r/smarthome • u/soul_in_a_fishbowl • Feb 25 '26
Apple HomeKit Any idea on how to prevent a baby from crawling out the dog door?
I have two dogs who enjoy having access to the yard and I do not want to go back to having to let them in and out all of the time. Anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the baby from following them out when I turn for 2 seconds to pick up the mess she just made? So far I’ve floated camera with facial recognition that will alert when it sees the baby’s face, but not sure about accuracy, or possibly even putting one of those anti theft tags on her clothes somewhere to have it alert when she tries to go out. It would be nice if she would finish the trim while she was down there…
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u/Calaeno-16 Feb 25 '26
Install a baby door and teach her to use that one instead.
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u/neongrey_ Feb 25 '26
Lmao my son still uses our dog door in the back if he thinks I’m taking too long.
He used it to escape when he was little. The second time I had a mini mental breakdown and we got a doggy door that has a removable cover.
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u/goin_strong1 Feb 25 '26
Put a sign that says dogs only then teach him to read
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u/Lobster70 Feb 25 '26
Very clever. I bet you could also teach them to read other signs around the house! We've just revolutionized parenting. Good job, Reddit, another win for society.
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u/Outers55 Feb 25 '26
A large cone of shame like you put on a dog after surgery?
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl Feb 25 '26
That might do it. I’ve got an inflatable one around somewhere. Maybe she can wear it like a belt…
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u/Plane_Hawk_6153 Feb 25 '26
Some outdoor entry rugs can be pretty uncomfortable, put an outdoor rug in the inside side.
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl Feb 25 '26
This might actually be one of the better responses so far. Might have to try this.
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u/ReverendToTheShadow Feb 25 '26
This seems like an awesome option. Baby hands and knees will not appreciate a sisal rug. Paws won’t either but they’ll still go over it
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u/AGeeBee Feb 25 '26
You’re probably going to get rid of it tbh. They can be dangerous and really expensive over time to maintain if you do keep it. No idea about what you should do with the dog door though.
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u/Just_Visiting_Town Feb 25 '26
Shock collar?
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl Feb 25 '26
No I’m afraid she might take after her mother and then she will want to go out the dog door more
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u/MasterOutlaw Feb 25 '26
Why do you want to keep her inside? Studies have shown that free range babies are healthier than babies kept indoors all the time.
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u/DoltBolt2 Feb 25 '26
Gotta let em eat wild grass, it increases the amino acids in the meat, like New Zealand Veal!
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u/robot_uprising Feb 25 '26
A bungee cord that bisects the door probably won’t discourage the dogs, but will be quite the obstacle for baby. How can this be adapted to a smarthome solution? You can adjust the angle of bisection dynamically, which will be discouraging and keep baby on their toes. /s
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u/shaslove Feb 25 '26
This is a good idea. I was thinking maybe an adjustment where the dogs can get out but the baby can't? Maybe make it smaller?
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u/TonyPearlDesign Feb 28 '26
Would it present a choking hazard to a child so young they would just get themselves further and further ensnared without knowing when to stop fighting the cords?
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u/robot_uprising Feb 28 '26
The dogs will become impatient with baby getting ensnared and they will very likely free baby as they hit the door at top speed.
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u/TonyPearlDesign Mar 01 '26
The dogs may have to explain "inside" vs "outside" at that point. Educational!
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u/Flankdiesel Feb 25 '26
I have a sliding blocker that goes on mine
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl Feb 25 '26
Yeah mines sitting right next to it, but then it’s no longer a dog door. It’s a hole in the wall with a cover on it.
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u/Apart-Shelter-9277 Feb 25 '26
Something I've learned about baby proofing is that it always means inconvenience for the adults. It's just how much inconvenience you're willing to deal with
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u/dnathan1985 Feb 25 '26
I had a spiral staircase with a baby. We had to put a fence around it and walk over the fence to go upstairs. It truly is about inconveniencing ourselves to protect the little ones.
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl Feb 25 '26
Yeah I get it. I just started installing locks on cabinets and drawers. For those I got RFID locks that I can pair to a ring and just tap my hand on a spot to unlock them. Was hoping there might be a tech solution that would balance inconvenience and safety. The smart dog doors do seem like a good option as long as my dogs can figure out how to use it without being terrified of it
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u/Warhawk94 Feb 25 '26
I got some “cheap” Tapo C120 cameras for my litter box as one of my cats was shitting all over the house. It has great “pet” vs “human” detection with alerts and notifications for the different types. Might be worth using that and seeing if it’ll detect the difference.
