Let me spend a few words talking about what *I* have and how I use it with my two little mutts.

First, I’m not a big fan of not making permanent modifications to my house when I don’t have to.  That includes anything that wouldn’t be universally used by someone who would buy the house from me and live in it.  As useful as it is, a doggy door is not a universally used item like a light switch, storage shelving, plumbing, cabinetry, and so on.  So when it comes to doggy doors, I’m a bit fan of both the window doggy doors and the patio panels.

What I actually have is a custom-made patio panel for the slider on my house that leads out to the back yard.  I have it in the basement since my house was built on a hill and has a walkout basement foundation.  As such, it is somewhat out of sight, out of mind.  I could have taken this to mean that I could get the ugliest, cheapest panel I could find, but I took it in a different direction.  Since it isn’t in the every day living area (near the kitchen, for example), we’re not going to see it every day and won’t necessarily notice if something is wrong with it.  As such, I wanted something high quality and maintenance-free.

The panel was built with a wood frame to match the casing around the existing slider.  It has double-paned glass on the top to make it as energy efficient as possible, and the doggy door itself is actually an electronic version with a transmitter on a collar that my pooches wear.  The panel was build such that the pet door could be installed into the lower part of the panel the same way it would be installed into a regular door.

So to be correct, my doggy door is a hybrid patio panel and electronic access door.

Was it the cheapest doggy door?  Not really.  But it was something that was in my budget and I had the resources to construct at a fairly reasonable price, so I did some of the install myself, and had the frame built by a professional.  I highly recommend this route if you’re able.  It’s really the best of both worlds.