Customer Reviews

PetSafe Deluxe Pet Panel for Sliding Doors, Small, Satin

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I ordered this door a week ago and it just arrived to my delight -- my fiancee and I just moved into a tiny 3rd story apartment and our kitty-box is out on the balcony. We thought there'd be less "smell" issues, as my cat's a stinky one. :) Well, long story short, we live in FLORIDA. Having this door seemed like a blessing, as we'd give Stinky maximum access to the facilities, and save ourselves way too much hassle opening and closing doors for him. The door is very simple to setup - you will need a drill and screw driver. Basically, it uses spring-tensioners to wedge itself between the frames. So vertically, it's great. On the sides, big fat raspberry. They provide a "glass sweep" which is a 1/4" thick strip of rubber. Its supposed to adhere to the moving panel and "seal" it to the stationary panels... lets just say I've bought Post-Its with stronger adhesive. Second, they provide "Weather Stripping" to place between the moving panel and your new Pet Door. It's about 1/4" thick too but compresses instantly and doesn't pop back much.. so it's next to worthless as well. Like I said, we live in FLORIDA so a tight seal is imperative if we don't want to pay thousands $$ to Lakeland Electric. Also, the pet-door flap itself is gapped, which allows a pretty good flow of air and is *def* big enough for all the creepy-crawlies out there. So I bought silicone sealant and thicker padding, and all is well! OH! Also. The locks are NOT heavy duty and you can't lock the "other" side of the pet door as far as I can tell, so if you're not in an above-ground unit or you're in a high-crime area -- be forewarned!

But all in all, if you're handy, this door is great. :) Just needs some fine-tuning.

Okay the panel fits. Do you want a permanent install? If so you will have to drill holes in your doorframe and use sheet metal screws. I also recommend using weather stripping between the panel and the inside of the doorframe as the screws pull the door into the frame.

There will be gap, which negates your screens effectiveness... I use a pool noodle to fill the gap so the flies don't come in if the weather permits a screen.

The glass trapped between the sliding door and the door panel... which is now and forever unreachable unless the panel is removed... will remain dirty and full of dead bugs, spider webs ect.... until you unscrew everything, un-tape everything and pull the panel out... then, and only then will you be able to clean the unreachable glass.

You will need 2-sided tape along with duct tape to keep the door sweep in place as the weather changes. Duct tape has a dark side and a light side and holds the universe together... hence it has the "Force" necessary to keep the sweep from flopping off onto the floor if the weather changes and the gooey on the tape reacts to differences in humidity levels. If there is a sudden change in the weather i.e. a cold front move in forcing a moist and naughty air south... or visa versa... nothing, not even super glue, double sided, plus duct tape... will work. Trust me, I have many years of first hand experience with this phenomenon.

I also recommend a wood bar to keep the sliding glass door from being opened when you are gone.

Fervent prayer and fasting is required to bind the evil ones from breaking and entering in your now compromised entry... but... if someone really wants into the house, it doesn't take much doggie door or not. A swift kick by any teenage thug demanding entry into the house is all that is required.

If you have a very large dog, hopefully the thought of getting mauled by the animal will keep the thieves away... because people in a variety of shapes and sizes can fit through the medium, large, and extra large size flaps... easily.

I love the dog door and I really don't worry about Breaking and Entering as I have insurance and the two BIG dawg's got the outside... the door is for the little guy who needs a bit more protection from the elements etc...

This is my 2nd door; I've fiddled with it for years and have it down to a science. Would I poke a hole in the wall and put a permanent door in? No. Would I poke a hole in a fireproof door and put a door in? I'm not sure... a small door -- in a replaceable door... maybe.

my 2cents... hope it helps. If it does... vote helpful. Thanks//jb

For my new 3 month old puppy a Golden Retriever, I wanted to get the largest they have just in case. I checked out the PetSafe website and noticed that the "Tall/Large" was for me. I was sent the "Large". Amazon customer rep is very helpful and sent me a coupon for my next purchase. They also have another item number for the "Tall/Large" and the price was much more. After it arrived, and after going through all that---GUESS WHAT? The opening is the same! The only thing that makes the door "Taller" is the additional material below. So I returned the more expensive "Tall/Large" and kept "Large" {I really wish Amazon would change the name of the item because you get the "LARGE" ONLY, NOT "LARGE/TALL".
It was very easy to assemble. The lock didn't work for me so I didn't use it. The weather strip kept coming off so I used a professional tape for wigs (i'm a salon:) which I had to tape twice and it's still staying as we speak. What I love about this product is that with a puppy, I don't have to get up wee hours of the night to take him outside, I put him next to the pet door and he goes whenever he needs to! I'm so glad I found this product because I was almost contemplating knocking a hole in my wall. A pet door is the answer and there is no mess to clean up in the crate, floor, etc! I only wish I knew about this sooner. BUY IT! BUT YOU WILL ONLY BE SENT THE "LARGE" if you click on "PetSafe Large/Tall Deluxe Pet Panel for Sliding Doors, Satin"

Now don't get me wrong; this is a great door! I love it! It took me 15 minutes to setup, and another 5 minutes teaching my one year old Lab to use it. The magnets hold the door closed well, and the door looks good from outside and in. It did take another hour or two to make the door winter-proof: Using clear silicone on the top/bottom/right edge; adding a different, thicker weather strip between the sliding door and the dog door; and using a spray adhesive on the weather strip on the far end of the sliding door because the tape that comes with it held for about 10 minutes before falling off.

