From inside

Inside of door. Did not realize how bad the paw scratched are. And our dog passed away almost 8 years ago.

A pic of the entire door.

Looks like a failed glue joint. The proper fix would be to disassemble the door take out the recessed panel, re-glue, & reassemble the door. Which unless the glue joints on the rails & stiles are also failing would be difficult. I'd probably get a glue syringe & try injecting some wood glue into the crack.to fill it. Might last, might not. There's also a good chance the door will swell once summer rolls around & the crack will close up on its own, at least temporarily. If the door is a standard size, a replacement slab might be your best bet. Since the door has no glass it shouldn't be very expensive.

Thanks Dave. The high humidity season here in coastal SC will be getting into overdrive. I'll wait and see and if it does not close will try your glue syringe a try.

Bph2,

Is that panel being held in place with four pieces of cove molding? If so, removing panel and injecting glue and clamping would seem a plan.

Painted is easier to repair than if stained. Is the door in direct Sunlight any part of the day? Looks as if there is no storm door-- is that correct?

It looks like it might be held by cove molding. However, that looks like a job for a very meticulous person.

The door does get morning sun.

We are getting ready to do a total kitchen reno and I may ask the GC to replace the door slab.

That door panel changes dimensions slightly with changes in temperature and changes more with changes in humidity. Heat changes the humidity. The panel was designed to float within the door to accommodate those dimensional changes. Probably paint has captured the edges of the panel and limited possible movement, resulting in the crack.
Darker colors and Sun cause greater changes in heat and humidity than with white doors. Darker colors, Sun and storm doors are the combination with makes the problem worst.

"It looks like it might be held by cove molding. However, that looks like a job for a very meticulous person."

I see that. Might also require total re-painting/staining of the door.

Saltidawg, I'm thinking since we would have to restain and repaint having a new door slab installed might be the way to go.

OT:The exterior of the door was the same color stain as the interior. From the street, especially when the sun was on the other side of the house, the front porch and door was just a dark nothing. So, a few months ago DH and I painted the door and sidelight trim aqua blue. It's a little too much up close, but looks great from the street. If we get a new door I think we will paint it the same.

I guess the door panel can be fixed but the door might loose it's beauty .. Make sure you have a mat sheet fixed over the door.. For safe side

Our door did that. We used a flexible caulk in the crack and faux painted it to match the wood.

Lazygardens, what type of caulk did you use?

Either the hardware store or Home Depot. Take a look at the exterior caulk - it will say 'stays flexible'. I'd caluk the outside of the door. Get clear, use masking tape around the split, apply a small amount of caulk, and use your finger to squeeze the caulk into the crack, and smooth it. Then remove the tape. About a 10 minute job.

That is a floating panel, it really cannot be fixed. Anything you do would really be a bandaid not a fix.

It can be glued up in place if you are willing to live with screw holes. You screw a cleat of wood to each side of the split. Work glue into the gap - a very handy little trick for this kind of thing is to lightly spread glue on both sides of a piece of paper then work the paper carefully into the crack - should be able to get it all the way through. Use Titebond II or III. Then with a couple pairs of hand-screws on the cleats you clamp up the panel, let sit for a day and take the clamps and cleats off, clean up with a sharp chisel and sandpaper.

You can use Epoxy wood filler in wood repairing especially in small crack or scratches. Shape the epoxy with your fingers and by patting it with a scrap of wood. The final step is shape hardened epoxy with woodworking tools. Use a Surform plane or coarse rasp to remove large amounts of material and roughly shape the repair. Then use rasps, files and sandpaper to refine the shape and add details. If you remove too much or need to touch up the repair, add a layer of epoxy and repeat the process.

Here is a link that might be useful: RCDC HomeBuilders