The Doggie Door

I try to live my life without regrets, but one of my latest regrets has been not buying a doggie door for Cody sooner.

When I first got Cody, I knew other dog owners who had pet doors. I chose not to get one since I took Cody to work with me most days, and because pet doors are so darn expensive (~$150). Living in a rented apartment with no real permanent lodging also prevented me in investing so much in something that I may not use for that long.

Cody's recent addiction to sunbathing, as well as a possible job change for me prompted me to rethink this decision. To be clear, Cody does not just sunbathe for stretches of time. No, he sunbathes for half an hour, and then whines to come back in for about 10 minutes while he cools down, then whines to be let out for another half an hour to continue the ritual. It's not the most pleasant way for me to spend a Saturday or Sunday.

The doggie door was on sale for $119 + tax, so I thought I would get one. Boy, did I wish I got one sooner. Not only can I enjoy my weekends, I can enjoy my evenings. Cody will get up in the middle of the night or in the day and just let himself out to relieve himself. I can continue sleeping or napping without interruptions.

I decided the next step is to train Cody to turn on the treadmill. Once that is done, I can leave Cody on his own for days at a time. Since he free feeds, I can just set aside a tub of food, a tub of water, and just let him go outside whenever he wants through the doggie door. The only issue is exercise, and he can just run on the treadmill. I mean, granted, there's going to be some socialization and playtime that he'll probably want as well, so training him to use the cell phone to invite friends over and to train him to open the front door will come next right after the treadmill training. Then I can just move out and my baby will be all on his own, all grown up. *sniffle* *sniffle*

Here's what the pet door looks like (yes, you're right, that's not a picture of Cody):