In previous blogs, we’ve discouraged you from installing a pet door inside your garage door, because ultimately the risk for mishaps is too high. Your dog can become overly comfortable with your garage door, and might not know to get out of the way when the door is engaged. Because of how these are arranged, the photo-eye designed to sense obstructions and cease motion might not prevent your pet from getting hurt. There’s also the security risk of having an old-fashioned doggy door. You’d be surprised at how easily certain people can shimmy through a small door.
Fulfilling Need for Safe, Separate, Secure Doggy Door
Chamberlain discovered that only 34 percent of pet owners have a pet door, meaning that 66 percent of pets have to wait for their human to let them outside. With a boom in pet adoptions during the pandemic, coupled with the complications of owners going back to work, Chamberlain saw a need for a better option.
The result is the myQ Pet Portal, which began taking preorders in January 2021. Jam-packed with features, it includes twin 1080p cameras that beam encrypted video to your phone, no matter where you are. It has safety sensors to avoid pinched tails, microphones and speakers so you can communicate with your pet, and a bluetooth beacon that goes around your pet’s neck.
The New Doggy Door Design
Instead of the typical swinging flap of old-fashioned doggy doors, Chamberlain sought to design a door you won’t even know is there. The promo video shows a white door with a bottom panel that parts in the center, sliding open as a golden retriever jumps through. The name “portal” is fitting, as the slick feature would be right at home in a spaceship of some sort. The construction is weather-sealed and secure.
How It Would Work and How Much It Costs
Technology that connects you virtually with your pet is nothing new, as the Furbo treat-dispensing cameras have been around for awhile. But imagine being out at the bar with friends, as the myQ Pet Portal promo depicts, being alerted that your dog is waiting by the door, and having the ability to authorize the door opening and letting your dog outside. Chamberlain hopes their invention will eliminate the common barrier of dog ownership, “not being home enough.” With a base price of $3,000, the gadget might not be that accessible to anyone who couldn’t afford a dog-walker to begin with, but Chamberlain asserts it could save by replacing a pet-sitter budget in the long run. Find out more about this smart home “pupgrade” here.
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