Aligned pet doors: A pet door in both your timber and security door

For pet owners, a common issue is having to spend their time letting their cat or dog outside – and then back inside!  The easiest solution to this problem is to get a pet door. But what do you do if you have both a timber door and a security door? The answer to this is to have aligned pet doors installed.  In this article we will explain what aligned pet doors are and the benefits of having aligned pet doors installed. 

What are Aligned Pet Doors

Aligned pet doors are when pet doors with the same size flap are installed into both your timber and security door in an aligned position so that your dog or cat can go through both pet doors to get outside (or back inside).  The companies that produce these pet doors manufacture both the pet door for the timber door and the pet door for the security door with the same size flaps and openings, which means when they are installed in alignment the flaps swing back and forth through each pet door and this allows your cat or dog to get through. Below are pictures of pet doors that have had an aligned installation. 

The Benefits of Aligned Pet Doors

The usual benefits of having a pet door installed are that it allows your dog or cat get outside when they need to go to the toilet or exercise. And of course, as previously mentioned, it means you no longer have to play doorperson to your pet.  However, the additional benefits of having aligned pet doors are that you can still keep your security door in place and acting as a security measure.  It also allows you to let air a summer breeze through by having the timber door open and the security door closed.  In that instance, for your pet to get inside they just need to go through the pet door in the security door. 

Is there a Size of Aligned Pet Doors to Suit My Animal’s Breed?

There are generally pet doors in all sizes that can be aligned.  The main sizes are Small, Medium and Large.  The Small size is suitable for cats and small dogs such as Maltese Terriers and Shih Tzu’s.

The Medium size is suitable for medium breeds of dog such as a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel or a Miniature Poodle.

The Large size is suitable for breeds such as a Staffie, Golden Retriever or Labrador.

For breeds of dogs with an Extra Large height of 60 centimetres or more, such as German Shepherd or Boxer, aligned pet doors can be installed; however due to the size of the pet door it would be very easy for a human to crawl through.  In this case it may be more beneficial to just have a dog door in the timber door, so that the security door can continue to keep strangers out.  In this case you could keep the security door open when you want your dog to be able to get outside, but close the security door whenever you need your home to be more fully secure, such as going on holidays. 

The brand that we install is the Petway brand, which manufactures pet doors in Small, Medium and Large sizes.  Petway is an Australian owned and run company, and all their pet doors are manufactured in Australia.   For Extra Large sizes we can source this through another manufacturer.

Installing aligned pet doors

Installing aligned pet doors is a job for a skilled handyman or tradesperson, and involves the use of power tools including an angle grinder.  One of the trickiest parts of installing aligned pet doors is getting the flaps and doors aligned. As such, we recommend an experienced pet door installation company. Feel free to contact us at Affordable Pet Doors Melbourne for any assistance or information about having aligned pet doors installed.