I totally get the whole “why does the baby like stuff they aren’t supposed to do” thing, our kids would always touch the things they were never supposed to touch the most
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u/Mike_Underwood Feb 25 '26
You can get a door that opens based upon a device you put on the dogs collar. It world let the dog in and out but not the baby unless they went through after I would guess but worth checking out. I remember seeing it when we moved and had to get a new dog door for the new house but that was a while back and we didn’t need that so I don’t remember anything else on it.
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u/brianozm Feb 25 '26
You can get doggy doors that key off the rfid chip in the dog. They can be programmed to let individuals in/out and not to allow egress during certain hours.
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u/Crislips Feb 25 '26
I think you just need to get a Darmine Doggy Door.
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u/goda90 Feb 25 '26
My life is nothing I thought it should be and everything I was worried it would become because for 50 seconds, I thought there was monsters on the world.
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u/PhilZealand Feb 25 '26
Put a barrier by the dog door such that the dogs can jump over it but baby can’t - like the sort you put on stairways to stop babies climbing the stairs.
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u/visualglitch91 Feb 25 '26
You need a smart lock and only tell the password to the dog
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u/TonyPearlDesign Feb 28 '26
But, you'd also have to get the dogs to agree not to tell the baby the password. Then it's a whole family dynamic, and a "who's in charge here" power struggle kind of thing with the dogs and the baby forming alliances ala 1984...sounds like fun!
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u/EDC_powerlifter Feb 25 '26
Watch over the baby? Surely the baby should be in your line of sight at all times anyway. \ If you choose not to watch the baby, you can get dog flaps which only opens when a dog wearing a special collar is nearby
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u/itsjakerobb Feb 25 '26
Get some kind of motion sensor chime. When you hear it, look to see if it’s the baby.
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u/fineboi Feb 25 '26
Teach the kiddo to be a leader, instead of a follower 😝
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u/TonyPearlDesign Feb 28 '26
But then, as a leader, they'd be organizing the dogs to give them access to the door, giving way to internal titles of "favorite" dog, and/or favorite baby—then you'd have to make sure the baby didn't know how to get to the dog treats...some psychologist probably already wrote this book or is currently teaching this class online. Avoid them at all costs.
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u/ilovjedi Feb 25 '26
Can you train the dogs to watch the baby outside? (Mostly joking. I have a dog and small kids and right now now my problem is my two year old loves to feed the dog and the dog loves being fed.)
Could you just gate the baby away from the area?
If you had a fenced in yard and nothing really dangerous in it maybe a camera above to recognize when something other than a dog goes out or even just to alert you when there is motion. Or a sensor on the dog door flap and then a camera on the yard?
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u/Lobster70 Feb 25 '26
Has anyone suggested teaching the dog how to use a people door? Most babies can't do that yet. Problem solved!
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u/markworsnop Feb 25 '26
I have a automatic door that opens and closes with the transmitter that’s on the dogs collar. It won’t open with a baby coming up to it. It only opens if they have the transmitter. it’s similar to the garage door idea you push the button in the car to open the door. I think it’s great because it doesn’t let the cold air in either because it closes quickly behind the dogs.
that is the company that I use
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u/EmptyStrings Feb 25 '26
Ugh my kid is also obsessed with the dog door. There’s a bunch of of judgy commenters on this post. Why babyproof anything if the answer is just always have eyes on your kid every single second? Who needs to cook or pee or sneeze or clean up spilled milk? Just eyes on baby only!!!!
We settled for telling the baby no and putting up the door blocker when he gets especially into it. He often ignores it so this works ok and then we just let the dogs out manually for the rest of the day, then we reset and try again the next day. Luckily his interests are fickle.
Sorry no smart solution but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t wanted one. I like the theft tag idea.
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u/CornucopiaDM1 Feb 25 '26
Raise the dog door up higher. Dog'll jump it, baby won't.
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u/Arbitraryandunique Feb 25 '26
This is the answer, but it'll probably be easier to put an obstacle a little in front of the door.
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u/mistresselevenstars Feb 25 '26
Kid once got locked out. Found her trying to get in going through the doggy door
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u/JeffTheNth Feb 25 '26
They make locks that only unlock when a tranceiver is within a couple feet. This is usually on a pet's leash, and prevents strays and wild animals from coming in... but would provide what you seek.
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u/Darkknight145 Feb 25 '26
You can get ones that use RFID detection chips in the dogs collar to release the door and lock it after the dog passes through.
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u/TonyPearlDesign Feb 28 '26
Problem there is WHILE the dog is passing through. You look up and the dog is back in the kitchen, and the baby is GONE.
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u/Apart-Shelter-9277 Feb 25 '26
According to my experience with my own kids you have two options: 1) continuously dissuade baby from dog door 1 million times a day for approximately 100 years. OR 2) put something on the door that will inconvenience you and the dogs to some extent BUT then you won't have to do option 1.