I didn't install the sliding door latch as I use a door bar to keep the door closed/locked. I just have to pull it out to open the sliding door. And there's plenty of room for humans due to the narrowness of the pet door. The plastic insert hatch slides down a rail on both sides of the opening and latches at the top. It isn't what I would call secure, but anyone who wants in will get in regardless of what the hatch is made of and how it latches. My dog has an elctronic collar to keep her in the yard, and we open the door when we get up and close it when we go to bed. As a side note: My cat will come in and out through the door, but only if you hold the flap open for him.

Which brings me to the two dings I am giving this door: If your dog is a chubby one then it may not be able to get through the 15 inch wide opening. My Lab is 25" tall, but only about 8" wide. She goes through the door with no problems. Also if your dog's legs aren't at least 10" long or so, they'll have to climb over the bottom strip to get in/out, so you'll need to pick a door with a shorter bottome insert (or none). I guess that isn't really a ding for this door as it is for taller dogs.

So with that I give this door 4 stars.

I ordered this pet door for our new cat. It has a clean look, fits well and our cat started going in and out without bothering us to open a door for him within an hour. This door offers good security by keeping all other critters out of our house (a real problem in the mountains). Our cat likes to sit and look out the window in the panel and then when a bird lands on the patio, he flashes through the door. It's obvious, he thinks it great. As far as latches for locking the slider, well, the instructions plainly state that all sliding doors are different and adaptation may be necessary. I discovered in about 30 minutes, we had complete security with a stick in the slider track rail that can only be removed from the rail from inside the house. Opening the door from the outside is impossible with the stick in place. And the best part, the security stick was free from our wood pile.
This product slipped into the track simply and easily with the spring loaded adjuster on top and I slid the slider closed to it and we were in business. A great buy and better quality than other pet doors I've seen costing much more in stores.

Ordered this (large - satin) for my 76lb mix. She has yes to figure out that she can push the flap to walk through it, but we are rating the door not the dog ;). I am sure she will catch on, till then we leave it taped open when we leave the house.

Door installs well, clear instructions. The latch wont install on my existing door because it is beveled, thus putting the latch out of line. I'll make something custom.

Solid built and the "satin" matches bare aluminum well. The magnetic flap seals ok for the moderate temperatures here.

Unfortunately I purchased this item and fitted it after some difficulty. I have smaller, vinyl door. No matter what you try the doorlock will not function with the given hardware. Even more disappointing was the poor quality of the door itself. The plastic insert was too small to block the entry hole when inserted and our dog just knocked it out of the hole and ran straight through it as if it was not there. I eventually had to package it up and return it, itself no small task. The Customer Service guy was very nice and helpful, but no hint of an apology for the trouble I had to go to.

I ordered this door to help with the training of our youngest maltipoo (3 months). He would go to the door, but if we didn't see him, he would do his business else where. Now he can go in and out and we have had no acidents. Our older maltipoo loves it also. Previously he would stand by the door and bark. Now he doesn't have to depend on us to hear him. Same goes with our cat. We have a fenced in yard and have to go out and clean it, but it sure beats in the house.

I love the fact it required no sawing, drilling or any kind of maintenance. We did buy some extra weather stripping(thin) to enhance the tightness between the slider door and this one. And when we leave this property, we can still take it with us. I would recommend this product to any one with pets.

I picked up this doggie door insert last night. First the negatives: The "lock" is a joke, that requires drilling into my sliding glass door. Even if I was willing to do that the lock looks easily breakable. The double sided tape came right off the rubber weather seal while attempting to install. The foam seal is very hard to not destroy, but I managed to get that on. I was starting to get mad that I was ripped off on this $200 product I probably wouldn't use, when I came up with my own lock. All you need is a piece of wood or dowel rod that securely fits between back side of sliding door and the wall (stopping it from opening from outside). After that I calmed down and figured all I need is more double sided tape (for rubber weather seal) and this will be a pretty good doggie door.

I'm now pretty happy with the door, and managed to get my pup to go through twice on his own after about an hour of training (and half a pack of lunch meat LOL).

*Tip for the manufacture: get rid of crappy lock and include an adjustable dowel rod.

If you can put a through the wall dog door than I would do that. This is just not a great product. The instructions are lacking. And with the many different types of sliding glass door this may or may not fit well on your door. For the price the materials are not up to par. The black rubber flap to keep out the draft stayed on for about 3 days. After than nothing would keep in stuck to the dog door. If you need something right away this is an ok stop gap but I would not buy it again.