The number one reason why Smart Retract customers find our Bow Wow Barrier to be the perfect fit is because it effectively keeps dogs and cats from running out an opened exterior door. Besides that, many other barriers lack the features and safety of the Bow Wow Barrier. One of products on the market blocks a pet’s view of the other side, causing them to jump up. Others have parts that are loose or have sharp edges, which are a hazard to fingers and paws. Still others are built with flimsy materials like cardboard, glue, tape, or staples which don’t hold up to repeated use. The Bow Wow Barrier is made for indoor/outdoor use with a tough, see-through mesh fabric, and no hazardous or loose parts that will harm you or your pet or prevent it from operating correctly.
Some basic measurements of your home’s installation area will be needed before you purchase and install the Bow Wow Barrier. There will need to be enough space and clearance to mount the reel, which measures 35 inches high to the top, and the mesh fabric itself is 34 inches tall and extends to about 28 inches wide. The wall brackets need to be mounted at 3-4 and 31 inches from the floor and will need approximately 2.5 inches of flat surface to be fastened to. If there is a baseboard present on the wall side of the installation area, it will be necessary to know the baseboard height and thickness in case wall spacers are required. For more information and for help with determining what accessories might be needed, see our Installation & Accessories page.
You will find that installation of this pet barrier is simple and fast. The essential hardware and screws needed for attaching the brackets to an exterior door are provided. See our User’s Guide and follow the instructions to attach the wall brackets to both the door and the wall. Snap the reel into the brackets on the wall, and the handle into the brackets on the door. That’s all there is to it, and the retractable barrier will extend and retract automatically, quietly, and hands-free whenever the exterior door is opened. When you want to walk through the door, or need to disconnect it momentarily, you can easily remove the handle from the door brackets and guide the mesh onto the reel as it automatically rewinds.
Yes, the Bow Wow Barrier works great for both dogs and cats. No worries about them darting out of the door when you open it. You can walk out to get the mail or make repeated trips to unload groceries without having to watch the door carefully. Scratching can be a concern with cats, so the Smart Retract team did a months-long test of having a piece of the mesh fabric on a cat’s scratching post. The mesh passed the test with flying colors – even when it was used by several adult cats, the mesh remained intact with no rips or tears.
Just like the Retract-A-Gate, the mesh fabric on the Bow Wow Barrier is a tough, reinforced polymer composite material that is free from harmful chemicals and resistant to mildew and to fading from UV rays. All the Bow Wow Barrier parts have been thoroughly tested and are built to withstand all-season outdoor use. Even so, we recommend that you bring your pet barrier inside when temperatures are below freezing, since constant exposure to the elements will limit how long any product will last.
If you need to clean the barrier, just water and a mild soap is all that is needed for general cleaning, but in the case of staining or hard-to-remove soil, rubbing alcohol can be used.
Smart Retract products are all priced according to their exceptional value, and we don’t typically run ongoing sales or have discounts available on a regular basis. We also don’t want our customers to be fooled into thinking that promo code and coupon websites are affiliated with Smart Retract, and mistakenly sign up for something that will eventually fill up their inbox with spam and other unwanted advertisements. Any promotions that might be available will be found only on our site and can be accessed during the Check Out process.
We get asked frequently if the Bow Wow Barrier can be used instead of the Retract-A-Gate, and how the two products differ. Read on for some comparisons which will help you decide which product is the best fit for you and your home.
Both products are made from the same durable and scratch-resistant mesh fabric, with a mesh height of 34 inches, and both automatically retract into a roll about 3 inches in diameter. The mounting brackets are universal, so either product will work with them. Both are available in White and Café colors, with the option of Black for the Retract-A-Gate.
Some important differences:
