Preventing dog opening door handles!!

Keanosafc

3 months after moving into a new house our dog has figured out that she can let herself into any room she likes while were out, by standing on back feet and pulling the handles down.

It has been suggested to turn the handles upside down, so you need to lift instead of put weight on to open the door, but the screws wouldn't match and I don't want to make unnessasary holes in the door.

We've also thought of buying round handles but at the moment can't afford this,

does anyone have ideas,

i was wondering if it's possible to take the handle apart and tighten the screws/spring inside to make it more difficult for my dog.

Thanks

Becles

My old collie learned how to do that too!

When I moved in here, the bedroom doors all have locks with keys (no idea why!). I used to lock the bedroom doors to stop him getting in and sleeping on the beds.

paddy's_mum

How about fitting a tiny bolt to your side of the door - if the dog is being left in the kitchen while you are out, fit the bolt to the hall side of the kitchen door. You slide the bolt across as you leave the room.

Make sure it is a small one so that if, God forbid, something awful happened and you were desperate to get into that room, one good shove and the screws would rip out.

Alternatively, a dog crate keeps a pet from going walkabout in your absence. Hope that helps.

sandieb

I guess that, if your keep your dog in the kitchen for example, you only need to change the handle on one door, given that a back door would be locked whilst you are out. Why not just change that one door handle to a door knob?

nickj_2

if you swap the door handles on each side around you will have to push them up instead of pushing them down ............

paddy's_mum

Just be warned that a friend's boxer dog learned very quickly how to get hold of a round door knob in her teeth - one little twist of the mouth and freedom again!

If you don't want to spend out nor make holes in doors, would an elastic bungee cord from the kitchen (?) doorhandle to another door nearby or something solid and heavy be enough for your dog to 'unlearn' this means of access to the rest of the house.

nifferwilko

Does she do it when people are around?

grab a video camera and send a tape to you've been framed - I'd like to see a dog open a door

£250 in MSE fashion

davetrousers

nickj wrote: »

if you swap the door handles on each side around you will have to push them up instead of pushing them down ............

That's the idea. Can look a bit odd though.

ooo000ooo

davetrousers wrote: »

That's the idea. Can look a bit odd though.

Surely the handles will be pointing the wrong way and stop the door from opening when they jam against the door frame?

If that's the case, you'd need to take the door handle off and reverse the mechanism and spring on the inside of the handle to make the door handle work the opposite way.
I had to do it on one of our bedroom doors recently which had been working the wrong way since we moved in.
Theres a disc on the inside of the handle with a chunk cut out that lets the handle turn 90 degrees which you have to reverse and a !!!!!! of a spring to reverse. the whole lot is held on by a circlip.
You will learn the meaning of the phrase pingfuggit.

mikewebs

Why not put combination locks on all the doors? I am sure no dog could remember a 3 or 4 number sequence and dial it in!

Keanosafc

Thanks, I'd said in my original post I didn't want to turn the door handles, as the screws keeping the handle to the door aren't exact which would mean creating more holes in the door which I don't want to do.

Also about putting a small bolt on the door I don't want to do that either.

back to the drawing board I guess.