Safety Technology International, Inc. ED-50 Rex Plus Electronic Watchdog, Barking Dog Alarm

due to the divided reviews, i was hesitant in purchasing rex. now i am so relieved i did. it is easy to set up & it does what it advertises to do. we have lots of dogs in the neighborhood & our rex sounds every bit as authentic. the set-up of authentic dog barking pattern is very real....then the feature where you can set dog barking AND after several barks, a piercing alarm sounds is a wonderful addition to our security system. i would highly recommend this product & would buy again if i had to. an update: i have to add that our rex sits out in the back outdoor laundry room which is near a vulnerable area of our fenced yard (i live in panama). i have rex sitting on top of the clothes dryer with an empty laundry basket over it & all of this covered with a sheet....you cannot see rex. the entrance is behind rex & yes, he will bark when we are behind him....however, i unplug when i am going to use the laundry area. this has worked perfectly for us. because it is an open-air laundry room....covered with rod iron bars (typical in panama) the birds would fly in & set rex off with one or two barks. that didn't bother me....what did was the birds pooping all over the laundry area. we bought some very popular shade producing material popular here & covered the entire area with this. now rex is not set off by the birds because they cannot get in. however, we have tested rex by standing in the area which is vulnerable, approx 12' away, across a 4' high cement wall around the launry room....rex does a good job detecting motion there & would scare off anyone trying to enter. we have rex set to dog barking with a piercing alarm after several barks. the machine will reset itself after a couple minutes....so if you are away & the intruders have been scared away, you don't have to worry about the machine continuously making noise. we have neighbors who know we have rex & they check our house if we are away....great neighborhood watch system helps also. we had a professional security company come out & do an assessment of our security measures, including rex, & they believe we have done a great job & rex is definitely what homeowners need who do not own nor want to own a real dog. we are proud of our rex & always reward him with a snack for ourselves....win-win :) remember....if you are not happy with it....you can always return it. i live in panama & i had so much faith in this purchase, knew it would cost me too much to return to the states & was willing to bite the bullet on purchasing it. i have no regrets & still highly recommend rex. added security is always a good idea.

I've now purchased three "Rex" alarm dogs (to place in front of multiple doors)! The first two purchases were directly through the manufacturer (I think), and now I recently purchased this one through Amazon, which is less expensive. There are two versions of "Rex," but I can't remember which is the original version. Regardless, I prefer this version, as "Rex" sounds like an actual German Shepherd (the other version sounds muffled)! "Rex" sounds so real, my alarm once went off in the middle of the night, triggering the police. They actually thought I had a good "guard dog" until I showed them who or better what was barking at them! Neither of them had ever seen an electronic guard dog before so they were amazed! So if you want the effects of a "guard dog" but you don't want to deal with shedding or spend money on food, grooming, vet bills, etc., this is the one for you! "Rex" notifies you of a threat in REAL time, unlike the Ring Camera which has a delay! The range is also amazing. "Rex" detects motion up to 26 feet and it is also very sensitive, which you can adjust. But this goes both ways, as "Rex" will bark at you too! So I have my "sensitivity" level kind of on the low side because when I first installed it, "Rex" was barking at us on the second level! You can play around with the range! The other "Rex" I have in front of my slider door was barking at the coyotes in the outfield, so I, too, had to turn that sensitivity range down so it only detects motion in my backyard. Though I've recently purchased a real guard dog (who destroyed one of "Rex's" cords), I will continue to utilize "Rex," as I have it in front of multiple doors, making my dog's job easier. I recommend purchasing this especially if you are a single parent or you live alone. Rex gives you enough time to prepare for an intruder, however that looks on your end!

