Not sure what took us so long to change doggie doors, but the last ones we had were so loud when the dogs would come in and out of the house this one is so quiet, love it. Our dogs run through them like they are invisible and we have 2 doggie doors. Customer Service is fantastic, always always have been such a great help through the years.
We have quite a few dogs over the years and 5 years ago we decided to try a doggie door. I was skeptical our dogs would use it but I am pleasantly surprised as to how good it is and how much they use it. Our smallest dog takes one piece of kibble at a time and takes it outside, through the doggie door, to eat it. Each meal time it is hilarious to hear the flap magnet click and clack back and forth many times while she eats her meal. Sometimes she just stands outside with her head peeking in through the door while she watches our other dog eat his meal. When he finishes she starts in on hers and the back and forth routine. The door was easy to install performance is exceeding my expectations.
I had this door installed in the medium size for my cat and small dog. It works great. Because of the thickness of the wall we bought two of these, one for the inside going out and the other for the outside coming in. My son, who did the installation, built a little wall structure between the two doors. It doubled the price but is well worth it. We've had it for about 7 months now and even in sub zero temperatures very little cold air comes in. I anticipate we will need to replace the plastic from time to time but that looks easy enough. Yes, I think our energy bill will be improved. Our animals were wanting to be in and out all the time. It's certainly saved on my energy of not having to get up and open and close the door all the time!
I bought this door 2 1/2 yrs ago for my 2 Scotties and it has been a huge help. We coyotes in the area so before I added a covered kennel and this door for access to the yard, my poor babies were stuck inside all day. Now they can safely go out to a section of their yard any time they want. Only thing that could be better is the flap which after a year or so started to look a little off color and doesn't always close as tightly as it used to.
We bought the medium size for our front door over 8 years ago. While it the flap is very lightweight and wind can blow it open, it has stood up to a very active beagle and two dogs that weighed over 65 lbs. We are buying a new one as it is well worth it. I would recommend if you don't have a lot of money to spend but want a door that lasts long enough.
I was replacing an existing pet safe door that lasted about 3.5 years. The door I was replacing was one of the doors that came built into the storm door I got from Lowes. The flap was well past the time of replacement and my dog was pushing the limits of getting through the door, so I decided to buy an XL door to replace it. The instructional video was good and since I already had a hole to begin with, I only had to make this one bigger. The instructions of the sheet were a little small (you guys might want to invest in a bigger font for us with glasses). The only challenges that I had were in the removing of metal (as per the instructions) to support a 3/8 inch thick door. Once I removed the metal (using piers as the instructions say) I now have a sharp (unpainted) edge that is exposed to the dogs. I had a sharpening stone that I used to file down the edges, then I used some vinyl shelf paper to wrap the edge. (It would be nice if pet safe included some type of edging (tape or something) to take care of this. The project took about 4 hours from the time it took to remove the door until the time I put it back up and clean up.
The unit itself (brand new) is sealing fine, It's currently raining and windy, but we are not feeling it. I haven't' changed out any hardware. I'll post again in a few months to let you know how it holds up.
Having read reviews about the flap slipping with pet use. What I did when I installed 2 of these doors was to replace the wimpy screws that hold the flap in place with 8/32 screws, washers and locking nuts. I had to drill out the holes in the frame,flap and holding brecket for the flap. I also doubled up the flap on the the door that is outside for added wind protection (as the company suggested). They have been up for 3 months and there has been no slippage on the doors. They are still working without any issues. We have a house with 6 cats who use the door frequently. You could get out of the drilling with use of smaller screws to bolt it together I just had this size at home. If petsafe used better screws to hold the flap or a better/thicker flap bracket this would not be an issue for the door. But it was a simple fix to make them an outstanding product without the major problem that many have complained about in the reviews. I would buy this product again
The instructions for this product actually skipped a couple of steps. Somewhere towards the end of this project, you will get in your car and go buy some metal screws. Plastic? Really?? That might work great in a testing lab, but in the real world, plastic screws fail big time. Mine broke before I even got the door hung. I realize that you are in business to make a profit, but I would have been fine paying a couple of bucks extra for your product if it included metal screws. That would have saved me lots of time and frustration. Now that door is installed with metal screws, it works great.
Great company and decent product. I've had mine for a few years. I'm on my second flap and magnet don't hold it well at all and this flap, I think we got it last year, warped pretty quick. The slides that hold the metal closure in place have had to be bent back several times to allow the piece to slide down. Love their concept, I just feel it would be more economical for the manufacturer and the consumer if better quality materials were used.
The door is not as effective in keeping the hot/cold air out. The screws came loose in a few months and I replaced them with better screws which still loosen and let the door sag. I had to shrink the previous XXL wall opening to install the new door. Not a hard task. I used larger border trim boards on the outside wall, install a new stud to in the wall and patch the sheet rock. Putting the door in a wall framed with 2x6 lumber is not easy anyway. The dogs have no problems going in or out.
We like the dog door but it seems we are constantly adjusting the flap as the screws seem to come loose too often. This makes the door flap fall to the bottom of the frame which is now causing gaps on the edges and the cold air just blows in all day. Is there any kind of thicker (fuzzy) edge that can be put in place of the one that comes with the door that won't interfere with the flap opening and closing? Also any ideas for keeping the screws from loosening all the time? Thank you
I have 6 dogs. 2 small and 4 mid size. I own 2 of these doors. One in the door going into the garage and other in my garage door going into the yard. The flaps buckle over time, the screws fall out and are forever lost in the grass. They don't keep out the cold. Dogs tend to always push on the door at the corner, never the middle so the door holes tear out in that corner first. After the first screw hole tears thru, they all start to follow. No matter how hard you try to save it. My dogs will pull off the magnetic strip that slides onto the bottum of the flap and chew them up. Once you have cut a big hole in your door though, you are stuck with this doggie door.
