My Dog Has a House Key

It seems everyday John and I treat the dog more and more like a real kid. Yesterday we gave her a key to the house.

Not the kind of key you're probably thinking, but an infrared key to her dog door. Boogie's dog door (the purchase and installment of which was a saga worthy of several blog entries) is very fancy and it allows us to lock, unlock or limit access.

The limited access means only an animal wearing a programed key can open the door. It's designed to keep out vermin. We use it to keep the vermin in, namely the bad cat, Mr. Mojo.

It took a bit of training to get Boogie comfortable with the door. At first she was afraid of it, then she'd sit and wait to use it until we gave her permission to use it, but finally she comes and goes as she pleases. So, we decided it was time to start using the key.

We'd put off this part because the locking mechanism makes a noise and there is a slight delay in the unlocking all of which were hindering our doggie-door-training efforts.

Boogie's first attempt at unlocking the door went a little something like this: I take out a treat and ask her go outside. In her enthusiasm to be treated she charges at the door and totally wipes out cartoon-style as she slams into the locked door. After a dazed moment, it unlocks and she pops right through. Surprisingly, her first rough encounter with the limited access door hasn't fazed her, and she's only unlocked the door for the cat once.