There are over 85 million households in America with a fluffy friend at home waiting for them when they get home from a long day. If you're reading this article, then you're likely one of them.

It's true; there's nothing better than having them greet you at the door but on the other hand, at times you wish you didn't have to rearrange your schedule to take Fido out to do his business.

"Getting home to take the dog out" is a common thwart to plans but there's a solution. A pet door is perfect for an owner who wants more freedom for themselves and their dog. No longer does your pet need you to open doors for them.

In this article, we'll go over everything you need to know about installing a pet door for your fur baby, especially how to size it correctly.

Let's get started!

How to Size Your Pet Door

When it comes to choosing the right size pet door for your dog or cat you'll need a few key measurements from your furry friend. Once we find out how to size our pet we can move on to sizing our pet door.

Sizing Your Pet

There are a few things you need to measure on your pet before picking the right sized dog door. You'll need to find out your pup's weight, width, and height.

Weight: For toy breeds and carts, it may be easier to pop them in a doggie purse and set it on a scale but for larger dogs, you may have to do the old "carry your dog and step on the scale" trick. Just don't forget to subtract your own weight!

Identifying your pet's weight helps you decide if your dog would be better off with a doggy flap or an electronic door opener. Some dogs aren't strong enough to push through the weather-protecting flaps! If your dog is particularly large, you might want to go with an electronic door opener to prevent things or even humans from using the doggy door.

Width: For this one, you'll need a measuring tape.When measuring your pet's width be sure to get the widest part of them. For some dogs that might be their shoulders, but for some, it might be their hips. Use a measuring tape and m

Height: Don't put the measuring tape away just yet, you have one more measurement to take. Grab the measurement from your pet's shoulders to his paws. Your dog will likely crouch down to go through the door but this is just to get a good idea of the height when it comes to sizing.

You'll want to add one or two inches to these measurements to give your pet a little wiggle room (literally) and avoid any unnecessary dieting. With these measurements, you'll be able to now decide on what size pet door to purchase.

Sizing Your Door

We've made sizing your pet door easy with this dog door size chart. Use this easy to read, color-coded chart to decide the ideal height and width of flap for your new dog door.

The flap must be both wide and high enough for your fur baby to climb through comfortably. You want to avoid going too big. Larger pet doors require larger and heavier flaps in which a small dog might not be able to push through.

Things to Consider When Sizing a Pet Door

When choosing your pet door there are a few things to consider:

Height of Step Over:Practice with books or household items to see what height your dog is comfortable stepping over.

Multiple Dogs, One Door: Measure your largest and smallest dog. Consider a flap that is high enough that the largest dog can comfortably get through but low enough that the smallest dog can clear.

Puppies Vs. Older Dogs: Your new dog door isn't going to change however, your puppy's size definitely will. Be sure to research the average adult height, weight, and width of your breed. As your dog pushes into their senior years, you may find that a lower step over will be easier on their joints.

We suggest practicing your doggie door by using a cardboard box. Once you've chosen your size using the chart, use a pen and Exacto knife to cut out the flap. Have your dog practice walking through the flap to see if you've sized it accurately.

What Kind of Door Do You Need?

If you thing doggie doors needed to be for just dogs or even installed on doors, you're wrong. Keep reading to find out about your options.

What and Where

When shopping for a cat or dog door you need to consider where you want to place it. What areas of your home does your pet have access to at all times of the day?

Now that you have an idea of where it goes, let's talk about placement.

Did you know that you can install a pet door in a window (perfect for cats) or a sliding glass door? You can even place your pet door in a screen or even install one through a stucco wall. Your choices are endless so get creative with it.

Safety First

Another thing to consider is your home's security. A large, human-sized dog can certainly pose a risk to the safety of your home. In the US, a home burglary occurs every 15 seconds. Unfortunately, unwanted visitors and burglars often to use your pet's door as access to your home.

Luckily they make flaps with electronic openers so only your pet can come in and out of your house as they please.

Keep Weather Out

There's nothing worse than getting a high electric bill in the peak of a hot summer or a high gas bill in the coldest winter. You can sleep soundly knowing that you installed a pet door designed specifically for extreme weather.

Giving your pet more freedom doesn't have to mean you losing heat or air conditioning to the outdoors.

Choose the Right Pet Door

When it comes down to choosing the perfect pet door for your cat or dog, trust Radio Fence. We've got dozens of options to choose from for all kinds of doors to all kinds of styles.

From the smallest cat to the largest of dogs, we've got a pet door for your furry friend. Check out the styles and options on our site here.