Pet Friendly Alarms

If you require a home alarm system and have pets, you will need to buy - what the security industry refers to as a ‘pet-friendly alarm’. Let's discover what they are, how they work and if they're the right solution for you.

What is a pet-friendly alarm?

First; let's be clear on what a pet-friendly alarm is not.

A pet-friendly alarm is not a special, more expensive, alarm system.

In fact, the main control panel of pet-friendly alarm is identical to the main control panel of a standard home alarm.

The different and clever part, which makes the system "pet friendly", is the motion sensors supplied with the alarm panel – the pet-friendly PIR.

It's these PIR's (passive infra-red motion sensors) which are designed to be pet tolerant, to ignore any changes in passive infrared (movement of body heat) at floor level, up to 35kgs in weight/mass.

Will cats and dogs set off the alarm?

Big dogs probably will trigger a pet-friendly alarm if they have free roam of the house. Don't fear – there's other options for you 'big dog' owners, more on this below.

Cats and dogs, up to 35kg, should not trigger a pet-friendly alarm system.

However, if your cat tends to jump up onto the kitchen worktop and window sills (as they do) or your dog put's it's front paws up against the window when it sees/hears someone walking down the driveway (as they do), then you may experience issues.

Please note; this does not mean that you can't have an alarm system (more on other solutions below).

All concerns should be discussed with a professional security consultant at the time of a site survey and a good alarm company should be able to design a system to work without problems with your pets in mind.

What if I have big dogs?

There's a good chance that big dog, above 40kgs, will trigger an alarm system. However there are other configuration options to serve a house with larger dogs or very active pets (including flying pets).

If your large pets have free roam of the house then you'll need to consider security devices other than PIR detectors.

For example, door contacts can be fitted to door and windows which would detect unauthorised opening when alarm is armed.

There are also glass break detectors.

As the name suggests a glass break detector detects the sound/frequency of glass being broken. This would obviously trigger the alarm system, when armed, if someone smashed a window to break into your property.

Lastly there's inertia sensors, more commonly Referred to as shock sensors, which detect vibration from someone tampering with a window or door prior to entry.

Don't think it's one or the other though. You can have a combination of door sensors, shock sensors, and PIR sensors (in rooms that the dogs don't go into) throughout your home.

All of these options should be discussed with your installer at the site survey stage.

Pet Owners and Smart Alarms: Worth Considering

A smart home alarm is worth considering for any home with pets, even if the pet-friendly PIR sensors are working correctly.

The reason is straightforward. When a PIR motion detector triggers, you do not automatically know whether it is a genuine break-in or your cat jumping onto the worktop at 2am. With a standard alarm system, you find out when the external siren fires for 20 minutes and your neighbours start texting you.

A smart alarm with photo PIRs sends you a snapshot or a sequence of images from the room at the moment the alarm is triggered. These go directly to your smartphone through the alarm app. You can see, almost in real time, whether the activation is a burglar or one of your furry friends doing something they should not be.

From the app you can remotely disarm the alarm system, check on your home from anywhere in the world, and re-arm once you are satisfied there is no intruder. No subscription required for the basic remote access function on most smart alarm systems, though monitoring plans that add 24/7 alarm receiving centre cover carry a monthly fee.

The Yale Sync smart home alarm system is an example of this approach. The sync smart home alarm includes a free app (although reviews of their app are a little underwhelming), and pet-friendly motion sensors. The Verisure alarm system offers pet-friendly PIRs as well as photo PIRs. Both are useful if you have pets but, of course, the Verisure system comes with a professional monitoring service at an additional monthly cost.

If you don't have PET-friendly photo PIRs, an internal security camera or pet cam alongside your alarm system adds that extra layer of reassurance. Indoor cameras give you live and recorded footage, which is useful both for verifying alerts and for providing evidence if a break-in does occur.

Pet Friendly burglar alarm prices

Assuming your installer is simply swapping standard PIRs for pet-tolerant PIRs, a pet friendly alarm should cost no more, or very little, than a standard alarm. Avoid any alarm company trying to tell you otherwise. At the very least, get a 2nd quote. Other factors, such as fitting different detectors (glass break, shock, door sensors etc) will increase the price.

You can use our free cost calculator below to get a rough idea of how much a pet friendly alarm might cost you. Alternately if you want an accurate quote, use our quick quote form.