Pet Door Problems

By far, the most pressing dog door problem is the possibility of exposing your children to danger. It is not uncommon for a child to crawl through a dog door towards possible danger—most often a backyard pool. Before you install a dog door you must make sure that you're not exposing your child to peril. Please don't think that the pet door is too small for this to happen. Children can crawl through very tight spaces, so it is essential to follow safety precautions like keeping pools, trampolines, and raised decks adequately fenced off in case your child gets outside.

The dangers to pets can be serious also. The general rule is that pets must only be allowed access to a controlled space where you can be sure of their safety. Dogs and cats roaming the neighborhood are a danger to themselves and possibly to others. So make sure your yard is securely fenced off! It's also a good idea to scan the yard for any potentially harmful plants or materials that your dog may get into to ensure their safety.

It is quite possible that the pet door flap (especially light, plastic flaps) will allow cold weather into your home during the winter months (or let AC out during the summer). You're right to worry about this! The leaky flap problem that will occur with the majority of cat doors and dog doors sold every day! The solution: Get a pet door that seals very well. Endura Flap® Pet Doors are the most insulating pet doors on the market, tested to withstand -40℉ and extreme heat without warping or cracking. The high quality flap is also lined with sturdy magnets to stay shut in 50mph winds. Endura Flap® dog doors and cat doors won the coveted Fancy Publications Editors Choice Award for 2007 because of the excellent seal and insulation value. Endura also offers a wide variety of door models so that pet owners can pick the best installation style for their homes.

Unusual, but it happens with some sliding doors. Solution: add adhesive foam weather stripping to the sides of the door (some doors come with foam stripping, if not you can buy at your local hardware store). Clean the surface where you will install the foam stripping. Cut a single piece of the foam stripping with scissors to the length of the pet door. Peel back the paper on the foam to expose the adhesive. Install the foam strip in the channels on both sides of the panel pet door. For maximum energy efficiency with a sliding glass door pet door, the Pet Door Guys "In the Glass" is a great option. This is a pane of glass with an energy efficient Endura Flap® pet door built in that replaces the original pane from your slider. This means that unlike with a patio panel door, there is no chance of air leakage between the panel insert and the slider of your glass door.

Endura Flap® dog doors have been tested to over 3 million times on our test machine and carry a 15 year warranty. They stand up to the most extreme weather conditions and heavy use by active pets. A heavy duty door like the Endura Flap means you won't have to spend a fortune on flap replacements.

The solution here is to choose an electronic pet door that requires a collar key (or microchip) for both directions. For a large dog, the High Tech Power Pet Door will open only for a collar key worn around their neck. However, this is not to say that the cat won't slip out behind the dog. You could try spraying a squirt gun in the cat's direction a couple of times if they try to slip out to deter them (please, just water!).

If you're not happy about the prospect of an electronic pet door—after all, they do fail more frequently that manual pet doors do—you might consider an Endura Flap® pet door. While the Endura Flap® pet doors are commonly used by cats, there are things you can do to make it more difficult for cats to access them. First, get the double flap version. It's less accessible for a small animal than the single flap is. Then, for the small and medium sizes, add a magnet set to the single set supplied and move the two sets to the outside edges of the flap. Do this for both flaps. Finally, replace the pvc threshold with a metal one on both flaps. For the Large and XLarge, you already have two magnet sets so just reposition them from the standard center location to the outside edges. Then add the metal threshold. That metal threshold will produce an approximate 50% increase to the magnetic pulling power on the flap. Combine those steps with the squirt gun idea and we think you're cat will opt to stay indoors.

Because the sliding screen is often on a separate track from the If you want to open up your sliding glass, opening up the glass slider for air can leave a gap between the screen and the patio door insert. The Pet Door Guys "In the Glass" Door functions as your original sliding pane did, allowing the screen to remain fully shut when you open up the slider for air. Another option for allowing ventilation while letting the dog outside and keeping bugs out is a screen mount. The Hale Pet Door for Screens is a great option for active pets with a durable aluminum frame. For a more economically friendly option, check out the PetSafe Pet Screen Door.

What if a burglar climbs through your large sized pet door? Well, you can stop worrying. Get the Watchdog Security Pet Door Locker and you've got 12 gauge steel and a steel combination lock between that burglar and your pet door. It works on doors and walls for the ultimate in pet door security. See thumbnail below. For securing sliding door and window inserts, we recommend installing a Charley Bar to secure the insert in the window track. It secures horizontally or vertically against the side of the door or window track in a matter of minutes.

Check out some common installation problems and how to solve them.

You've got a hollow-core or steel door.

Your door has an irregular surface.

You've got a screen door.

You want your pet door in a wall.