I had high hopes for a product that would keep my dog from grabbing things on counters, table tops, etc. The vet recommended this product as a way to correct the dog, without the dog seeing you as the source of the correction. That way the effect would not depend on your being present to stop the undesired action.
The Scraminal was totally ineffective for this purpose. To point out a few problems:
1) This device emits a LOUD audible signal enough to really bother human ears, but it didn't really have any effect on my dog.
2) There's no way to set Scraminal up "secretly". As soon as you turn Scraminal on, it starts screeching because you are too close to it. The dog immediately knows that you are the one responsible for the correction.
3) It covers too wide an area. If I set it up on the kitchen counter, for example, it detects motion and screeches whenever anyone enters the kitchen not very practical.
4) Maybe some animals would be frightened of the noise and stop the undersirable behavior, but certainly not all. My dog grabs the Scraminal and runs around with it in his mouth. All the while, the thing is making its horrible noise. I guess it's a pretty fun toy for him! But as a training device, I rate it a waste of money.
The Scraminal has been a greatly needed deterrent for our dogs who would NOT stay out of windows ! We only have to say the word scraminal and it turns them away from their direction of the windows. Occassionally we have to actually turn it on to "remind" them of the very loud audible noise it emits. We do not keep it on all the time at all, due to it going off when cats go near it. Still going strong with it though ! Actually decided to leave a review because I am gonna buy a couple more for outside and saw the negative review. NOTHING before this worked ! Our one particular dog has an aggressive nature to protect the house, the other just follows suit. We actually can use it for more than just the window. Just say the word, and they stop ! We turn it on when we are not home, also. Smart dogs! So for anyone that nothing else has worked, give it a try ! It has given us sanity again. Keeping the dogs more sane also !
Buy Amtek Scraminal Now
I can't give this thing a high enough rating.
We have a puppy, and some time shortly after we got her she concluded that the reason our living room has corners is so that you have somewhere you can poop when you can't find Mommy or Daddy and get them to let you outside. Or when you don't want to find Mommy or Daddy. Or when it's Tuesday.
And we tried everything, I swear. My wife and I both have some experience training dogs, and we did a lot of the usual stuff, both positive and negative reinforcement, but we just couldn't shake her of her living-room-is-for-pooping habit. She's a well-trained dog, actually, and today she's an AKC-Certified Canine Good Citizen (CGC), but back over the summer we just couldn't shake her of her bad habit.
Finally, in a fit of frustration after having spent hundreds of dollars on cleaners, I bought a few different beepers on Amazon all at the same time. I tried each one for a few days. And this is the one that worked -and it worked on the very first day.
For the record, this didn't do much to deter our cats (one cat just flat-out ignored it, and the other concluded that she had to run very fast past it to avoid it "seeing" her -and, of course, it beeped at her every time). If you're buying this to keep your cats away from things, best of luck to you. I've debated trying to use it to keep our cats out of the kitchen sink at night, but I'm pretty sure it would have no real effect on them.
But with our dog -now that's a whole different story. On the very first day it scared her away from the living room. By the end of a week, she had learned exactly where it was protecting, and she had learned not to cross that line. By the end of a month, we turned it off, because we hadn't needed it for quite some time.
For the record, this gizmo does not beep: It screeches like your house is being stolen. That's great if you want to keep pets out of a room, and believe me, it works -but not so much when you're trying to sleep. So if there's one bad thing I can say about this, it's that cats + Scraminal + 3 AM = a very bad night's sleep. And I'd be careful of using this in an apartment where you have thin walls.
Still, the thirty bucks I spent on this little gizmo managed to beat out hundreds of dollars I spent on cleaning and hundreds more for dog training. We were looking to buy a major multi-year investment in the Nature's Miracle Pet Cleaner company before I bought the Scraminal, and now I can't even remember the last time I scrubbed the carpet.
As I write this posting, the Scraminal is out of stock, which is sad, because it's worth its weight in gold. If you have a dog, and this comes back into stock, buy one. Seriously. Do it before it's sold out again. And, for the record, no, I won't sell you mine.
Read Best Reviews of Amtek Scraminal Here
Have 3 different type alarms including the Scraminal. The Scraminal is the most effective in keeping my cats away from areas. It emits a loud alarm that leaves a long lasting deterrent. I only use it in areas that will not activate it with regularity by the family as it is loud.
Want Amtek Scraminal Discount?
Bought it to keep the cat off the counter almost 5 years ago. It worked great at that time...actually was able to put it away after about 6 months. Got it out a month or two ago since a new kitten won't stay off the counter...and it still works great. The dog hates the high pitch screeching, so I can see how it would work great for dogs too. The only bad thing is when I set it off myself & it scares the heck out of me. Would definitely buy again & recommend to others.
I'm using (was using) these pads for light use of a stud cat. Previously, they were adequate for this, however I recently purchased two packages of the "30% larger" which is what I had before of the same brand. Arm & Hammer was the only brand of puppy pads I could find that didn't state on the package that it contains an "attractant" odor, which I don't want. The new ones are white on white meaning the absorbent pad is the same color as the backing paper. Very difficult to determine which side should be up. What a mess if you get it wrong. Many of the pads also had sections of the absorbent are missing. I have since switched to a pads the same size, marketed for both humans and pets (http://www.amazon.com/Tranquility-Peach-Sheet-Underpads-Size/dp/B000FD8KAO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1296413855&sr=8-1) and the difference is amazing. More expensive, but you get what you pay for. I tested the two different pads side-by-side and the Arm and Hammer pad, even with absorbent area intact, leaked badly.
