Things You Should Know About Pet Doors

If you have indoor/outdoor pets you know that they always want to go in or out at the most inopportune times. A fix for this problem is to install a pet door. Although the burden of letting your pet in and out of the door is alleviated, other problems will arise. Before buying and installing a pet door you should know a few facts.

First, you need a hole in your door. If you don’t have the tools to do this yourself, you will have to hire someone or get help from a friend to install the door. If you decide later you don't want the pet door anymore, you will have to replace your door at a big expense.

Secondly, the flap that covers the opening, gives some pets trouble. Some pets will not go through with the flap down. Removing the flap allows easy access for bugs and creepy crawlers to invade your home. Additionally, if the flap remains on the door the wind may cause it to flap back and forth and be noisy.

Then, there are the party animals. With a pet door there isn’t much you can do when your pet invites other pets in the neighborhood over to party. Uninvited visitors will be eating your food, drinking and carrying on. Beware of party crashers like raccoons, possums, or skunks. They see a pet door as an open invitation to your home.

There are options available that may help like electromagnetic or infrared collars for all your pets. The idea is that a special collar will automatically unlock the pet door so your pet may enter. Any creature without a collar would not be able to unlock and enter the door. Some problems associated with this option are collars being lost, pets becoming entangled by their collar, and additional expense for replacements and batteries. Before you buy this type of pet door, be sure the loss of a collar does not mean you will have to replace the entire set (door and collar).

Having a pet door can be beneficial; but there are many things to consider before you buy. Know the facts before you install.

A Guide to Safer Internet Shopping

How do you know when a website is trustworthy? What can you look for to help determine a website's credibility? Here are some tips and things you should know:

•Look toward the bottom of the page; and see what is there. Usually, websites put their policies and trust seals at the bottom of the page in the footer area. Are there any links to their policies? Are there any trust seals anywhere on the page? This is where you can start to find information to build trust. No trust seals, No trust!

•Click on a trust seal to see what they have to say. Examples include VeriSign, McAfee, Go Daddy, etc. Does it tell about encryption? Does it name the site you are looking at or the website host? Is it actually a link to information? Just having the image on the page isn’t good enough!

•Do they have an accreditation seal such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB)? If it is a BBB seal click on it. The BBB has information about the company and a grade. The company has to adhere to the BBB’s code of business practices to keep their accreditation.

•Look at their privacy and security policies. BBB members have to adhere to and post strict polices to keep their accreditation.

•Do they use PayPal for payment? PayPal has a very good service for your protection. You can have an account with them so you are not always giving out your credit card information. At Hubcaps and Gravy you can use Paypal with your card; and we do not have access to your credit card information!

•Is there contact information on the site including address, email address and phone number?

•At the checkout page, look at the URL. Does it start with HTTPS? The “S” means your information is encrypted and secure.

•Don’t be influenced by fancy bells and whistles of any website. Check Them Out!