Video Tutorial
Watch the video below to help you better understand the rest of the article.
Protection Against Dog Attacks when Walking Your Dog
Dog walking is a fantastic way to exercise, both for you and your dog. But it's not without its own challenges. One thing that takes pleasure away from peaceful enjoyable walks are aggressive off-leash dogs in the neighborhood.
Many of these off-leash dogs aren't even stray dogs. No, they're mostly owned by irresponsible dog owners who just let them roam outside unattended so that their dogs could poop anywhere outside their homes and/or "get some exercise".
What I Did to Defend Against Unleashed Dogs
As we have our own share of problems with aggressive off-leash dogs, I decided to bring a walking stick each time my dog and I walk out. My walking stick is a cheap one. It looks like a cane with a ball handle. I hold it with my left and my dog, Santi, at my right as shown below.
Incidentally, the photo above was taken on the day after Santi was cleared of the dreaded Canine Distemper disease. Having not walked for over a month, Santi was overexcited when we started walking. My leash arm is high in the photo because I was steering him back to his place.
The walking stick isn't heavy-duty as it even broke a couple of times. I just glued the broken walking stick each time. I figured I didn't need a hefty walking stick. One that LOOKS imposing enough would be effective I thought.
Well, it was effective for the most part. I just swing or thrust it to the direction of oncoming barking dogs and they keep their distance. Unfortunately, there have been a couple of times when I had to smack a couple of dogs on the head because they were already at a biting distance.
Using the walking stick as protection can be effective, including the part where you need to whack the heads of barking dogs about to bite. But I feel bad whacking dogs with the stick so I looked for alternatives.
How I Found the GetGone Personal Security Alarm
As of this writing, the GetGone Personal Security Alarm is a relatively new product (released in 2020). It was coincidental as to how I found about it.
Because of the pandemic, my dog and I have been going out more and I was thinking of how I could further train him. This is where I looked into the internet for training tools or accessories.
I saw the DoggieDont training device from the company Doggie Dont as a tool to modify and remove unwanted dog behavior like incessant barking, jumping, play-biting and so on. The price at the website was too steep for me.
But on the same website I saw the promotional material for GetGone, which for me looked like it had the features I wanted. Most notable is as a defense or protection against coyotes.
So I said to myself if it's good enough for coyotes, then it's good enough for aggressive bully dogs in our neighborhood. And that's how I went ahead to explore about it further and later on purchase one.
GetGone Personal Security Alarm Review and Opinion
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Price
The GetGone device is priced at $25 while the DoggieDont device is priced at $49.95 at the DoggieDont website. Unforunately for me, the store at the Doggie Don't website only ships to the United States and Virgin Islands.
However, over at Amazon, I found an okay deal because the white color version of the device was priced cheaper at $33.19 (excluding shipping). I'm not sure why, but you can see its price and how it compares to othe colors in the Amazon screenshot below.
The other colors are black, gray, and pink and are priced at $49.95. All the units are exactly the same, by the way. I decided to purchase the white color as an advanced Christmas gift to myself and my Aspin dog, Santi.
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Holster
The GetGone device comes with a holster. In fact, when you open the box, the device already inside the holster. The holster is made of tough nylon. The velcro used as fastener looks heavy-duty as well. It also has a metal clip that you can hook onto the pocket of your pants or your waist.
I've not much use for the holster though - not with the walks we do. It's good for storing away the GetGone device when I get home, but that's about it. I will just wear the device by its strap when out on walks because aggressive unleashed dogs may appear suddenly.
The holster may be good for long walks along mountain trails or similar places where chance encounters with aggressive animals may be few and far between.
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Wrist Strap
The wrist strap that comes with the GetGone device unit is fairly standard. It's quite similar to wrist straps found in gadgets like portable digital cameras.
Maybe it's intuitive for many but the instruction leaflet doesn't say how best to use it. I found that, for me, the wrist strap is best worn as shown below.
I don't have a large wrist or hand and so I don't need to have the GetGone device dangling away far from my wrist. I feel more confident and ready for action with the strap slide securing the unit closer to my hand.
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Body
The body of the GetGone device looks sturdy enough. I'm not sure though if it can withstand a lot of falls. Although thick, I think the plastic casing is breakable. It would be tougher and more durable if it had the 'rubbery plastic' kind of casing material.
I'm not sure if the assembled components inside the body are rigid and really secure. I suspect that if I shake and jiggled the unit violently enough, some parts may come lose.
Right now, when I raise the unit and suddenly drop my arm while holding it I feel a very slight tug inside it. This may be a fault or a result of the packaging or handling, so I don't know.
One thing though, by the looks of the package when I received it, the courier or handler that delivered it did a poor job. Shown below is the crushed Amazon package as I received it. For the unboxing details, you may see the video at the top of this article.
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Emitted Alarm Sound
This is perhaps the make-or-break feature of the GetGone device - and it delivers! The unit emits a VERY LOUD taser-like sound. Like one Amazon reviewer, I had ringing in my ears for one hour after I tested the alarm (see the video at the top of this article).
I suppose I wasn't ready for the loud sound. I did stretch my hand out and pointed the device away. But still, I found the sound to be very loud. I'm guessing the GetGone device was newly charged before it was delivered.
In addition, it has a white flashing light oin the front grille as you hold down the round activate button. Do I think the sound is loud enough to scare or stop wild dogs on their tracks? You bet!
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Operating Buttons
No complaints about these. The GetGone has a couple of switches. The rectangular Power-On slide switch that turns on the unit, and the big round activate button that emits the taser sound and triggers the light.
These two are close enough to each other for convenience, but look and feel/operate differently enough so as not to confuse you. Upon powering-on there's a red LED light that lights (shown above) and tell you the unit is ready to activate.
I actually just think of using the GetGone device as firing a pistol. I imagine the power-on slide switch as the cocking mechanism and then the round acivate button as the trigger.
GetGone Device Opinions for Sugestions
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Quick-Action from Holster
Wouldn't it be nice if the unit can be used immediately from the holster without having to fumble over the top cover and the velcro fastener? There may be serveral ways of implementing this idea.
One would be to have the holster with a hook clip that allows it to swivel. Then allow also the owner to operate the unit while inside the holster, without taking it out. It would seem like "shooting from the hip".
Another would be to have the unit shaped like a baton in an open holster. This means you pull out the unit from the holster and fire away. It would seem like a pistol, but shaped like a baton.
Again, the idea is to have a holster where the owner has the ability to operate the unit immediately and quickly.
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Discharge Indicator
I like it that the GetGone device is rechargeable and that it has a LED light that indicates if the unit is powered on. Wouldn't it be nice if there's a mechanism to tell you it's time to recharge?
The GetGone device has a decibel rating of 120 when fully charged. After several uses, the charge weakens and so does the sound it emits. It would be nice if there's an indicator to alert the owner when the decibel rating goes down to, say, 100 decibels.
The reason for this is so that the owner can recharge when the decibel rating goes down to the minimum effective level or threshold. This way, he is always assured and confident that the unit will perform as intended.
It would be a terribly disappointing and unpleasant experience when a wild animal lunges at you and the emitted sound isn't enough to scare it. It's kind of like running out of ammunition unexpectedly.
So, overall, what's my rating for the GetGone Personal Security Alarm? I'd give it a 4.9 stars out of 5. I think (initially) that it is a great product for its price, and that there's always room for improvement.
UPDATE
From my last check at Amazon as of April, 2022, the price of the unit (Pink version) has gone down from $33.19 to $25. You may find an updated article and video of my GetGone in action here: Dog Attack Protection Video
Happy Dog Walks!
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