Guide · · 3 min read
How to train a cat or dog to use a pet door
Prop, tempt, repeat. Pet-door training is simple, but there are three things that make it take a week instead of a day.
By the Pet-Tek International team, Auckland — designers of Catwalk® and Dogwalk® since 1999.
Pets learn a door the way they learn everything: because something good is on the other side. The method below works for cats and dogs, plain doors and selective ones. The three mistakes at the end are what make it slow.
Day one: no flap
Prop the flap fully open — a peg or a strip of tape on the top edge — so the door is just a hole. Put the pet on one side and the food, or you, on the other. Call. Most pets walk through a hole in minutes. Repeat in both directions until it is boring.
Day two: the flap, assisted
Lower the flap. From the far side, push it open a little with your hand so the pet sees the gap and feels the flap on its back as it comes through. Three or four passes and most pets push it themselves. Leave the lock on open all week.
Nervous cats
Do not push a cat through; it will remember. Go back to the propped flap for longer, feed next to the door on both sides, and let the cat discover that the flap moves by batting it. Rubbing the flap with a cloth that smells of the cat helps. A week is normal for a cautious cat.
Magnetic doors
On a Catwalk® Multi-Magnetic the latch releases with a small click as the collar magnet nears the flap. Fit the magnet so it hangs under the chin, prop the flap for the first day so the cat learns the route before the mechanism, then let the flap down and let the click become familiar. Spare magnets for a second cat are stocked.
Microchip doors
Register the cat first: hold the SureFlap learn button, let the cat put its head through the propped flap once, done. Then train as for any door. The flap unlocks with a quiet click as the cat approaches; most cats ignore it from the start.
Dogs
Dogs are quicker and more physical. Prop, call with a treat, repeat; then lower the flap by stages. A dog that has learned to barge a flap will barge it for life, which is fine — the Dogwalk® flap and hinge are built for it. If the dog hesitates at a Medium in glass, it is usually the reflection; a towel over the outside of the pane for a day fixes it.
Three things that slow it down
Starting with the flap down. Teach the hole first. Fitting it too high. A pet should step through at belly height, not climb. Locking it early. Leave the dial on open until the route is a habit, then introduce in-only at night.
Which door for which pet: the full range, or Find your door.
Quick answers
How long does it take a cat to learn a cat door?
Usually a day or two: prop the flap open first, call the cat through with food, then let the flap down and repeat. Nervous cats may take a week; never push them through.
How do I train a dog to use a dog door?
Prop the flap, stand on the far side with a treat, call. Once the dog comes through freely, lower the flap a little at a time. Most dogs have it in an afternoon.
My cat won't use the magnetic cat door — why?
Check the collar magnet sits under the chin, where it meets the flap; the latch clicks as it releases and some cats need a day to accept the sound. Prop the flap for the first day so the cat learns the route first.
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