Success!

We have a dog door! Dad and I got the door put in today. It's probably not as good a job as a pro would have done, but we got it done. One thing I found out: Don't assume your door is a solid-wood door just because it looks that way on the edge. Yep, my door is solid ... foam. Obviously, it made the job a lot easier than I thought it would be. And I definately couldn't have done it without Dad's help (BIG thanks, Dad!).

Now the task is getting Buster used to the idea he can go out whenever he wants. He was a bit scared of it at first, it seemed. He would only go through it if I held the flap out of the way (and some treats helped). But when I got home from the hotline tonight, he came out to greet me! He needed a bit of encouragement to come out through the door, but he did it without me holding the flap out of his way. I made him come in using the door, and he needed a bit more encouragement to do that. But he did, he got lots of loving and playing with his favorite squeaky toy! And as I've been sitting here at the computer, he keeps going to the door and sticking his head out, as if he's just checking what's going on in the yard. I'm sure he'll get the idea eventually. But life's going to be easier now, not having to run home on my long work days to let him out.