Before you begin, going through this guide will help you avoid some major mistakes in terms of considering a pet door and installing them correctly. Here are some quick tips to consider.
- Consider the needs of your pets as well as yours before choosing an option
- Consider the environmental conditions of your place
- Check the area of access pet door provides. Ensure that your pet will be safe outside the door.
- Ensure security. Along with providing your unrestricted pet access, you need to ensure that the external intruders don’t take advantage of it to get into your home unrestrictedly.
- Consider various placement options and choose the most ideal. You can get door mount, wall mount, patio panel, window dot doors, etc.
- Consider all pets at home. If there are more pets, then keep in mind the biggest pet while measuring the size.
- Consider the children the home. Kids are curious about exploring new things, and a pet door could be a risky expedition to make.
- Consider the budget. There are various types of pet door available ranging from the basic flap doors to most advanced electronic pet doors.
Along with cost, you need to consider the usability and effectiveness of pet doors too to make a cost-effective choice.
Installing a pet door
Most of the times, the installation process of conventional dog doors is pretty straightforward and easy as DIY projects. But, for the need for drilling a hole in the wall or at the door, you should get the help of a handyman if you are not an expert. If you are doing it by self, it may be a two-person job to complete.
To get an idea about the door size, calculate the height of the animal, and then take the shoulder blade width measurement. You also need to consider the upper-end size of a fully grown animal of the breed, especially when you are installing a dog door for the puppies. As discussed above, if there are multiple pets, then the door should be big enough to accommodate the biggest comfortably.
You may find your pets a bit hesitant to use the door initially. For any such tasks, they need training first.
You need to push a bit to make them feel comfortable about using it and then try to use it on their own. In the case of electronic doors, it is much easier as the door opens automatically as the pet approaches. For flap doors and sliding doors, it may take a while for them to get used to the logic of opening it.