Make You and Your Dog Happy - How to Install a Doggie Door

A Guide to Installing a Pet Door for Your Dog

I know my dog seems to want to go outside just when I sit down to eat dinner or when my favorite TV show comes on. And sometimes dogs forget to tell us when they need to go. Then we get to clean up their mess inside our house! After experiencing these problems for a few months, I decided to install a doggie door.

I put off the project for a few weeks. I thought to myself "I don't know how to install a doggie door". It seemed complicated, involving saws and measuring. And I didn't want to make a mistake and ruin my door, either. However, I will tell you this: installing a doggie door is much easier than you think.

To start off, I will tell you which supplies you will need. To install a doggie door, you will need a drill with a 3/4" drill bit, a tape measurer, a pencil, a jigsaw and sealing caulk. To be safe, you will also need eye protection, such as safety goggles. And the doggie door, you don't want to forget that!

I started off with most of the necessary supplies to install the doggie door. However, I had to purchase a few items. I picked up the doggie door (for a medium sized dog) at the local Petsmart for $40. The jigsaw, which I thought would be expensive, was a mere $20 at Wal-Mart.The sealing caulk was about $2. In addition to being easy, installing a doggie door isn't as expensive as you would think.

I would allot about 2 hours to install the doggie door, maybe less if you have a partner to help. Here are the installation steps:

Removing the door from the frame (optional):

Although this step is not absolutely necessary, I found it better to remove the door before installing the doggie door. If you decide to take your door off of the frame, I would recommend a partner to help. My door was quite heavy so I am glad I had an extra hand. To remove the door, I simply unscrewed the screws that were holding the three hinges to the door frame. I then laid the door down on two dining room chairs.

Measuring hole to cut