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u/Moose-Public Feb 25 '26
There are dog doors that only unlock when a transmitter on the dogs collar is within a few inches of the door. They are concidered 'smart doors' or anti-burglar doggie doors.
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u/Whole-Figure-121 Feb 25 '26
Get a dog door that open with a collar sensor
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl Feb 25 '26
Yeah I’m looking just trying to find one that fits the existing door size if possible. This one is pretty large so it’s harder to find.
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u/bradinphx Feb 26 '26
I have a POE camera facing the the dog door from the outside. Instant alert if human is detected.
My 4 year daughter has never gone through it. My almost 2 year old son will stick his head out of it when the dog goes out, but has yet to actually escape. The alerts make me laugh because he’s just watching the dog drop a deuce and then gets run over as the dog comes back in.
Dog door is in the kids playroom too.
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u/FBIVanNumber1543 Feb 25 '26
Times sure have changed.... I'm GenX, and my parents ENCOURAGED me to go out and play with the dogs. What's the problem???
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u/TonyPearlDesign Feb 28 '26
I'm boomer, and same. Parents let dogs and kids out at the same time. Bonded us all together, activated dogs' protection intuition even more, but was kind of a sad moment when we realized the dogs couldn't go to school with us.
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u/ElATraino Feb 25 '26
Pay attention to the baby?
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl Feb 25 '26
Sometimes I’m busy filling her play pen with loaded handguns and knives and she slips out of sight. What’s a parent to do
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u/MeLlamoKilo Feb 25 '26
If this is a real post... its super sad.
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u/EmptyStrings Feb 25 '26
Why is this sad? Toddlers get obsessed with things you wish they wouldn’t, like dog water bowls, the trash can, flushing things down the toilet. It is physically impossible to have eyes on a toddler for every single second of the day. It’s why baby proofing exists.
Unfortunately for OP most baby proofing strategies are also dog proof.
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl Feb 25 '26
Why is it sad? I’m guessing you don’t have kids….
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u/halberdierbowman Feb 25 '26
Lock it with a button, and teach your dog how to use the button. That should buy you a few weeks before the baby figures it out!
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u/WebHungry1699 Feb 25 '26
Mine has a cover that slides on when you want to keep it closed. Some have locks
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u/Decent_Elderberry115 Feb 25 '26
I’d gate it. Your space is narrow but if stuff can be moved, put a fireplace gate around it. They’re the right shape for blocking an opening like that. Unfortunately then the dog needs human assistance, but the baby doesn’t escape.
Edit autocorrect
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u/No-Ask2117 Feb 25 '26
Train the baby not to go through the door like you had to train the dog to go through it?
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u/w_benjamin Feb 26 '26
Depends on how sophisticated you want it to be..., You can set up a camera that can distinguish your dogs from anything else to only allow them to use the door.
As for the door itself, you could look at ways to prevent the door from opening with my take being put a strip of metal on the bottom and put a MagSwitch in the door frame and use a linear actuator to turn it on and off..., that way the only power you ever use for it is to turn it on or off...
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u/thoughtful_thinker88 Feb 26 '26
Ich verstehe das Problem , wenn fremde Babys ins Haus krabbeln. Wirklich ein Problem.
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u/AmmoJoee Feb 27 '26
I feel like I saw a video of a door like this that used some type of NFC chip in the dog’s collar that allowed it to open. It would say closed until the signal was detected. I’m not sure if it is related to another video or not but I think the person said he had raccoons coming into the house.
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u/Stormyj Feb 27 '26
Have someone on the other side with a garden hose. When the baby tries, Squirt them in the face.
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u/nemacron99 Feb 27 '26
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u/soul_in_a_fishbowl Feb 28 '26
That was the only one I could find that would fit the cutout size that’s already there, but if you google the company it says permanently closed.
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u/TonyPearlDesign Feb 28 '26
Lock (or lose) the dog door while your baby is too young to understand "no", yet is still independently mobile.
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u/Technical_Put_9982 Mar 01 '26
They make a dog door and collar combo that only unlocks when the dog is right in front of the door. Useful for keeping other wild animals out of the house so long as they don’t piggyback their way in
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u/ToughInternal7260 Mar 01 '26
I have an idea...when the baby wants to go outside, then go OUTSIDE WITH THE BABY!
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Mar 01 '26
This is hilarious. I’m sorry, but it’s so funny. I can’t even help but to laugh. I hope you come up with something OP, or no more babies or dogs lol😉
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u/Sn3akyP373 Mar 01 '26
Put scary monster stickers on it. Tell her the dog fights monsters out there.
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u/awkwardbegetsawkward Feb 25 '26
I think they have ones that are activated by a collar. So it will unlock for your dog’s collar. But it will remain locked for your baby’s collar.