INTRO
I've got a great dog. Big old Lab who rarely barks, loves people, and even as a puppy really didn't cause much damage (an uncommon lab for sure). But about 2 years ago, this sweet lovable dog who never got into trouble developed an annoying habit that involved a newfound and evidently unquenchable desire for carbohydrates. This dog that never jumps up on visitors (although he retains that "lovable" dog habit of jamming his wet nose into crotches) would, when unattended, reach up on our counters and pull down and consume full loaves of bread, entire pans of brownies, sheets of cookies, cakes, or anything else made of wheat products. It wasn't the mess that distressed us - honestly, he ate about everything, including a good portion of any wrappers and some glass shards from baking pans, so there wasn't much mess - but his health. It's just not good for a dog to splurge like that, especially if chocolate is involved.

ENTER THE SCRAMINAL
After trying the standard tricks to no avail - tin cookie sheets balanced precariously on the edge of the counter to make great noises, mousetraps, etc - a friend offered us the use of his Scraminal. Use it with care, he warned, and beware the "high" setting!

The scraminal is a compact device - about 4" tall, 2" wide, and an inch thick that looks, well, just like the picture above. It runs on a single 9V battery, which has lasted a good 3 months for us so far. The lens on top is a infrared motion sensor that I believe detects changes in background heat (warning: I is a pilot, not an engineer). Underneath the lens is the dreaded speaker.

OPERATION
Couldn't be simpler. Place the Scraminal in the place you wish to guard, face it at the likely avenue of approach, and switch the two position switch to "low" (remember, beware the "high" setting). A 30 second delay starts counting. Once the delay is past, any movement in its protected cone will set of a shrill alarm for several seconds after which the device resets. The trick is turning it off without setting it off. Remember, you pointed it towards that likely avenue of approach, which you forgot was the only way you could get to it!

EFFECTIVENESS, PART ONE
The low setting didn't work. Dog evidently ignored it or it didn't work when he decided to enjoy a mid-day snack of 8 of Mr Thomas' best English Muffins. The cat, by the way, doesn't flinch when it goes off.

EFFECTIVENESS, PART TWO
OK, let's try the high setting (click, click). I'll place it over here and wait for the delay to kick off. Sure, my buddy said "beware" or something like that, but I mean, really , how loud could... BWEEEEEBWEEEBWEEEBWEEBWEEE! HOLY COW THAT THING'S LOUD - OWWWW! MY EARS ARE BLEEDING AND I THINK IT FOUND MY SKULL'S RESONANT FREQUENCY! WHERE'S THAT DANG SWITCH? (Click). Oh yeah, that should do the trick. My wife yells from the hallway, "Honey, are you OK?" "Just fine, dear, just trying to remove the cat from the top of the screen door." And so ended my pup's brief excursion from his Atkin's diet. He has been deterred quite effectively from his midday snacks, which allows him to stay in the comfort of the house while we're out and about (he doesn't feast when we're home).

THE DOWNSIDE
Did I mention it's loud? Did I mention that it's small enough that you forget that it's on the counter when you come home with a bag of groceries and walk into the "cone of death?" My wife and I have since learned to warn each other whenever we turn the thing on, but that rarely does anything but give us the ability to say, "Sorry you dropped the eggs... I told you I turned it on."

OVERALL
A very useful device, which would be nicer with a mid-level setting.

Recommended: Yes