BUYER BEWARE!!! I expected to put this product on a window sill looking outside to where I thought an intruder would enter my property. While it might detect intruders outside, the barking started as soon as I turned the unit on and moved inside the room of my house. I tried what other people suggested: wrapped the backside of the unit in three layers of tin foil along with placing the unit in a metal box and also moving it to a room where there was no 2.4 GH of wifi interference. This morning I called the if-you-need-help phone number inside the Rex Plus box, and had the unpleasant experience of talking to an agent who had a giant attitude and almost confrontive approach to "helping?????" me. After explaining the issue, she told me that this product was a 360 degree motion detector--which I found hard to believe. If 180 degrees is the half of the circle's detention range pointed outside and the other 180 degrees/half of the circle is pointed back into the room, how am I supposed to use this product if every time I walk in the room where the detector is located, it starts barking like a vicious dog?????? Assessment: This product as designed is USELESS!!! It also uses a 2.4 GH frequency (like mine and other's wifi units also use) and the barking never stops, and the barking is the same intensity and sound over and over as it is just a continuous loop. We just got ripped off for the $96.54 price tag; don't do the same. The idea for this product is great; this company's execution of it is 1000% off the mark for a useful, functional product.

I received my Rex on yesterday. I was nervous that it would not work because I live in an apartment with heavy doors. I initially wanted to place the Rex far away from the apartment door BUT the units are so well insulated that no one would hear Rex unless he is at the foyer, volume on Max, so that is what I have to do. Rex works but my only concerns: 1. Rex needs to come with a remote control. Once you turn it on, it immediately begins barking and all you can do is run away the escape the 360 degree of circumference, which is about 10-20 feet away from Rex. 2. Variations in the barking. Does Rex sound real? Well if someone is at your door and NOT moving away they will discover that Rex is not real because the barking sound is on a "loop mode setting" if someone moves away after hearing the initial bark, Rex sounds real. One Solution: Since I already have a Google nest I ordered a smart plug and I am hoping with the smart plug and can have my Google nest turn it on and off automatically. I will comeback and update you all on if this works. If you live in an apartment and want to add a layer of security, I do believe this is a good option for now. I personally wouldn't buy it used because you don't want a device like this with wear and tear, I heard that the malfunctioning ones make noises. Update: the smart plug didn't sink with the Rex, I will try again and provide an uodate.

This alarm sounds so much like my real dog (a shepherd/boxer mix) that friends think she's still at home whenever I take her for a walk or ride! The barking has the same focused, directed quality that dogs use when alerting their humans to a perceived intruder. As the "danger" gets closer, the barking will get louder and more intense, and this alarm operates in the same way. It sounds as though a ferocious canine is in a frenzy and ready to attack anyone who comes through the door! Dogs in this frame of mind don't hesitate or pause to growl or snarl. They only let up when the discerned threat leaves, and this alarm mimics that behavior with the intensity and frequency of the barking. I have my alarm unit set at moderate volume and range, so that it senses motion (through a wall and steel door) as a person approaches my front stoop. By the time I step over the threshold, it sounds like a mad dog is ready to tear out my throat! And the unit is so easy to set up and adjust. I highly recommend it.

I have now purchased three of these dogs. Rex is the easiest keeper you'll ever have. I understand that some reviewers had a difficulty with theirs and I'm a bit surprised because mine work so well. I purchased my first one approximately 10 years ago for my elderly mother who lived in the city. Granted, it took a little bit of fine tuning to get Rex to bark at the appropriate time, but it actually worked perfectly. Her neighbors wanted to meet her new dog. We placed it on a washing machine in a utility room toward the back of her house. If anyone walked within five feet of her solid back door, window, or side of her stucco house, Rex would bark. And bark he would, with increasing intensity. We faced him so he wouldn't bark if she walked in her own adjacent room. I have subsequently purchased one for my son who travels frequently. He feels much safer leaving his house alone. Now I have one in my vacant rental next door. Rex and a Dog on Premises sign works beautifully. With a bit of patience and testing, I believe Rex is a wonderful tool for home security. I'm adding some updated information. The most recent one of these I purchased is not nearly as good as the original ones. The dog barking has a mechanical bark, that sounds like a bored recording. The original ones used to scare me when I walked in front of it and I knew it was there and was a recording. They were aggressive and nerve wracking. The perfect watch dog. No one is going to believe the one I just received any more than they believe they're in the rain forest or other sounds it makes. I'm very disappointed and wish I hadn't given my others away thinking I could replace them. I may just return it. It's a waste.

