Dog Door – a Concise Buying Guide

Cathy owns a Labrador, Mark, whom she loves. But she has to keep standing up, or interrupting her work, when she has to let Mark out of the house, and later, back inside. To get his way, Mark has this annoying habit of following wherever Cathy goes inside the house. Other dogs are peskier. Just the same, Cathy wanted something done. A door small enough for her dog, but too big for humans, and one that the dog could ‘operate’ on its own. She started looking more and more into dog door.

There were, as she found out, many kinds of dog doors available on the market: automatic, wall-mounted, door-mounted, etc. She went with the flap type, the one installed on doors. When buying this kind of dog door, you have to keep in mind how tall your dog is, how thick the door you’ll install it in, and perhaps the weather where you live.

When installing the dog door, make sure your pet has easy, unobstructed access from outside of the door as well as inside. You will have to prepare a set of tools prior to installing the dog door; these tools are not difficult to find or acquire. The short list includes a level, a screwdriver, a cutting device, a measuring tape, a drywall saw and a pencil. The company from whom you bought the dog door most likely has online videos on how to carry out the installation. Read the installation manual.

You always have the option to hire a handyman to handle the installation for you.

Just so you know, there are at least three disadvantages to having flaps in your dog door. One is that other animals can get in and out, just like your dog. Unless your home is inside a gated or fenced property, there’s always the possibility of there being another animal who may enter your dog flap. Second is that they could be a source of indoor heat loss. Third is that kids can sometimes play pranks – like sealing your dog door with duct tape, effectively sealing in or barring your dog from getting inside your home.

A possible solution to this is to replace your flap style dog door with an electronic one. In this set up, your dog wears a collar with a transmitter. The moment the dog is near the dog door, the door opens automatically.