. "Problem solved"... :-))

Ditto on the new door...that plate and hardware must have been expensive.

Right, these types of doors are designed to keep unwanted animals, not people, out.

I'm looking at the Optex VX-402R which can work with a 5816 to tie into my Ademco panel. At least this will be some added peace of mind.

OK, can I do this wirelessly to an Ademco 20PS ? If not, I need another solution.

I just realized that contacting the door is out anyhow because during the winter months the wind can really pick up and blow the door flap open and shut.

I just read the description of the Optex outdoor motion sensor. It seems like it might have reasonable immunity to trees in the wind. It emits one beam horizontally and another down toward the ground... A person of normal height who passes by will break both beams and set it off, however a dog will only break the lower beam and not set it off. It seems unlikely that my trees and bushes are going to be breaking both beams. However I guess if plants low to the ground are swaying and trees higher up are also swaying, that could do it.

Hmm.

Being in the industry, if I had this problem I'd contact the dog door with a wide gap contact and set it up as an alarm point. I'd attach a RFID tag to the dog's collar and use a long range reader to shunt the contact when the dog was approaching the door. Anything other than the dog would cause an alarm if the dog door was opened.

I'd put a kennel in the back yard and keep the mutt where it belongs.

Doug L

Okay I'll bite. Theoretically, the same RFID chips that are available to tag pets could be used as a credential to shunt a contact/ open a door. These tags can be implanted. Ethically, this type of technology is a nasty slippery slope.

Ethically for a dog? Naaa although it does seem like a lot of trouble

That's the best suggestion yet, J.