How to Secure Your Pet Door Against Burglary

While pet doors are a fun way to give your pet more freedom to run around, they can also be seen as an invitation by unwanted guests, such as burglars, to enter your home. Fortunately, there are ways to limit the usage of a pet door to just your cat or dog. Keep reading to find a few tips and tricks on how to ensure your pet door stays a pet door.

The first step is to buy an appropriately sized pet door. Your furry friend should have just enough room to enter and exit comfortably. If your dog is larger, solutions 3 and 4 may be more beneficial for you. 

That being said, when an intruder is attempting to enter a home through a smaller pet door, they aren’t simply squeezing through. Rather, they often use the pet door as a way to reach door handles and locks, effectively letting themselves in.

• Solution 1: Try installing your pet door into a wall, not a doorway. This will give intruders no way to reach through the pet door and grab a door handle or lock. Having a pet door installed into a wall can also give you an opportunity to conceal the door, such as positioning it amidst shrubbery or bushes.
• Solution 2: Try out a doggie door that only opens when your pet’s collar is near it. There are several of these on the market, and they work in different ways, ranging from magnets to RFID chips.

If an intruder were to somehow manage to find your pet door, or begin an attempt to get through, there are still some things you can do to deter them from snooping around any further.

• Solution 3: To scare away unwanted visitors, consider investing in a security alarm for your pet door. Many of these alarms are weight-based, so all you need to do is gauge the weight of your pet (or your heaviest pet) and get an alarm that will be triggered by anything heavier than them.
• Solution 4: Another way to discourage burglars is to install motion sensor lights in the area around the pet door. From the perspective of an intruder, a light turning on inside of the house means it is possible someone is home. You may also want to install cameras in the area, to track any suspicious activity you may be noticing.

If you have a pet door, there are other ways to secure your home against burglary that do not directly relate to the door itself, but can still deter intruders.

• Solution 5: Purchasing a ‘Beware of Dog’ sign (even if your dog is a complete cuddle bug) can scare off criminals. When a burglar is assessing a potential target, they will look at outside elements and put together a complete story of what may be awaiting them inside the home. Adding a warning sign, whether it be a ‘Protected by [security company]’ or ‘Beware of Dog’ sign can discourage intruders.
• Solution 6: If your pet door is located in the back of the home, fortifying your fence is an option. This can be done by making it too tall to see over or climb, or installing spikes that make it uncomfortable to climb.

If none of the above solutions are applicable to you, consider getting rid of the pet door entirely. Instead, train your pet to tell you when it wants to go outside or come back in. This will allow you to have a greater sense of security in knowing that there is one less vulnerable area in your home that can be accessed by intruders.