Measure height
Example of tunnel in frame wall
Cut opening, if needed add a
1—1/2" flat mounting surface.
This is how an installed door looks.
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Step #1:
Measure the belly height of your pet
from ground level to his underside
to find the correct height of the
door opening. Bottom edge is usually
6" to 12". Do not mount flush to
ground.
For the
Heavy Duty Dog Door
™ cut the opening 12-1/2" wide x
17-1/2" high. For the
Big Dog Door ™
cut the opening 16-1/2" wide x
25-1/2" high.
Step #2:
If mounted on garage or house wall,
frame the depth of the wall to form
a tunnel through the wall. (Use 2" X
4" or 2" X 6" material.) If needed,
add a least a 1/2" x 1 1/2" flat
outside mounting surfacing.
Step #3:
Place door over opening and use the
enclosed two 1 1/2” wood screws to
hold door to opening.
Step #4:
Show dog how to use door. Your dog
will learn to use your pet door
almost at once, but there are a few
which may be a little nervous at
first.
The most important rule is
to be patient.
Do not let the dog have a
bad experience or it may
become frightened.
Most dogs can be trained to
use a pet door in a matter
of hours. Your dog will
respond to encouragement,
repetition and play in
particular.
Alternatively, use the door
flap as part of a game -
throw a ball through, for
instance. As your dog
responds to your encouraging
calls, help it through the
door, patting and
congratulating it. Repeat
the game several times,
continually encouraging the
animal with positive
gestures and comments.
Within a short time your dog
will be totally familiar
with its pet door and use it
happily on its own.
I have seven-week old lab
pups that use these doors,
naturally, your dog will
learn too.
Problems…see
Special Dog Training
Instructions at end of page
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Installation Tips:
Install 1/8" felt or rubber weather
stripping on surface of building or
door. Do not put rubber weather
stripping on Gun Dog House Door
®.
NOTE:
If your door does not close at the
bottom, the door is installed
incorrectly. Unscrew door and move
1/4" lower. If there is a gap
between top strap and upper
doorframe, move door 1/4" higher.
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Measure height.
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The Heavy Duty Dog Door ™ and
Big Dog Door ™ are installed
on the outside
of a house door.
Determine Height
To find correct height of the hole
for your dog, measure the belly
height of your pet. (Average
installation is six to twelve
inches.) Mark the height in pencil
on one side of your door.
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Drilling and cutting hole
The
Heavy Duty Dog Door ™
hole size is 12-1/2" x
17-1/2". For The
Big Dog Door ™
the hole size is 16-1/2" x
25-1/2".
Drill half inch in each
corner. Insert jigsaw into
drill hole and cut out hole.
See photo 1.
If installing on a
steel door,
cut hole one-half
inch larger, glue
one quarter inch
pine or cedar trim
inside opening.
See photo 2. |
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If installing in a hollow
core door,
use four strips of wood the
same width as the hollow
between the panels in your
door. Position the wood so
that they are flush with the
edges of the hole. Either
glue, nail or screw the
strips. Frame the
outside/inside hole with (2)
inch by (1/4) inch lengths.
Again, either glue, nail or
screw to door surface as
Photo 3 illustrates. |
| 
Draw template/drill 1/2"
holes.
Opening 12-1/2" x
17-1/2" on the Heavy Duty
Dog Door™, 16-1/2" x 25-1/2"
on the Big Dog Door™.
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Jigsaw cutting to each
(1/2") drilled corners
Photo 1
|
Steel door: Note hole is cut
1/2" larger to allow for
1/4" thick wood inserts.
Opening 13" x 18" on the
Heavy Duty Dog Door™, 17" x
26 " on the Big Dog Door™.
Photo 2
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Hollow core reinforcement
wood strips
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Frame the inside and outside
of the hole on the door –
use 1/4” cedar or pine 2”
wide.
Photo 3
|
Heavy Duty Dog Door ™ installed
on a metal door.
BACK TO TOP |
This little 7 week old Lab pup is
already a pro at using the Gun
Dog House Door ®.
This yellow lab is 7 weeks old and
the GDHD
is 20 years old...and still working
great.
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Whether you have an adult dog, or a
new puppy, teaching him how to use a
Gun Dog House Door
® (GDHD) will be done the
same way.
When you install your dog door, make
sure you measure the "rise" of your
dog (the measurement from the floor
to the lowest part of your dog's
chest or stomach). This measurement
tells you where to place the
"bottom" of your dog door. The
bottom of your dog door should be an
inch lower than the "rise" of your
dog. If you have a puppy you will
need to install the dog door one
inch from the ground; and you will
need to re-install it at higher
intervals as your puppy grows.
Another option is to take an
educated guess as to how tall your
dog will eventually be, install the
dog door at the appropriate height,
and construct a "puppy-ramp" so your
puppy can reach the dog door and go
through it comfortably.
Once the frame of the GDHD
door is installed in a wall or door,
leave the GDHD off at first.
Have someone stay inside with your
dog while you go outside. Call your
dog through the "hole" (door frame
without the GDHD). When he
goes through and comes to you,
praise him lavishly and give him a
treat. Now have the person inside
the house call him through the
"hole." When he gets to them, they
should praise it and offer a treat
as well. Do this at least 3 times
and no more than a dozen. After
this, your dog will know there is a
hole in the wall or the door
especially for him.
Leave the GDHD off the cut
opening for one full day. Encourage
him to use his opening by not
letting him use the "real" doors.
Instead, you use the real door and
say to your dog, "Go to your door!"
pointing in the direction of his dog
door. You may need the help of
someone inside to "help" the dog
find his new door. After a half a
dozen times, your dog should like
this new game! If you have a
very young puppy, do not expect them
to learn "Go to your door" for many
weeks or months; still give them the
command in a happy voice, and have
someone inside show them where their
door is every time. It sometimes
helps if you are outside (after
going through a real door) and
someone else helps your dog or puppy
find the doggie door as you call him
from outside.
On the second day, install the
GDHD. Now, you will need to
repeat the same exercise as when you
first sent your dog through the
"hole." But this time, the person on
the same side of the door as the dog
will need to "push" the
GDHD open for him. Each time the
dog goes through the door, push the
GDHD less and less for him. It
is important that the dog gets used
to the feel of the GDHD on
the back of his head so once your
dog has begun going through the
door, let go of the GDHD so
he feels it on his head and body as
he goes through the door. Eventually
the dog will need to push the
GDHD by himself and dogs are
usually hesitant to do this at
first. He will probably put his nose
down by the bottom of the
GDHD and wait for the GDHD
to move (after all, it has up to
now). At this point, push the
GDHD slightly so that your dog
can see it is a moveable object, let
the GDHD
bounce back to the closed position.
The best way I can explain it is
that you are "poking"
GDHD using short, quick pokes.
This gives the dog a glimpse of an
opening and encourages him to poke
the door himself. At this stage,
some dogs begin going through the
door with ease, others become quite
excited, but still haven't figured
out that they can push the door
open. If your dog will not push the
door open by himself yet, remove the
GDHD and install a piece of
carpet onto the opening. You want
the carpet to have a least a _”
opening on the sides and bottom. The
dog should feel more comfortable
pushing the carpet on its own. After
2-3 days, install the GDHD
and with our enthusiastic
encouragement and praise, your dog
should be able to push the GDHD
now with no problem
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