Are you worried about uninvited animals entering your house? A doggy door or cat door is great in theory but if you return home and face another person’s cat in your kitchen you won’t be happy. Time for a smart pet door. These smart doors will open for your own pet and no one else’s.

I’ve always worried about my doggie door in the past. I’ve seen a cat enter on a hot day (not ours) and even a child climb through uninvited.

These portals to the outside world can let anything through at the most unexpected times. But now there’s a safer alternative. If you’ve ever thought about getting a automatic locking pet door, now is the time. For the best smart pet door, here are some options.

I love smart pet doors. These electronic dog or cat doors are the best way to look after your pet without sacrificing the security of your home. By controlling the door on the device or from your smartphone you retain control over the door access.  You can set a curfew to have the door lock at a certain time if you need to keep your pet inside. If you’re out you can control the pet door remotely and if you have a large dog at least you know the pet door is locking after it is used each time to stop other large animals coming through.

Another advantage about the smart pet door is that it makes a perfect gift for a family member who may be concerned about home security or lives on their own or has mobility issues and wouldn’t be able to chase an unwanted animal out of the house. With the automatic locking feature and the remote control over the door it offers many advantages. To buy the best smart pet door, you’ll need to measure your pet or the pet of the person you’re giving it to.

Smart Pet Door Using Microchip or RFID – SureFlap Pet Door

⇒   For an excellent price on the SureFlap Pet Door, Click Here

The SureFlap pet door provides two options for your pet to be recognized. It can utilize the microchip already implanted on your dog or cat to activate the pet door. In the alternative, you can attach an RFID tag to your pet’s collar and this can be used to unlock the pet door.

It’s quite easy to set up and operate. The SureFlap smart pet door comes with one RFID tag included.

The RFID tag is a great option. But for some pet owners, the tag is not very practical because they have a pet that loses their tag or manages to get their collar off when outside. If you have a pet like this, then the microchip option is perfect for you and your furbaby.

What do you get with the SureFlap smart pet door?

The SureFlap pet door is available in white or brown color options. It is operated by four C-cell batteries. According to the company, the batteries should last up to one year with normal use. There’s an indicator light which flashes when the battery is low.

For more details and the price, click the images above.

The SureFlap is compatible with all microchips worldwide. It comes with one RFID tag (these tags can be bought separately as well).

The size of the opening for your pet to go through is 7 inches wide x 6.69 inches high.

Your pet’s shoulders should ideally be no wider than 6.5 inches and the circumference of their waistline (at the fattest point) should be no more than 20.25 inches.

If you’re unsure about your pet fitting through the door, you can cut a hole 7 inches wide x 6.69 inches high in cardboard and see if they fit through.

Will my pet like it?

Like anything new in the house, your pet may take time to get used to the smart pet door. In particular, you should know that there’s a clicking noise when the door unlocks after reading the microchip or RFID tag.

Some animals are sensitive to this noise and it frightens them. However, with some coaxing and training your dog or cat will get used to the noise and the way the door operates. There is a way to do this easily.

To help your pet get used to it, you can change the delay between when the sensor reads the chip/tag and when it unlocks the door. For example, if your dog is startled by the noise you can delay the unlocking process to take longer. It can take up to 10 seconds before it hears the click. When your pet gets used to it you can shorten the delay back to normal. This way your pet can go through quickly.

Like any pet door, your pet needs to get used to putting their head to the flap to push it. This is something that your dog or cat can be trained to do. And if you already have an old-style pet flap, this shouldn’t be a problem.

What are the limitations on this smart pet door?

The SureFlap is a smart pet door but it is designed to work in a very specific way. Lots of pet owners use their pet doors for different purposes so this is important to know before you purchase.

If you have one animal and you want your pet to be able to get back into the house after exiting then this product is perfect for you. However, if you have two or more animals and you want to allow one outside and the other kept inside then this will not work for your situation (see the SureFlap DualScan Cat Door below or the PetSafe doors below).

This is because this smart pet door is programmed to allow all animals out of the house unless it is completely locked by you. If it is in operational mode then ANY animal can exit through the pet door but only the pet with the microchip or RFID tag can get back in. You can only filter access in one direction.