I bought this for my mom as it appeared someone had tampered with her back gate and that was never a problem when she had dogs. I was hesitant because I know people with the smaller sleeker type barking devices and they've always sounded so fake and "electronic" that I figured they'd never convince anyone. Even knowing that it's there, I still do a double take when I hear this thing. It sounds SO REAL! I also appreciate that the motion detector works as expected. You set it up based on where you want it to detect and it works great. I've been around others that get set off in unpredictable ways. Nothing fancy here. It just works and sounds great. If you need the realistic sound of a dog barking, this is your device. If I could pick one improvement, I'd easily pay more money for the same device but with a remote control panic button so that if my mom felt like she heard something she could set the dog off even if what she heard wasn't in range of the motion detector. I know there are devices out there with that option, but they sound like crap.

Overall the product works as it says it will. You set it up, pointing at the area you want to protect, adjust the sensitivity and volume and let "Rex" bark when someone comes by. As some other reviewers have said, though, the barking is where the problem is. When it detects someone just on the threshold, there is a single bark, followed by three more barks. Then, as long as the person is in the detection zone, "Rex" repeats the same 8 bark pattern over and over. So it seems that there is a single audio file and it is the only one accessed. Every time. It doesn't take long for the person who's being barked at to realize it's exactly the same bark. Every single time. The bark pattern is distinctive enough to recognize that it's being repeated. And that's the real sad part about this product. It worked perfectly. But because the manufacturer decided to only include a single audio file, it doesn't live up to its potential. Too bad. Digital memory is cheap and a few lines of code could have randomized the bark sound. But due to this lack of realism, I'm returning the product for a refund.

Product has a very life like sounding dog bark and works well for putting off suspicious people. Well worth the money.

very cool!!

La sensibilidad al movimiento no es lo ideal

I purchased this product to use it mainly with the barking sound of a ferocious dog. The sound for the ferocious dog is pretty real, so no issues here. The installation is very easy, plug & play type. The barking gets more frequent as movement gets closure. I do not use this product outdoor, it is located inside my home. Here are my issues with this product: 1. With all the sensitivity and volume control adjusted as per the manufacturer, there is a bark or more over the night for no motion in the area. I was waken up almost envy night for no motion in the area. 2. The sensitivity works all around the product, so the information provided by the manufacturer in the "General Performance" are accurate. I believe that the 2.4GH frequency of operation for this device is influenced in a bad way by the 2.4GH frequency of the wifi in my home. I believe that this is the biggest issue for the product. 3. The device is suggested to face the outside area, which I followed, however, the device picks up any motion inside the house, which I do not want. 4. Be careful where you purchase this product, do your homework and understand the return policy, you do not want to find yourself in a situation that you purchased the equipment, it is not working for you, want to return it for full refund and the seller will inform you that this product can not be returned for full or any refund! Overall this is a great idea, with a lot of potential for residential use, however it needs more work to be a great product. Here are a few of my suggestions: 1. To be able to turn on and off this device from an app, that will help. With the present configuration, if the equipment is ON, it will sens motion when you are getting close to it to turn it off and the barking will start very ferocious, What I've done to eliminate this problem, I purchased one app controlled outlet which I can turn it on and/or off from my smart phone, this to eliminate the unnecessary barking and wakeup the entire home... 2. Back to the app, if this would be possible to also adjust the volume and the sensitivity from the app, that will also help. Keep the volume and sensitivity controls on the unit, do not remove. 3. Work something that the device will sense motion only in one direction 4. Can the device operate on a different frequency, so it will not be impacted in a negative way by the wifi frequency. This is it from me for this product, it looks like I will have to continue to play with this device to find the proper location, since I can not return it for full refund! Hope I can figure it out sooner than later! Otherwise, it will end up in a box, stored somewhere, or sold at a garage sale activity, impressive ROI, pay $180 originally and get $5 or $10... back...

This was a replacement for my previous identical one which finally died after 20 years faithful, faultless service. That is a very impressive working life span and puts the price nicely into context.