PetSafe Aluminium Pet Door, Small

IMPORTANT FITTING TIPS TO FOLLOW. Was a bit unsure what size to order, I have a Boxer dog and she's very lively, clumsy and daft as armpits but was worried if a bought a large flap it might present as security risk. After a bit of tempting (standing outside with a chicken leg) she eventually came thru it, I immediately went indoors (with chicken leg) but she was reluctant to come back in. After studying it for a few mins I realized that the outside step was a few inches lower than the kitchen floor so I placed a paving slab on the doorstep and bingo she came in straight away. She now uses it with ease and it makes me smile watching her go in and out. She's not a large boxer but has no trouble with the size, as I say I think the height is probably the most important factor. FITTING: I fitted it in to an fairly old upvc door and actually overlapped a catflap fitted by previous house owner. Warning, old upvc is very brittle so if you are jigsawing it out make sure you use the finest toothed blade you have and set it on a slow speed, I had a couple of bits breakout but fortunately the wide frame has covered them ok. IMPORTANT you get 4 long plastic bolts to hold the 2 halves together, use a manual screwdriver (I used my small power driver and even being careful snapped one bolt, Petsafe bless them posted me a replacement foc) and DONT do them up tight, just barely finger tight will do as they expand & contract with temp and I have had one break after 2 weeks. There are no sealing gaskets round the frame but as it was a lovely snug fit I thought ok no problem, wrong, as soon as we had some heavy rain it leaked water on to kitchen floor. Took it back off and ran a bead of silicone around all areas and refitted and perfect now. Don't make my mistake, put a decent bead around it when you first install then you'll have no problem and wont have to faff around with the plastic bolts. QUALITY: seems well made and magnetic strip keeps it closed in all but the strongest winds and it comes with a very nice slide on cover that locks in to place if you want to shut it off at night or if weathers really ghastly. I believe the soft plastic flap is replaceable if it ever wears out so all in all I would thoroughly recommend this product. **UPDATE** 30/11/2015: Am still loving this flap but as I live on an Island now the strong winds have started I have found that the flap will blow open and let an unwelcome draught in to the house. I contacted PetSafe (0800 046 14 14) for advice and their friendly & helpful customer service team suggested that I should fit an additional plastic flap (the same as the original one, undo the four silver screws at the top of the flap and slip in) as this will make it a bit heavier and should help. Ordered it from them over the phone for £11 very straightforward.

These doggy/cat doors are fantastic and so much better then the plastic ones that break after a while of your pet running in and out of them. Made from strong metal with a flexible rubber type flap door. It nice and quiet with strong magnets. We have two sizes the medium on the white door and a small on the brown door. One is used for a cupboard we use as there cat litter box room and the other on our bedroom door so our sphynx cats can come and go as they please but with the shutter that comes with it we can shut them out if needs be. Had them for a few months now and are lasting brilliantly! I also love that you can get replacement flaps for them without having to buy a whole new unit. Yes they aren't the cheapest but 1,000% worth it! Easy to install with the instructions and so handy to have a paper template to follow when cutting that you just tape to the door so it doesn't move. I guess the only negative I would give this door is that the screws are plastic. We snapped one when putting in but thankfully the pack came with a spare!

This is actually the second one we've bought of these. The reason being that our back door locking mechanism has finally given up the ghost and we had to get a new backdoor. With the dogs going in and out of these flaps all day, even with cleaning, the do get a bit scratched up and dirty over time so we thought that if we're forking out for a new door we might as well get a new flap to go with it. It's very easy to fit - at least that's what the door installers told me :-) The size I have is the MEDIUM one and its perfectly adequate for my dogs which are miniature schnauzers. The black one that you see in the picture, Ben, he's quite large for a miniature schnauzer and still fits through it perfectly well. Maybe the small might be ok for other Miniature Schnauzers. You'll notice we've installed the flap very low on the door. This is because the cover that slides into it to secure the flap requires as much space above it as possible. The old one we installed too high and it was difficult to get the security cover out and in because we had to bend it a little because the recessed panel in the door. Where it is now is perfect. The security cover has a little metal spring loaded lock on it. I do have to pull this out when I'm pushing it down into the flap to get over the edges, but once its in, its impossible to open from the outside as far as we can tell. The flap is also magnetic so it stays shut even in the wind - this was a definite requirement of mine as I didn't want it flapping open in the wind and letting the cold air in. In summary, I'm very happy - I wouldn't have bought one again if I wasn't.

Nice quality, fitted well. Note: if your door has a centre peice, the indoor closer will not fit in. Will have to put some sort of spacer to bring it out!

I bought this as a replacement to a slightly cheaper plastic medium dog flap, also from PetSafe Staywell, which I fitted about a year ago (and was my third of these). I'm really impressed with the aluminium model, and I wish I'd spent the extra money last time! We now have two dogs, and our puppy broke the plastic flap on the old dog flap within a few months. Fitting the flap was easy. If you're upgrading from the cheaper plastic equivalent, it's worth noting that this flap needs a larger hole (vertically). Once the hole is the correct size, fitting was easier than with the all-plastic model. This aluminium dog flap seems much stronger, and it's flexible flap won't snap in the way that the old hard plastic one did. Even though it's flexible, it still seals shut very well with the magnet at the bottom and I can't feel any draft around the opening. The use of a single flexible sheet rather than the two separate pieces of plastic in the cheaper model means that there is much less noise when the dogs go through it too.