We recently purchased the Freedom Aluminum Pet door to replace a previous plastic pet door. ALUMINUM is the key word. While we have no complaints about the door, the flap, the easy of installation our one and only complaint is that this product comes with plastic screws. The second screw we put in the head of the screw snapped off. At that point we knew we needed a much more durable screw to install this. We had to make a trip to the local hardware store to purchase 4 stainless steel screws. For the price we paid for this I would have thought it would have included stainless steel screws or at the least ALUMINUM screws.
I have the X Large New Freedom pet door and the replacement flap is awful!!
Even the original flap that came with the door had problems; but since we changed it; we cannot get it to seal. The material the door itself is made of is not very durable. The strip that you screw the screws into is very flimsy; and it also has elongated holes and the screw is round. So this makes the flap travel down when it should be on top of the flap in order to hold the flap in properly. We have even added washers to the screw holes in hopes of it not unscrewing itself out. But the screws come back out of the door. Yesterday I came home and the flap was just barely hanging on. I purchase these 2 doors through this website; you should be able to tell we have not had them very long; maybe a little over 2 years.
I have had a pet door for over 20 years; made by Pet Safe; and the original pet door was very good and they quit making a replacement flap for them so I had to go with this new design. I am so disappointed!
I bought my aluminum door at one of the big box home improvement stores. Installation was a snap through aa steel door until I got to the nylon attachments. Second one broke so I went back to Lowes and purchased stainless bolts that kept the outside frame flush. We had the door in operation for two weeks. The dogs are doing fine in and out. Unfortunately! When they go out the door seals and when they come in, the seal leaves a gap and doesn't pull tight. You have to physically go over and close the door. I'm sure in a mild temperate climate this door would be fine. But when the exterior temperature drops below 30 the unsealed door lets in a significant amount of cold air. I think the door is reasonably priced compared to other door manufactures whose products are 3 times the cost. However, today I will purchase one of the better designed doors and toss this door. The savings in utility costs will more than offset the cost and there is an additional level of security when you want the door sealed. This is a prime example when it is more cost effective to purchase the best product. Sorry, but this door looks great but doesn't meet the functional requirements.
The door is nice, and installation is not bad, but there are two problems.
First, the aluminum sides are not fused together at the corners. What ends up happening is the top of the aluminum frame bends in over time and obstructs the sliding plastic insert. This can be bent back, but it has to be done often.
Second is the flap will warp if you live in a hot climate. There is now a large gap on the side of the flap which lets a lot of AC and heat out. They should sell replacement flaps if they are going to make a deficient product.
This is the second house we have put a pet safe door in. We like the products but wish the Freedom Aluminum XL came with a weather insulating kit, if not in the box then available to purchase separately on line. Because of the opening on the sides the cool/warm air comes in the house. depending on wind, rain comes in the sides and the flap is easily blown inward which allows even more rain to come in the house. We have also gotten critters in the house, i.e. mice, lizards, and spiders. How difficult can it be to provide a XL weather resistant kit. There is already a replacement flap, just need the center.
I had a Hale pet door in a previous house and it was a great product. I bought a new house and asked the door manufacturer to incorporate a dog door on an exterior door. The chose a PetSafe door. It is very poor. The flap is so light that when the wind blows the flap opens and has allowed leaves and other items to enter our basement. In addition, the flap is so loose it allowed our "indoor only" cat to realize it could escape, which it did. Now, I am stuck with an expensive exterior door with a "cheap" PetSafe dog door. I am going to have to upgrade to their Extreme Weather Door. I hope it is better than the Freedom door.
I bought 12 X-Large doors for my kennels building. 4 of the dogs have gone thru 6 flaps in less than a year. they just rip the doors off 2 of them were overnight. They grab them and just rip and pull ---the small top screws out of the wall. I go out in the morning and the flap and screws are laying on the ground. Plastic should be more durable and screws should be larger and not so close to the edge of the plastic. would not recommend them again. Does not pay to keep replacing the plastic and overnight they rip them off. Frustrated and now it is 19 degrees outside and I have a big hole in the wall of 2 of them today.
I bought this last week. It's a very poorly designed product. The flap doesn't seal. It needs more magnets on the bottom. The flap needs side magnets to actually seal. This picture below is what the flap looks like after mybdog goes through it.
I've had the Petsafe dog door for just about a year. Unfortunately, the flap has curled on both sides and leaves about a 1" gap on ether side. It lets in a lot of bugs.
After 2 years of use, I am removing it because I'm tired of all the problems. Very poor design. Rain drips down the door flap and leaks in the cracks and magnetic seal of the unit, then gets in the house. If I keep it any longer I will start to have a rot problem. I have cauked what I can but its still not enough. This product needs a major redesign.
My 85 pound puppy ran through the closed door and broke all the plastic screws out. The door fell apart. We had to go to the hardware's store to get similar metal screws and bolts. Also the flap is not secure on the sides and when the wind blows, it does not stay closed allowing in cold or warm air.
We have had the older version PetSafe large door and we loved it. We needed a larger door so we went to get a new one only to find that they have been completely changed. The installation is fairly easy, but the quality is terrible. The old door had magnets on the sides also so it sealed very well. The new one does not seal at all on the sides therefore the heat comes right in. We have tried to adjust it and that does not work either. We are not pleased at all and will not be purchasing another PetSafe door unless the quality changes.
I have four dogs, two of them are Great Danes and the smallest is a Lab. We purchased an XL dog door one year ago and the flap is now falling off, all the screw holes are torn except two. A new flap for this is $70 for just a sheet of rubber. I think this is to much for this product, and I refuse to pay this amount. It is cheaper to buy a replacement door for the house then it is for the dog door, guess which one I will be buying.