An unusual way to use the SureFlap pet door…

Interestingly, I read a review by a customer on Amazon where she used this SureFlap pet door in a unique way by reversing the door. She placed the outside side of the door (which reads the microchip or tag) on the inside of her cat enclosure to allow her senior cats to go outside of the enclosure but keep the kittens inside. She was also happy that if one of the kittens by chance did manage to escape it could come back into the enclosure. I found this use of the pet door to be quite fascinating. The only limitation I can see with this setup is that any other animal would also be able to come into the enclosure from outside because the door is reversed. Clearly this wasn’t a problem for this person so the system worked great.

Need a Two Way Cat Door? SureFlap DualScan Pet Door

⇒  For an excellent price on the SureFlap DualScan Cat Door, Click Here

If you have cats there is another option. Another product called the SureFlap DualScan Microchip Cat Door is available. It will scan cats in both directions so you can keep indoor cats inside.

By scanning on both sides of the smart cat door you get to filter access in two directions. This SureFlap DualScan has the security feature that you can program it to let your indoor cat back inside. This is handy if it accidentally gets out a window.

Obviously this product only works with microchip (not RFID tags) but this suits most people. Since the size of this smart cat door is smaller (5.59 inches wide x 4.72 inches high) than the smart pet door (7 inches wide x 6.69 inches in height) it is limited  to smaller pets.

Will the SureFlap install in a wall?

Yes it will.  As it is sold, it’s meant to be installed in a door to the outside. If you want to install it in a wall there is an extender which you can buy separately. You can even buy two extenders and join them if you have really thick walls.

It’s great to have the option on this smart pet door to install it in a wall. Doors are not always where you want a pet door to be. And it can be very tricky if you have an additional security door on the outside of your internal door. If the doors are like this in your house, you’ll probably want to install the SureFlap smart pet door in a wall.

The wall extender pieces can be joined together to make a larger tunnel through your wall. They come in the SureFlap Pet Door size or the SureFlap Cat Door size.

You can also get mounting adapters to install the SureFlap door in a glass panel (these are the circular looking shape). They come in the pet door size and the cat door size.

Will this smart pet door keep my cat in at night?

If you’re concerned about keeping your cat inside overnight, you can set a curfew. This allows you to lock the door at a certain time and then have it open in the morning. The manual lock stops entry or exit through the smart pet door. Or you can set “in-only” so that your pet can come in but can’t go out again.

This “in-only” feature is handy if you get home after dark. You can get your cat inside before you arrive home. For example you could have the door lock on “in-only” at 4pm in the afternoon. Then your cat is safely inside even if you don’t get home until several hours later.

Need a Large Dog Door? PetSafe Electronic Smart Door

If you need a large dog door, the PetSafe Electronic Smart Pet Door can accommodate dogs up to 100 lbs.

The pet door opening is 10 1/8th inches in width x 15 3/8th inches in height.

Here are the instructions from PetSafe on how to measure your dog for the correct smart pet door (for PetSafe brand doors only):

Large dog doors are more of a security concern because they can let in larger unwanted animals or uninvited humans. This smart pet door has a stronger locking mechanism than many others.

SureFlap pet door vs PetSafe pet door

Compared to the SureFlap pet doors, the PetSafe door requires your pets to wear an electronic SmartKey on their collar to unlock the pet door. Of course, you can also use it without any of the locking features activated if you want it to function like an ordinary pet flap.

The SmartKey can be a problem if your pets get their collars off while they’re outside. For this reason the SureFlap product above is very popular because it utilizes your pet’s microchip.

However, this PetSafe smart pet door comes in a much larger size for dogs. And the locking mechanism is more reliable. This is important if you’re worried about raccoons, squirrels or rodents entering your house.

⇒   For an excellent price on this Large PetSafe door, Click Here

If you prefer the stronger locking mechanism and you don’t mind your pet wearing the SmartKey on their collar, then you may also be interested in the PetSafe smart pet door in the smaller size. This is ideal for cats or smaller dogs.

⇒   For the price on this smaller size PetSafe door, Click here.

Give your pet independence and find peace of mind. Especially at night when you have the choice to lock the smart pet door. Once you get a smart pet door you’ll be glad you did.

And remember if you have a member of the family who could benefit from owning one, smart pet doors make a thoughtful gift for the holiday season or a birthday.

☑   Thinking about turning your house into a Smart Home? Read more here.