My Labrador retriever, Dupree, trotted as he does right by us in the kitchen down the steps to the Fourier and out his dog door into the back yard to play with his new favorite toy. My girlfriend and I looked at each other and laughed, "what a busy dog we have" she said.

Dupree is a busy dog and it always seems he is up to something, coming and going inside and outside as he pleases, and it is fun to watch. My girlfriend and I are busy too. In fact, while in the kitchen preparing dinner, I mentioned to her if it wasn't for installing a dog door into our door and completely fencing in the back yard for Dupree to play in we might be regretting our decision to adopt a dog.

Let me explain. We absolutely love Dupree, however, we are seldom home during the week and during the holiday season we are away more than usual and our dog is often left alone for many hours at a time. We noticed before installing the dog door that his behavior showed signs of boredom and depression. We often came home to find something of value chewed up and our dog sulking in his bed.

Things sure are different now. We kind of live together. Dupree does his thing and my girlfriend and I do ours and we meet up at the end of the day to cuddle on the couch, go for a walk, or play together. Everybody is happy. No more coming home to messes, chewed belongings, or a sad looking dog. Sometimes, our dog seems more tired from playing outside all day than we do from work.

We thought being gone all of the time and leaving our dog home alone would be a problem before adopting our Labrador. We thought that we would change and adapt our behavior and that proved difficult for us to do. Instead we solved our problem by installing a dog door into our door. Not being home is not a problem anymore.

If you find it hard to always be home to let your dog outside or your dog is showing signs of boredom, depression, or mischievous behavior you owe it to yourself and your dog to consider installing a dog door so your dog can have a little freedom and a happier life.