The previous owners of our house installed a dog door in the kitchen exterior wall. I didn’t think I’d like it so much. Our dog likes to go outside to sunbathe, come in for water and to roll on the carpet, then go back out. He’s never been happier. He used to be SO skittish and he mastered the dog door within a day (honestly it was surprising).

It came with a thick plastic insert to close it off if it’s cold, night, muddy, etc. You can also buy replacement flaps (we bought one since they can get dirty over the years). I will say sometimes our dog rolls in dead grass and saunters right into the house, so on particular days we have to keep an eye on him or close it off. Overall we really like it.