Our little Dachshund took around 2 minutes to work this out once I'd fitted it and it's saved us untold 'accidents' in the house allowing her to come and go as she pleases. It was very simple to fit & only took me about 15/20 minutes. Although you can feel a slight breeze now it is in, it is far easier than leaving a door ajar or being at the beck and call of the dog when they want to go out. The screen for the inside of the door not only adds a solid feeling security measure when you are away or overnight, but does help with weatherproofing, keeping the cold and wind out. The aluminium frame also adds a rigidity that is reassuring for longevity and security. The only issue I have with this was the plastic screws used to connect the two sides. These feel like they might not last or strip the thread if over-wound, however I would still recommend this without hesitation.

Golly! Things have got better. If you remember to measure much more often than you commit to cutting, then re-check, you will be fine. The Paper template deserves a re-design. The metal frame creates an overlap which works well. I love the flexible (and quiet) door design. The dogs did not hesitate to use it. A winner which does not leave me feeling cheated over the price.

I bought this to replaces cat flap that did not survive the arrival of our young Rottweiler. She likes to poke her head out the flap and see what is happening on the other side, but her collar catches and strains the frame. The cat tends to leave at speed sometimes, (especially if one of the dachshunds has heard him move). And yes, it is a madhouse! We've had a number of cat flaps over the years, all plastic framed, all died eventually. Last time I had the whole lower panel of a upvc back door replaced and a new Staywell cat flap put in (not his Aluminium one). It took the fitter half an hour to replace the panel and 1 1/2 hours to fit the cat flap - it was a nightmare. So when the 'kids' finally ripped out the flap and shattered the plastic frame I started looking for a new one that might survive, and be easy to fit. What a dream! Firstly it arrived the following day. Since it is December, and the weather is unusually mild, I was hoping to get it fitted on the Sunday before the wind and rain returns. Secondly it is strong. The slim aluminium frame is reinforced at the corners, and the flap is a soft plastic, so less likely to shatter. (It reminds me of the plastic curtains you can see at a butcher's shop; on the entrance to the chiller- thick and flexible). The inner cover is thick, reinforced plastic, and will lock the flap relatively firmly, but do consider your security. A strong kick will tear it out, and the medium flap is large enough for a small child to climb through. My solution is a lock on the utility door, so that all they can get to is the utility room, and the key for the back door is not in the utility, so all they could steal would be things small enough to go through the flap. Thirdly it was a dream to fit! Being square, the shape to cut was easy. Measuring was also simple, the template was very clear, and once in place drilling for the bolts was easy. The downside is the bolts. They are plastic, and, even though the instructions are very clear that you should not over tighten them, it is all to easy to misjudge it. This tears the head off the bolt and makes it useless. But, full credit to PetSafe; an email via their website from me was followed up buy a phone call from them the following day, a couple of quick questions, and they have posted a replacement bolt! Now, please don't rely on this, but if you do the dumb thing, it is nice to think they will rescue you!

The information did say it was not suitable for security screen/or I did not see it. Tried to modify it without success should have returned it.

Perfecta para dos westies, ahora hemos repetido en tamaño mayor para un golden retriever. Creo que repetir es la mejor opinión. Estamos encantados, entran y salen cuando quieren, aunque suele hacer aire se mantiene bien, menos dias concretos pero ya con alertas amarillas por aire que si se abre un poquito a veces. la puertecita para cerrar del todo esta muy bien, no es mas que plástico pero no es de mala calidad y encaja muy bien. El imán no es muy fuerte para dejarles paso sin esfuerzo pero es lo suficiente como para volver a cerrarse al instante. Ellos están super cómodos de poder entrar y salir cuando les apetece y nosotros tambien por no tener que estar cada poco abriéndoles la puerta o dejarla abierta que en invierno entra frío y en verano bichos

Conforme à mes attentes

Parfait, facile à installer, durable dans le temps

He tenido varias gateras de las baratas, y todas al poco tiempo se han roto de una u otra forma, hasta que compré la Staywell. Tengo una desde hace varios años y sigue en perfectas condiciones, acabo de comprar otra igualita para otra puerta. El marco es de aluminio, la cortina es de una resistente goma transparente, con un imán en la parte inferior. Tras varios años de uso no se ha deteriorado, ni descolgado, ni despegado, tan solo muestra signos de uso por acumular algo de suciedad. No se ve en las fotos, pero viene acompañado por una tapa de plástico rígido que se desliza desde arriba hacia abajo para bloquear la puerta por el lado de dentro, las otras gateras baratas suelen bloquearse con un mecanismo de 4 posiciones que acaba rompiéndose a causa de los golpes que le mete el perro al intentar entrar con la puerta bloqueada, y de todas formas normalmente solo se usan 2, las de abierto o cerrado, por lo que la compuerta de la Staywell acaba siendo mejor opción. Por último, a pesar de ser más cara que otras, al final ahorras dinero porque sabes que va a durar muchos años. Totalmente recomendable.