4 Essential Pet Door Replacement Parts

Having a pet door is a great convenience, but it does require a few essential pet door replacement parts to keep it functioning well.

1. Flap Replacements
Eventually the flap on the pet door will fray or break, or your dog will decide it makes a great chew toy and ruin it.

When looking for a pet door replacement flap, brand is important. There are no standardized measurements for pet doors, so each door is individually sized and can be any size or design.

Although it seems that something as simple as a pet door flap should be interchangeable, different brands are generally incompatible with each other. Even flaps in similar sizes have different design components such as ridges, inserts, bends or extensions that don’t work on a door of a different brand.

Some doors have metal frames, others plastic, and others have flaps that attach between the door and the frame of the pet door, while others have flaps that mount on the outside of the door. Each of these variations creates a unique door condition that requires the exact brand and model as a replacement. With over 14 different pet door manufacturers, the search may be more complicated than you expect.

Many pet door replacement parts are sold online. A search for the brand and model will likely produce the needed part. If the part is no longer available, you can often find that information online as well.

2. Weather Stripping
Weather stripping is a vital component of a pet door. The proper seal around the pet door cannot be maintained if the weather stripping becomes corroded or torn.

So weather stripping is an essential pet door replacement part. Brand is much less important when it comes to weather stripping. The thickness and the width of the product become the important considerations when it comes to replacement or repair.

You will find standard widths and thicknesses of weather stripping for pet doors at the same websites and pet care stores that you find other pet doors and door replacement parts.

3. Bug Seals
A bug seal is a great accessory that is not always included in a pet door but is a great addition if you install a pet door on a sliding patio door.

A bug seal creates a tight seal between the sliding screen door and the pet door, closing what some pet door owners call “the bug gap.” This minimizes one of the primary irritations homeowners have with pet doors, particularly those installed on patio doors.

4. Transmitters
For electronic or automatic pet doors, transmitters are essential pet door replacement parts.

While automatic and electronic doors are very convenient and generally appreciated by the dogs or cats who use them, the remote controls and collar transmitters that control the doors have a way of getting lost, misplaced or destroyed.

Like the dog flaps, transmitters and remote controls are proprietary, or specific to the particular brand of pet door, and  you should search specifically for the brand and model number for your door.