Freedom For Your Best Friend: The Pet Door

By Ray Green

Having a dog is wonderful and satisfying, but it also means assuming a set of responsiblities. Sometimes, parents cede to their children's pressure and get them a pup, but when the pup grows and it's not cute anymore, the responsabilities of having it also increase.

Dogs not only need food, they also need water, sun, shade, a place where to relieve themselves, and that's not counting their emotional needs. You might have though about installing a pet door to help with some of your pet's needs, and if you haven't, then you should really consider it. We present here a small non-exhaustive list of things to ponder when thinking about whether or not to install a pet door.

Safety

In order to be totally safe, pet doors have to be correctly installed. Some people worry that by installing a pet door they are actually giving a burglar a way to break into their houses easily; thus a few precautions are in place. Big and large breeds will need a corresponding pet door, and if big enough, this door might let a human reach inside in an attempt to open the door from the inside.

What you need to check when you are thinking of the safety of installing a pet door is how far you can reach your arm inside the door when reaching through the door for the pet. If you can reach your doorknob, obviously the door is not safe. For most cases, the smaller animals work best for safe pet doors.

Convenience

Another factor to consider when thinking about installing one of these doors is how useable it will be for your pet. Is your pet large enough and strong enough to push the door open and be able to get out? In addition, how safe is the area that your pet will be exiting to? If the animal is exiting into, for example, a fenced in back yard, then a pet door makes more sense for your specific situation. - 29953

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