Selecting The Perfect Pet Door
By michael On February 6th, 2012How To Select The Correct Pet Door:
For the first time buyer selecting a pet door can sometimes be a daunting task,which is why we at Dog Door Store have written this article to help make the process as simple as possible while allowing you to find the right door for your family pet.There are two basic steps to selecting a pet door; selecting the correct door for your needs and determining the correct size. In the article that follows we hope to provide you a step by step guide to selecting the correct size of pet door for your dog, as well as provide a brief overview of the four different types of pet doors there are.
Determine Your Pet Door Type:
There are many models of pet doors on the market but they generally break down into four standard types of pet doors:
- Wall Mounted Pet Door
- Door Mounted Pet Door
- Energy Saving Pet Door
- Patio Pet Door
Wall Mounted Pet Doors – these doors can generally be installed into most construction types of walls, we always recommend you getting a professional contractor or surveyor to perform a survey before cutting holes into load bearing walls. One advantage of this type of pet door is that it can be placed in most locations where you have an exterior facing wall.
Door Mounted Pet Door – these doors can be installed into either interior or exterior facing doors, some people install pet doors between different rooms or their house and the garage so their pet can go back to their bed that may be there. Exterior facing doors allow your pet to enter and leave your home at will and they usually come with a locking slide so you can keep your pet either in or outside when needed.
Energy Saving Pet Door – these doors are designed to be used in regions that have extreme weather changes either very hot in summer or icy cold in winter, also many of these doors are perfect for homeowners that live in windy locations and need the additional energy saving features these door have to help reduce drafts. These doors are generally constructed with additional flaps, some models coming with either double or triple flaps installed.
Patio Pet Door – these are perfect for the homeowner that does not want to cut holes in either their doors or walls, the patio pet door is designed to be installed into a sliding patio door opening, and they have an added benefit that they can be stored way when not needed.
Determine Your Pet Door Size:
Before you even order a pet door the most important thing you will need to do is determine the correct size of pet door to meet you dog’s needs, failure to do this correctly could result in a pet door your dog refuses to use or worse – over time cause injury to your pet. Pet doors generally come in four sizes: Small, Medium, Extra Large and Super Large, but their actual opening size can vary from manufacture to manufacture and sometimes even the type of pet door.
STEP 1 – Determine Flap Width
To determine the minimum flap width needed by your pet to pass through with comfort, simply open a door and have them walk through slowly reducing the open size till they have a minimum of one inch clearance. Measure the gap and this will be the minimum width of flap width your pet will require.
STEP 2 – Determine Door Rise
To find the rise you need, simply measurement from the floor to the lowest part of your dog’s chest or stomach. With this measurement you can tell you where to place the “bottom” of your dog door.
STEP 3 – Determine Flap Height
Most experts recommended that the top of the flap be placed at least as high as the top of the tallest point of your dog’s shoulder, so measure from the floor to that point on your dog.
Putting It All Together:
Now that you have the Rise & Height measurement, you can determine the flap height with a little easy math.
Sizing Formula: Door Height – Door Rise = Flap Height
Below Is A Working Example:
Your pet is 23 inch’s tall & their lowest point is 7 inches from the floor- So your flap height size would be: 23 – 7 = 16 inches and the door width you already know from your open door measurement.
Our Closing Comments:
From our many years of selling quality pet doors on the internet we have found and only recommend three brands of pet doors and these are: Ideal Pet Products, PetSafe and Johnson Pet Door. Like everything in life, this is just our company’s view, but we have come to this conclusion after many years in the pet door industry.
And there you have it, using our simple to follow guide you will be able to determine what size of pet door meets your family dog needs. We feel sizing a pet door is very important as it will be used by your pet for many years. We hope you have enjoyed this article and hope you will visit us for all you Pet Door & Dog Door needs in the future.
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