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What is the difference in her being outside when you are Not home or being outside when you Are home? Either way with the door flap You are Not out side to watch over her & protect her... Snack Time!
1st choice Take her to your moms
2nd choice set up the ex-pen & Litter box train her.
Lady-bug was litter box trained & Still went outside to potty....
If I got another Chihuahua I would be out there with her when she goes potty because of the hawks, eagles & now we have coyotes here too. Years ago when we had Chihuahuas we also had a Husky/Border Collie mix and a hound dog. My little ones were safe when they were out there with them.
I'd like to know your experiences if you'd like to share. OP, are you going to go through a wall or door or do you have the slider situation?
Oops . . . forgot to answer the original question. I do let mine go in and out when I'm not home. She just goes out, does her thing and comes right back in. Not a barker, plus I have dog-people on both sides of me and no one behind. Their dogs don't bark, either. If I had a barker, I'd have to think twice about that. I have hypothetically considered the issue of hawks. My current dog is too big but I worry that if I did have a Chihuahua, for example, that could be a problem. I have a Cooper's hawk that really likes my trees so I'd probably come up with some type of roofed and sided area for the dog door to open into. A small chain-link or welded wire kennel would work.
I doubt I would do the slider situation unless I'm confidant nobody could break in. I've never lived in a single family house alone before so security is my top priority. We seem to have a lot of break-in's happening these days. If I did it from the house to the garage and then the garage to the outside there is nothing stopping the dog from running out when I pull my car in so I would probably do a pet door in the wall with the dog house idea and depending on what size dog I get, the kennel idea sounds like a good idea.
We had a local women lose her cat to an eagle last year. Most normal cats weight about what a small Chihuahua would weigh (except for my fat ass cat).
I would never do the doggie door thing. I grew up with my father's kennel full of hunting dogs, and having seen how they can get into scrapes that you would never have anticipated, I just would never have peace of mind knowing my dog was freely going in and out of the house. We had people steal dogs as well as dogs injured or killed in freak accidents. And in a less rural area, I'd be endlessly worried about people harming or tormenting the dog as they pass by. My dogs are never unsupervised on my property for more than a few minutes - if they're loose in the backyard, I'm in the kitchen with a full window view of what's going on.
I really think it's just asking for trouble to have an open doggie door when you're not home.
We had doggie doors for the last three of our dogs (two Rough Collies and one Golden Retriever). They were a godsend! For us, the only problem was that our one Collie loved to hear herself bark, and when we weren't home, she'd go out in the backyard -- maybe initially to do her business, or just for a change of scenery -- but would then feel the need to start telling the entire neighborhood how neglected she was (even though she always had another dog around). We'd get home to angry neighbors, and I can understand their frustration. She had the loudest, deepest bark and she could keep it up for hours. If this could be a potential problem for you, I'd give the neighbors a heads up before you install the doggie door, and ask them to keep you informed if your dog becomes overly vocal while you're away. Fortunately my neighbors forgave us, but it was a kind of an unfortunate experience.
7-8 hours isn't too long if you give your dog a chance to go out before leaving in the morning. Feeding them a while before you leave helps a lot as most dogs start feeling the urge 20 minutes or so after a meal. I let my dog out once right after we get up, and once more 20 minutes or so after she eats. She is never desperate when I get home 8 hours later.
Confining your dog to the kitchen with a gate is a great idea. There are many types of gates from simple temporary baby gates to elaborate fancy ones. Actually, I do this with my current dog. She gets anxious in crates. But, she knows our daily routine, knows I'll be home generally at the same time (dogs don't wear watches...some variation isn't going to hurt), I developed a morning departure routine and dogs like familiar routines. She knows she will get a chew toy when I leave, so my departure isn't a bad thing. She has her bed and her dish in a familiar place, all is fine. Once in a very long while she has an accident if something upset her stomach, but on the kitchen floor its not a big deal. Most dogs just sleep the day away when we are gone.
Some of the possible risks are just that...possible, but not all that likely. Life is full of risks; you have to weigh them realistically. I LOVE dog doors and will always have one in my house whenever I can.
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A hawk won't be able to pick up even a small dog.
An eagle possibly, but consider....do eagles tend to hang around your building's vicinity now? If not, they are not going to seek out a small dog. If your yard isn't completely open to the sky (no trees or obstructions overhead) they probably won't even notice a small dog. It's a pretty unlikely threat.
