As a pet parent, you do everything to keep your pets safe. You keep them away from dangerous foods and protect them from safety hazards. If your pets make frequent trips to your garage, you may worry about their safety around the garage door. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of garage door safety around pets and how you can keep your cats and dogs safe.
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Importance of Garage Door Safety Around Pets
Garage doors are designed to be safe for humans and animals alike. Automatic garage doors will stop closing when the sensors detect movement, which prevents the door from fully closing. The only way to get the door to start closing or opening again is to use the remote a second time. Despite how truly effective the garage door safety features are, you should be aware of the potential risks your garage door may pose.
Here are some common questions pet owners ask in regards to their garage door and pet safety:
Can a Garage Door Hurt a Cat?
This answer may come as a surprise, but other doors actually pose a greater risk to your cat than an automatic garage door. When a cat is injured by a shutting door, the cause is nearly always user error. You routinely open and close the front and back doors of your house so many times each day that it’s muscle memory. Sometimes, you’re tired and lost in thought, and your cat might linger in the threshold for a little too long.
An automatic garage door will react when something enters its sensors by immediately raising it back up. Cats run low to the ground and have a small surface area, giving them plenty of leeway to slip past a nearly shut garage door without being hurt.
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Can a Garage Door Kill a Cat?
Feline fatalities from garage door accidents are exceptionally rare, even for pets that spend a lot of time lounging around garages and mudrooms. Since garage doors have motion sensors that can detect movement, it’s unlikely that a garage door would kill a cat. While accidents do happen, following pet safety tips can keep your furry friends safe.
How Do I Make My Dog Safe in My Garage?
If your dog stays in your garage, the best way to ensure your pet’s safety is to provide obedience training. You can train your dog to stand away from the sensors until you push the remote and give them the go-ahead to walk past the door. Training your dog will allow you to always know where they are when you’re opening and closing your garage door.
When your pet is in the garage, refrain from keeping the garage door open slightly. Many pet owners will open their garage door a few inches to allow air to flow into the garage. The problem with this is that it can cause unnecessary tension on the springs of your garage door that can wear it down over time. Worn-down springs are unsafe for pets and run the risk that the door could suddenly fall shut. To keep your dog safe in your garage, don’t leave the doors slightly open. Keep them fully closed or have them fully open if you’re home with your pet.
How Do I Keep My Dog From Running in the Garage With the Door Open?
The best solution for keeping your dog from running in the garage with the door open is training. You can train your dog to remain outside the garage when you enter and keep them from entering. Teaching the “stay” command is especially helpful in this case because it keeps your dog in one place and ensures they don’t run into the garage.
Garage Door Safety Tips for Pet Owners
Safe handling is important when you have pets. Below are some more tips for garage door safety:
1. Use the Garage Door as Recommended
Don’t leave the door open partially for pets to exit and enter. Most garage doors have a spring opening system to prevent them from slamming down when closing. When you leave them slightly open, you’re forcing the springs to work harder, and with time, they will weaken.
Once the springs wear out, the garage door can quickly slam down. You can Install a pet door on your garage door to allow cats and dogs easy access to the home without putting them in danger.
2. Check the Top of the Door Before Closing
If you have a cat that likes to climb, check the door gears before opening or closing the doors. A cat might try to climb up onto the shelf that a raised door provides to escape predators or get a good view of its surroundings. There’s a high risk of your cat getting crushed when you command your door to close, so always check the top of your garage door beforehand.
3. Invest in Routine Garage Door Maintenance
Schedule regular maintenance for your garage door to know when you should make repairs. You can ensure the door works properly and reduce the chances of it slamming down. Maintenance confirms the door’s safety features are working properly, too. For instance, you can check if your door’s reverse mechanism works by placing some cloths across the garage’s threshold. When you close the garage door, it should sense the cloth and automatically reverse. If it doesn’t reverse, call a garage door service provider to identify and solve the problem.
4. Don’t Tie Your Pet to the Garage Door
If you have to leash your pet in the garage, avoid tying them to the garage door. The metal might seem like it would be sturdy enough to support a rambunctious pet, but the mechanisms are intended only for raising the door.
5. Don’t Race a Closing Garage Door
Play games like catch, keep-away and fetch outside of the garage. Using your door for a race game or as an obstacle to get to their toy will encourage the pet to charge the door without reserve. Even if your garage door has built-in motion sensors that tell it to stop when you or your pet are in the way, it is still dangerous. In case the sensor malfunctions, or if your pet moves too fast, the garage door will miss the signal and shut anyway.
6. Don’t Let Your Pet Chew on the Door Cables
Make sure any cables or wires are safe from your pet chewing on them. If you have a pet that likes to chew, provide them with enough toys so they have a few distractions from the door. You can try blocking off the wiring, but remember to make it accessible for maintenance and repairs. You can also leave the pet crated or block their access to the garage whenever you’re away from home to keep them safe.
7. Train Your Pet
Teach your pet basic commands such as “go back” or “stop” when they’re close to the garage door to quickly call them away when the door begins to move.
8. Invest in a Quality Garage Door
The surest way to keep your pets safe is to install a garage door and opener made by reputable manufacturers. A good-quality garage door system will save you money in the long run when it comes to maintenance. Moreover, newer doors have safety features that you can trust and rely on for a long time.
9. Test Motion Detectors for Pet Safety
All automatic garage door systems have motion detectors set at ground level. Test yours to make sure they’re working properly before you allow any pets into your garage. You might have tried raising your foot over the sensor as you exited to avoid triggering the safety feature. Since animals rarely jump over the garage threshold, the sensors will detect their feet crossing over.
When one or both sensors stop working correctly, your door might stop shutting entirely, or you could have other noticeable issues. Buying a quality product will ensure that your door functions well and lasts a long time before needing repairs.
10. Install Pet Doors for Garage Safety
Rather than leaving the door raised or overusing it, which causes strain on your gears, install a pet door for convenience and safety. Pets can enter and exit the garage as they wish, and you can use your automatic motor sparingly. If you decide to get a pet door, make sure to install it a reasonable distance from the garage door to keep them away.
Buy a Quality Garage Door With Crawford Door Sales
Want to make sure your pets stay safe? Crawford Door Sales services automatic garage doors for residences in the Twin Cities area. We offer a wide variety of garage doors that can add some curb appeal to your home while keep you and your furry friends safe. Contact us to learn more.
