PetSafe Freedom Aluminum Dog & Cat Door, Pets up to 100 lbs, Large, White

Why it's worth it

The Freedom Aluminum door is rated for pets up to about 100 pounds, with a 10¼-by-16¼-inch flap opening and reinforced aluminum corners. It's the piece of PetSafe gear most likely to outlast the house you install it in.

Aluminum is the reason this one costs more and lasts longer. Plastic-framed pet doors crack at the corners after a couple of winters of a big dog shouldering through them. This frame is solid metal with reinforced corners, and owners with Dobermans, huskies, and Bernese mountain dogs describe years of hard use without the frame going soft. If you have a large dog, this is the part that matters.

The flap opening is genuinely large — 10¼ inches wide by 16¼ tall — and rated to 100 pounds. That's not a marginal fit for a big shepherd, it's a comfortable one. Owners who sized down and watched a 100-pound dog squeeze through a medium door describe injuries that followed. Size up, not down, and measure your dog at the shoulder before ordering.

From our review of 8 petsafe pet products

What we like

• +Aluminum is the reason this one costs more and lasts longer
• +The flap opening is genuinely large — 10¼ inches wide by 16¼ tall — and rated to 100 pounds
• +The tinted flap seals with magnets and stays put in wind better than a loose flap does, which cuts the draft you'd otherwise…
• +Installation is a real DIY job, and the kit takes it seriously: cutting template, hardware, and instructions, sized for doors…

What to know

• –Cutting a permanent hole in your door is not a reversible decision, and it's not a renter-friendly one
• –Some dogs refuse the flap at first, and older dogs are the stubborn ones
• –Any pet door is a security compromise