Do you know your neighbors? Would some stranger even be able to get close enough to toss something over your fence without being seen?
Not all dogs dig under fences. I've noticed that my dogs don't try to dig under a fence if it was there when they first arrived. They accept the fence as permanent and something they have no reason to get past. If you own a dog and THEN try to fence it into a smaller area they might try to dig under it. Once they are successful it can be hard to discourage them. They want to get someplace more desirable than your yard. If they have things to occupy them and they are an active part of your life when you are home they may never try to get out. If its a fence they can see past, sometimes something as simple as low garden wire fencing along the base of it can discourage digging. Put this in before you bring a dog home.
Not all dogs start barking when outdoors. Dogs who bark all the time are bored, lonely, and frustrated.
You could always place the dog door with access to a kennel run outside.
Hawks don't HAVE to pick up a dog. They can kill it and eat it on the ground where they catch it. It would be sickening to find the remains. My small dogs don't go outside ANYWHERE without a human present.
Owls and eagles can easily carry small dogs away or do the same as I said a hawk could do (see above)
I would worry all day about a small to medium dog being out in a yard possibly all day. Training them to hold it makes more sense to me.
Hawks don't HAVE to pick up a dog. They can kill it and eat it on the ground where they catch it. It would be sickening to find the remains. My small dogs don't go outside ANYWHERE without a human present.
Owls and eagles can easily carry small dogs away or do the same as I said a hawk could do (see above)
I would worry all day about a small to medium dog being out in a yard possibly all day. Training them to hold it makes more sense to me.
If you own a tiny dog less than 15 pounds you MIGHT have to worry about a hawk or great horned owl attacking it. Larger dogs much less of a risk. If you search media stories about pets being targeted by raptors you'll find many reports are never actually confirmed, they are speculation. I would be most concerned about a coyote or great horned owl hanging out around my yard if I owned a small dog or a cat. They are quite bold compared to most N. American hawks.
I think pet doors are a great option for pets. I mean, its just nice for them to be able to go outside and sun bath or potty. I'd certainly appreciate it.
that said given that you are worried about eagles etc. a covered run with a dog house in front of the door might be the a good option. It does add to the expense. But it would also keep other critters from wandering in too. I am imagining you would lock it off at night etc. and most skunks, racoons etc. aren't around during the day but still.
You know on second thought - you have a boa constrictor problem down there don't you? Make sure the fence holes are pretty small
Years ago when I got Jazz as a puppy I already had a dog door as I had an older dog and work 3,12 hr night shifts. The problem with Jazz was even as a puppy she wanted to be with me and could get over a 6 ft fence to do so. I ended up getting a tall ExPen and buying the wire top you can get for them and fastening it to the Ex pen then making a u shape out of the pen and pushing the open side up against the building and dog door. I put large heavy potted plants around the other sides so it could not be moved by a dog. It worked like a charm and she seemed to enjoy having what I called the dog outhouse and often her and even Dash when I got him would hold it on walks come in the house and rush outside into the dog outhouse to relieve themselves. I had it set up where I could open a panel to clean the area out. Because it was not a large area they did not go out there just to hang out so were not out there barking when I was gone. Also if the cat I had then went out there which she seldom did I did not have to worry about her being out as we have a lot of coyotes in the area so she was an indoor cat. Now I have no cat, neither dog I have a has any interest in going over a fence so the dog door no longer has the dog outhouse around it. But sometimes all you need is to be a bit creative. Love having a dog door as when I was at work I could gate the puppies I have had along with the adult dog into the room when I was not home and they were house trained in under a week!
My older dog chased Jazz puppy out that door the first time she peed inside and she never in 14.5 yrs had another accident inside My dogs have all been about 50 lbs so not small dogs.
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Years ago when we had Chihuahuas we also had a Husky/Border Collie mix and a hound dog. My little ones were safe when they were out there with them.
I had it set up where I could open a panel to clean the area out. Because it was not a large area they did not go out there just to hang out so were not out there barking when I was gone. Also if the cat I had then went out there which she seldom did I did not have to worry about her being out as we have a lot of coyotes in the area so she was an indoor cat. Now I have no cat, neither dog I have a has any interest in going over a fence so the dog door no longer has the dog outhouse around it. But sometimes all you need is to be a bit creative. Love having a dog door as when I was at work I could gate the puppies I have had along with the adult dog into the room when I was not home and they were house trained in under a week! 
My dogs have all been about 50 lbs so not small dogs.
