Ultrasonic Dazer / Pet Agree Review
I decided to give the ultrasonic Dazer dog deterrent a try, having read various favorable testimonials on the internet. If you've read the whole article then you'll realize that I had my doubts about the efficacy of this device, but I was willing to give it a fair shake and see for myself.
I ordered two of the Dazer model from Tesco Shopping in Nova Scotia. This guy was recommended by KII Enterprises, who actually make the Dazer. They warned me about cheap copies of the Dazer which are made in China, so I wanted to go through a reputable dealer. You can order directly from KII, but they told me that it would take up to a week to ship the thing, so I decided to go to a dealer.
When I eventually received the package, it turned out to be not the Dazer at all, but something called Pet Agree. On closer inspection (and after confirming with KII Enterprises) it turns out that the Pet Agree is exactly the same as the Dazer, simply repackaged. This is apparently because some people don't want to have something called "Dazer" for training their pet - they prefer something with a more "friendly" name. Bizarre, if you ask me, but as long as the thing is the same inside, I'm not bothered. In fact, it could be an advantage if you found yourself confronted by a dog owner after using the device, you could show them something that looks a little less "threatening" and offensive. Hey, it's for training pets, not liquidizing their brains! See, it's called "Pet Agree"!
Anyway, on with the review: The first thing I noted was that this device should not be exposed to rain or water at all. It has a plastic case, but there are holes (for the switch). Also, the end which has the ultrasonic emitter is not sealed. KII told me that the electronics are delicate and should not be exposed to rain or other moisture. So you should take this into account when thinking about the situations you might be required to use the device. Also, it will not work from inside a plastic bag - the ultrasonic emitter requires an unobstructed line of view.
In practice, the Dazer/Pet Agree turns out to be variable in its effectiveness. On walks around Ashland, WI, where there are quite a few agressive dogs, I began with some (very cautious) tests. I started by aiming the device at distant dogs just to see if they would react in any way. Now the instructions say that the Dazer is most effective from about 5-10 feet away, but I knew that this was for deterrence - I was curious to see just how far away dogs could even hear it. The results were inconclusive - most of the dogs I tried it on (from more than 100 feet away) did not react at all. I was somewhat disappointed - I am no ultrasonic expert but I was expecting at least a raised ear or a glance in my direction. Dogs do, after all, respond to dog whistles, which operate on pretty much the same principle. But the results of this first "long distance" testing were disappointing - there was very little reaction from any dog.
Next I tried it on agressive dogs. There were three that we came across on a walk around town. The first was tied up in a yard, a few houses away. This is a very agressive dog, some kind of pitbull/terrier crossbreed. Starting from a distance, I tried to get any reaction at all (i.e. change in behavior) from this dog, but there was none. Even when I was walking by on the sidewalk about 10 feet away, this dog was still straining at the leash to get me - even though I was aiming the device directly at it and "shooting". Pretty scary. I should add that I am familiar with this dog, and could see that its behaviour was utterly unchanged from the norm (i.e. Beast From Hell).
The second dog was on one of those large, sprawling, run-down country places with 10 abandoned pickup trucks and old cars. We stumbled onto the dog's territory from a woods path, by mistake. It was a large, black dog and it ran right up to us, barking hysterically. It was about three feet away, and acting very aggressively. I tried the Pet Agree, and there was no reaction at all. We retreated.
The final dog came running out at us from a garden. It reacted to the Pet Agree by swiftly running back where it came from in a big arc. There, it peeked out at us again from behind the house, where I gave it another blast, and it kind of cocked its head sideways as if listening to something. This was actually a big relief, because up to this point I had been wondering if the devices were working at all. Obviously this dog could hear it loud and clear, and moreover it was deterred by it.
My conclusion from all this is personal and shouldn't be taken as scientific - but in my opinion, the Dazer/Pet Agree is not usable as a dog deterrent in its current form. It should be at least water resistant, and in my (unscientific but empirical) tests, it did not seem to affect all dogs (or even an obvious majority). Therefore I would feel extremely uneasy depending on it for my personal protection against agressive dogs. I don't know where all those glowing testimonials came from, but having actually tried this out on some of the local dogs I can say conclusively that it didn't work for me in many cases. I am fairly confident that the two devices we tested were working and not defective, because of the fact that they seemed to work on at least one of the dogs. Unfortunately without an ultrasonic testing device it is hard to confirm how well the things are actually functioning. I would stress again that these are personal conclusions resulting from non-scientific tests.
In an interesting end-note, I went out on my bike to see if the device would work on a dog out on a remote country road that had repeatedly chased me in the past. I had used Halt! pepper spray on my previous trip. Unfortunately, on the occasion I had the Dazer, the dog refused to chase. It saw me coming, and it just paused there, one paw in the air. Then it retreated. So obviously it had learned a lesson from the previous application of Halt!. I was both gratified and frustrated by this, since on the one hand it's a Good Thing that this dog won't be rushing into the road to chase bikes any more, but on the other hand it had been a "faithful" chaser on whom I had been hoping to try out the Dazer. Oh well! I've passed this dog on several occasions since, and it has obviously been completely cured of chasing bikes by the Halt!.
So, my conclusion remains that Halt! (or other pepper spray appropriate for use on canines) is the best thing out there for deterring aggressive dogs. I think I gave the Dazer/Pet Agree a fair shake, and was left with a feeling that while it definitely works with some dogs, I certainly wouldn't want to depend on it. Having said all that, obviously there are people out there who have had success with it - so you'll have to come to your own conclusions.
Thanks Stephen!
They all left after a couple of hundred of meters since we wouldn't share this great food.
