If you read my blog on a regular basis you are probably aware of the fact that we have five cats, a dog and a Goldfish (our other fish passed away about a month or so ago).
I love animals and treat our pets as four legged family members. I do whatever I can to keep them happy and healthy.
One thing that I feel really guilty about is that we don’t have a yard for our dog and cats to run around in. I dream of the day that we’d have a fenced in yard so they can frolic and enjoy the fresh air, but chances are that will never happen in their life time. Their only “yard” is our 6′ x 12′ balcony.
Even though they can’t run around, they do enjoy lounging around on our balcony. They like to lie out on our bench or lounge chair or sleep on the large pet bed we keep under the bench in the shade.
Many years ago our dog accidentally ran into the screen door and ripped the bottom corner. Our cats saw that the screen was opened there and would find a way to squeeze their bodies through it to get in and out. Eventually it turned into flap. It worked out well for many years. It allowed our pets the freedom to go out on the balcony when they wanted to and it kept bugs from flying inside.
When we replace our sliding glass doors we received a new screen door. We didn’t want that one ruined but at the same time we wanted our pets to be able to go out on the balcony when they wanted to.
We tried Magic Mesh but it never closed right and bugs would fly inside. It also became a bit of an “eye sore” so we took it down.
We ended up leaving the screen door opened when we were at home. Our pets could go in and out freely, but so could the bugs. Not only that we didn’t like the idea of leaving our screen door and sliding glass door wide opened when we were not around. What we needed was a better solution.
I Googled a remedy for this situation and found that they made special pet doors for sliding glass door. One such company, PetSafe, was kind enough to send me one to review.
PetSafe is a leading innovator in pet behavior and lifestyle solutions,
I received to review the Sliding Glass Pet Door. I can’t even begin to tell you how anxious I was for this to arrive.
Great for any home with a sliding glass door and especially beneficial in apartments or condos, the Sliding Glass Pet Door automatically adjusts to fit within your existing sliding glass door for a simple and quick installation with no cutting required. In addition to the packaging being much smaller than other patio panels, the Sliding Glass Pet Door is modular and collapsible, making it more convenient to carry and transport, and allowing pet parents to take the door with them if they move.
Lori Sharp, Category Manager – Pet Access for PetSafe brand, believes the unique features of the new Sliding Glass Pet Door offer a number of benefits for pets and pet parents alike, especially those with limited outdoor space.
“Pets crave freedom and fresh air,” Sharp explains. “Whether you live in a high-rise condo in the city or an apartment with a small balcony, the Sliding Glass Pet Door offers a convenient way to allow your pet to come and go as they please for necessary exercise or potty breaks.”
There were two things I was most concerned about – the ease of installation and the ability to remove it when necessary.
My husband put the heavy-duty aluminum door together. It was actually mostly assembled. He just had to slide together the two main pieces and attach them together with screws. It was literally that easy.
Once the pieces were securely connected it was time to slide the pet door into the sliding glass door frame. The top piece for the pet door moves up and down making it easy to insert into the frame to get a snug fit. Once it’s in place you can tighten up the bolts for the height adjuster.
PetSafe includes both weather stripping and a glass sweep for added weather resistance. I appreciate that they included those items. My husband even said if they were not included he would have went to the hardware store purchase them because they are needed to keep the elements outside.
The door doesn’t have to be permanent. You can remove it quickly and easily at any time. You can even take it with you on the go if it’s needed.
If you are interested in seeing how easy it is to install check out this video.
The pet door is made with tempered glass, which is a safety glass. I like that feature as well. It also has a lock for the pet door so that you can prevent your pet from going in or out when you are not at home.
The PetSafe Sliding Glass Pet Door works with both right and left sided glass door. Ours is right sided.
You also have the option of adding a lock to the pet door allowing you to lock your sliding glass door to it. We opted not to do that. We live on the top floor and it’s highly unlikely anyone would want to shimmy up the side of the building to break into our condo – especially since our condo is visible to the entire complex.
We ended up altering it a bit to suit our needs. When the pet door is in place we can’t use the screen door so what we did was use the pet door the way its intended to be used, as well as our screen door. To keep our pets from going through the screen and not the pet door we put up a gate to protect the screen door. It’s a win-win situation. We can get fresh air through the screen door and not allow bugs inside, and our pets have the ability to go in and out whenever they want without destroying our screen door.
It didn’t take long at all for our dog to figure it out. We showed him how to do it a few times by offering him a treat to get him to go through it. After that he knew exactly what to do. The first day he was a bit “iffy” about it but by the next day he was running in and out.
Our cats took a little longer to get the gist of how the door worked. We tried tempting them with treats but it didn’t work out as well as it did with our dog.
Of our five cats, two of them are comfortable with the PetSafe Sliding Glass Pet Door. One of them knows how the door works but she’s still a little unsure about it so she slowly makes her way in and out.
One of our cats hasn’t figured it out yet, even though she was shown many times. She’ll stand at the door and meow to get us to help her in/out by lifting up the flap for her.
Our eldest cat hasn’t used it yet. He also don’t like to spend too much time outside. He rather sleep in his cat house.
I am so thrilled about this pet door. I love that my pets have the freedom to come and go on the balcony when they want. I am grateful that PetSafe sent us this door to review.
The Sliding Glass Pet Door comes in three different sizes: Small ($199.99), Medium ($209.99) and Large ($234.99) and is available for purchase on PetSafe.net.
You can also check out PetSafe on Facebook and Twitter.
What do you think about the PetSafe Sliding Glass Pet Door? Is it something you and your pet would like for your home?
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
DJ says
Great product! I wish I had one of these. I have several pets that love to go outside throughout the day and it would be much easier with one of these.
Debbie Welchert says
What a great door for your pets. We don’t have a sliding glass door but now I wish we did. It would be so nice for our pets to be able to go out and get fresh air whenever they wanted to.
Cynthia says
Great review on this pet door. I’ve been looking for something like this for my dog & cat. I have 2 sliding glass doors on the back of my home. One of these pet doors would be perfect for them. Thanks for the review and information. I will be purchasing one of these doors soon.