Giving dog access to go potty when we're out

[DaveC426913]

TL;DR

Where can I put a doggie door, and how do I stop the cat from using it?

I just can't seem to find a satisfactory solution to this. I'm not sure you will either, I'm just hoping maybe some external thoughts will inspire a new line of thinking.

• We have a 50lb big black Spitz. Arthritic. Old, kinda crotchety and anxiety-wrought. Yells at anyone except us.
• We have a 1yo kitten (raised from feral). 100% indoor.

An extremely rare moment of the cat not trying to blood let the dog, and the dog not trying to bite her in half:

• We go out regularly, a few times a week, for up to five hours at a time.
• Dog has started to have trouble lasting that long, and we have come home to puddles on the floor.
• We live in the back half of a four-story backsplit. Our children live in the front half. Currently, the dog hates them, so they can't help.
• We occupy a living room (with sliding door walkout) and bedroom on the main floor, and the basement, which is quite large
• There are exactly four existing exits:
  • LR sliding doors,
  • back door into sunroom (too hot/cold to be habitable - think: locked in a parked car, but bigger),
  • basement (exits into garage), and
  • door into upper household (which makes the dog very yelly).

I'm trying of think of ways to get her access to outdoors that don't put the cat at-risk.

Currently, the best option is:

• Throw the cat upstairs to the kids, or downstairs in the basement. Provide a secondary litter box.
• Get a doggy door that slots into the sliding doors. Put it in when going out, remove it when coming home.

Things I have thought of:

• Animal-sensing gadgets are not foolproof. The cat will manage to get out - whether due to its sneakiness or our dumbness.
• Blow a hole in the brick wall of the LR (there is only a five foot section that is exterior wall). This solves the inserting/removing aspect of the doggie door, but it doesn't to solve the cat getting out problem.
• She does have a doghouse out on the patio in shade, but that would only do for a few months in the spring/fall, and she'll bark the whole time.
• Replace one of the panels in the sliding door with a doggie door. Same up/down sides as above.
• Giant, stinky, doggy litterbox in the LR or basement. (A horrible option.)

Are any of these doggy door inserts for sliding glass doors intended to be inserted/replaced daily?

 

[DaveE]

You've probably already done this, and it probably won't help, but checking with your Vet may be useful.

 

[BillTre]

For a lot of money you can probably get pet doors triggered by a dog or cat collar.
It should be operable by one but not the other animal's presence.
I did a search on this: "collar triggered dog door" and found many, but for hundreds of $s.

 

[DaveE]

Are any of these doggy door inserts for sliding glass doors intended to be inserted/replaced daily?

Why would you need to do that? Every pet door I've seen has a panel you can slide in place to block it closed.

 

[DaveC426913]

You've probably already done this, and it probably won't help, but checking with your Vet may be useful.

At first, I thought you meant a checkup to check her kidneys or something. You mean ask about solutions...

 

[DaveC426913]

For a lot of money you can probably get pet doors triggered by a dog or cat collar.
It should be operable by one but not the other animal's presence.
I did a search on this: "collar triggered dog door" and found many, but for hundreds of $s.

Yes, but I am certain the cat is spry enough to outfox such a system.

Anytime the dog is near the door (including passing through it) the cat has an opportunity to escape.

 

[DaveC426913]

Why would you need to do that? Every pet door I've seen has a panel you can slide in place to block it closed.

Because this is a full glass sliding door. I can't just cut a hole in it to insert a doggie door.

(Googled example:)

What they offer instead is a full height, 16" wide panel that fits in the door.

Not only does that mean we have to squeeze through our "front" door that's now only 18" wide, but it leaves our house perpetually unlocked.

 

[DaveE]

At first, I thought you meant a checkup to check her kidneys or something. You mean ask about solutions...

Yes, OK, well both, I guess. I was really thinking of meds for incontinence. But yes, also check for illness like diabetes etc.

 

[berkeman]

Maybe consider adding weight/resistance and maybe a magnetic assist hold-closed thing to a traditional dog door, so that the cat can't push it open. You still have the issue that the cat may try to tailgate the dog through, but if the door is weighted enough it may not be able to do it (especially if the dog normally does not like the cat near them).

 

[DaveE]

It's not a replacement for a real Vet, but the Merk Vet manual has good info.
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/searchresults?query=incontinence dog