The Best Dog Doors for Sliding Glass Doors

When deciding on the perfect dog door for your home, a sliding glass door isn’t always the first location that comes to mind. Most often, we think of pet doors installed through a door or wall, but there are lots of places pet doors can be installed—including your sliding glass door!

Our pet door experts are here to help you choose the right door for your home with our list of the top pet doors for sliding glass doors.

Best Sliding Glass Dog Doors

#1: Endura Flap Vinyl Sliding Glass Dog Door

If you’re looking for a weatherproof dog door for sliding glass door, the Endura Flap Vinyl Sliding Glass Dog Door is the perfect choice. This weatherproof patio panel with a built-in pet door allows your dog the freedom to come and go while keeping your home insulated. It’s the perfect sliding pet door for large dogs with the durable, high-quality flap that comes in a variety of sizes. For cats, check out the Endura Vinyl Siding Cat Door. 

See how to install a dog door in a vinyl sliding glass door. 

This panel is the best insulated dog door for sliding glass doors, and it fits seamlessly into vinyl sliding glass doors with tracks 1.5” - 1.75” thick. The vinyl framing weighs less than aluminum, making this panel particularly easy to install, remove, and transport. It’s a great option for a rental property or vacation home. For extra insulation, check out the Endura Severe Weather Vinyl Sliding Dog Door, which has a second flap for added weather protection in extreme climates.

The panel is built with dual-pane, Low-E glass to protect your home from extreme heat and cold. Since the Endura vinyl sliding dog door is so high-quality, it is an investment piece. At a higher price point you can expect a dog door that is going to last a lifetime and keep your home completely insulated in extreme weather. Here's how to install the Endura Flap Vinyl Sliding Glass Dog Door and how to install the Endura Severe Weather Vinyl Slider. 

For aluminum doors, the Thermo Panel 3e is a great option. If your slider is extra tall, check out how to install the Endura Thermo Panel 3e for tall sliders.  

#2: Dragon Patio Panel Pet Door for Aluminum Sliders

The Dragon Patio Panel Pet Door for Aluminum Sliders is an excellent choice if you’re looking for an affordable pet door for sliding glass doors. The panel installs tool-free in a matter of minutes for a low-impact, simple installation. The Dragon is a great economical option that will get the job done, allowing your pets the freedom to come and go as they please. Dragon has panels for sliders under 80" and sliders 93.25" - 96.25" to fit your unique situation.  

At a lower price-point, the Dragon will be less insulating than the Endura Flap Vinyl Sliding Dog Door. However, the insulation value of the Dragon patio panel is excellent for the cost. The two-piece flap design keeps the pet door opening completely sealed so your home stays cozy. It’s ideal for mild climates, so we would recommend a more insulating choice if you experience any extreme weather throughout the year. Dragon also has a vinyl panel option. Check out how to install the Dragon Vinyl Sliding Dog Door for reference. 

#3: Ideal Fast Fit Patio Pet Door

The Ideal Fast Fit is our third choice sliding glass dog door for your home. The Ideal is the way to go if you have an unusual track height, as it comes in a wide variety of track height adjustment ranges from 75” - 96.5”, as well as a selection of custom heights for tracks up to 109.5” tall.

This panel is easy to install and uninstall, making it another great simple pet door solution. The lightweight flap is easy for pets of all sizes to use, and allows large and small pets to share the door. It is best for moderate, three-season climates, so we would highly recommend the Endura patio panel if you’re looking for severe weather protection.

#4: PetSafe Freedom Patio Panel Pet Door

In fourth place we have the PetSafe Freedom Patio Panel Pet Door. This is a great affordable option that accommodates tracks of all sizes.

The aluminum frame comes in three color options to match your home, and the tinted vinyl flap helps prevent heat damage from the sun. This panel has a nice and low step-over, so it’s great for smaller pets.

Have a large dog? Check out the PetSafe sliding glass pet door XL size. This panel comes with a pin lock to secure the panel in your track. We recommend a Charley Bar or dowel for additional security.

#5: High Tech Power Pet Automatic Patio Pet Door

If you’re looking for something electronic, the best doggy door for sliding glass doors with an automatic flap is the High Tech locking patio pet door.

This electronic pet door scans for a special collar key your dog wears to unlock only for them, helping to keep unwanted critters out of your home. When the flap unlocks, it raises up automatically, so your pet doesn’t have to push through. This is great for older or arthritic pets, or pets who are timid about pushing through a pet door flap.

