Automatic Dog Doors

There are currently not a large number of manufacturers of automatic dog doors, but competition between them is intense. The customer looking to purchase a product in their class will need to compare features and costs carefully. This includes the type of transmitter, whether magnetic field, circuit board and battery, or ultrasonic. The latter uses only sound to open doors. While the ultrasonic transmitter is said to repel fleas, it is not a shock collar, and will not harm or traumatize your pet.

Automatic dog doors work in the following manner. The animal wearing the transmitter approaches the door, and the sensing controls recognize the signal. Some controls can be adjusted, so that they read the signal from one foot to five feet away. Other models of sensors are directional. These can "tell" that your dog is just padding around the kitchen or patio, not walking toward the door to go out (or in).

In automatic pet doors, the motor concealed in the upper section winds up the cord or cable attached to the door panel, and retracts the locking pin. The door then lifts up, allowing the animal to pass through the opening. The result is a happy dog and a happy owner, since both have more freedom.

You might hear this type of door being called a guillotine door, which alarmed this writer when first hearing the term used this way. Like many others, I worried about the force of the door coming back down. However, because of the drag on the pulley, the door closes smoothly without force. The locking pin, which is likely spring-loaded, then shoots back into its matching hole in the aluminum frame.