Dog door automation....

["White, Peter" <peter.white@xxxxxxx>]

All

Bit long this - sorry...

Quick potted history - my dog (Bob) has had a dog door (think cat flap,
but
a bit bigger, about 12" x 10") all his life.  A recent
operation to remove a
cataract didn't work out, so he's now effectively blind.  He's been
home for
about a month now, and is fine going in and out the door without the
flap
installed (i.e. basically a hole in the back door), but now the nights
are
drawing in it's getting a bit nippy keeping the hole open.  Although I
work
>from
day, and given his bladder is not 'calibrated' for keeping a cork in it
for
extended periods, I don't really have the option of just blocking the
hole
in and hoping he crosses his legs.

The dogdoor is a standard 'Staywell' one, basically a piece of rigid
perspex
mounted on a 2-way hinge.  I think the issue Bob has with it is that
as he
walks through it, it come back down on his head/back, and that spooks
him.
This causes him to go into reverse, which just makes things worse. 
Whilst I
was in the States I saw some that used floppy bits of thick rubber, but
I
don't think this would be much better, as the bottom edge was quite
heavy.

So, ideally (and this is where you guys come in), I'd like some sort of
automated dog door based on either PIR or a button (I've trained Bob to
press buttons, not that he's a touch typist or anything!).  I can get
power
to the door, but it does open against a wall, so whatever the gizmo used
is,
it can't really protrude more than a few inches.  the door itself is
just a
bog-standard half glass/half wood/ply affair, with a hole cut into it
about
6" from the base.  I am not proficient in electro-mechanics or
the
disassembly of windscreen motors!  X10 PIR would be fine, as the door
is in
a utility room, so there's time for Bob to wander into the room, PIR to
trigger, and Homeseer to open the flap.  I can mount an external PIR
to open
it again, or I guess use some logic to work out whether Bob's come back
in
again.  The real issue is, I suspect, in getting the flap automated in
the
first place.

Has anyone done this before, seen any off-the-shelf products, or got
any
good ideas?

Pete (& Bob)


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