High Tech carries the largest automatic dog door flap on the market, however, it’s important to note that the largest flap size is 12.25” x 16”, so it is not suitable for very large dogs. If you have more than one pet using the door you can purchase additional collar keys so that they can unlock it too.

The High Tech locking pet door for sliders installs into your sliding door track in just a few minutes, no tools needed. Once installed, you can program the collar keys to work from a range of 1-10 feet depending on what works best for your situation. With this sliding glass dog door, you can rest easy that only your pets will use the door to come and go.

How do you lock a sliding glass dog door?

Since you won’t be able to use your existing sliding glass door lock with a pet door panel installed, your pet door will come with an alternative lokcing method. Sliding glass pet doors will all come with their own variation of a foot lock. This clamp lock will secure over the lip of the sliding glass door track to ensure the slider can’t be opened.

For monorail tracks or for additional security, we recommend using a wooden dowel or installing a Charley Bar.

Can you put a dog door in a double sliding door?

Yes, you can put a any sliding pet door panel in a double sliding door that meets in the middle. Installation can work in the same way as standard sliding glass doors. In order for the panel insert to remain secure and stable, you will need to make one of your sliders stationary. In essence, you will only be allowed to slide and walk through one of your two sliders.

Should I get an aluminum or vinyl dog door for sliding doors?

If you have a vinyl sliding door, we recommend going with a vinyl sliding pet door. The same goes for if you have an aluminum sliding door--an aluminum pet door would fit best with your slider. It’s best to get a patio panel pet door with the same frame material as your sliding door both for the matching aesthetic, as well as a snug fit. Most vinyl sliding doors have a thicker track, so vinyl sliding dog doors are made thicker to fit securely in the track.

However, vinyl sliding pet door panels come in shorter heights than aluminum panels. If you have a particularly tall vinyl sliding glass door you may find that the only height options that work for you are offered in an aluminum pet door panel. This will still work so long as your track is at least 1” thick. It all comes down to rack width: your sliding glass door track must be wide enough to accommodate the pet door panel.

Which is the best sliding glass door for large dogs?

The best dog door for sliding glass doors if you have large dogs is the Endura Flap Thermo Panel 3e. It comes in flap sizes from small to extra large to accommodate even the largest dog breeds.

What if I have a monorail track?

Most pet door panels for sliders are designed to sit inside a u-shaped sliding glass door track. These days, many sliding doors have a monorail track, which means the panel would sit on top of the monorail rather than resting in the u-shaped recess of the track. Most ofen, this won’t be an issue if the panel is short enough to remain stable.

However, if you have a very tall panel for a tall track, or very energetic dogs who run through the flap at high speeds, the panel can wobble back and forth on top of the monorail. For some options such as the Endura Flap Thermo Panel 3e, you can purchase a monorail adapter. Another option is to toenail the panel into the monorail for a semi-permanent installation. Check out our guide on installing a pet door when you have a monorail track for further details.

Another excellent option for sliding glass doors is the In the Glass Pet Door. The Pet Door Guys In the Glass uses the same insulting Endura Flap from our top choice, the Endura Vinyl Sliding Dog Door. However, the In the Glass is an entire pane of glass with the Endura Flap built in that replaces one of the existing panes of glass from your slider. This is an excellent permanent installation option if the removable panel does not work for you. It’s one of the best sliding door dog doors for a completely seamless look and top-of-the-line quality.

Didn’t find a sliding glass dog door that works for you? Check out our full list of pet doors for sliding glass doors. Once you decide on the perfect choice for your home, check out how to measure your slider for a pet door and how to install a pet door in a sliding glass door.

What if I need a Pet Door for windows?

Check out the installation process for the Endura Flap Cat Door for Horizontal Sliding Windows and the Whiskers & Windows Cat Door for Horizontal Sliding Windows. The process is very similar to sliding pet door installation and a window pet door is a great option for letting your pets come and go. 

What if the standard size panels won't fit my slider?

There are a number of custom options for irregular sliding door track heights. The Dragon Custom Single Flap Panel and Dragon Custom Double Flap Panel are two affordable options. For cats, check out the Custom Whiskers & Windows Sliding Glass Cat Door (and it's non-custom version as well). 

Have a vinyl sliding glass door? The Custom Endura Flap Severe Weather Sliding Glass Dog Door is a great option for short vinyl sliding doors.