The electronic sound of a dog barking does not sound like a real dog. The sound is distorted and sounds electronic. It fools people initially, but if they hang around, they soon catch on that it is not a real dog. Perhaps it may be just enough to deter a burglar though, and that would make it worth it's expensive price.
The device monitors an outside area, but it monitors the inside area even better. This means that everytime you go near it, even while inside the house, the alarm activates, which you don't really want it to do. I tried putting heavy books around the back and sides of it, but it still activated everytime I went near it while I was inside the house. Ideally, you would need to place it somewhere that you do not go near while you are at home, or else only activate it when you go away from home.
The good news is you don't have to clean up after it or feed it, and it stops barking when you turn the juice off.
It's very easy to set up, just plug it in and adjust the sensitivity and volume control knobs, that's it!
Despite it's shortcomings, I may even buy another one for my side door as I am paranoid about burglars. It does have a wow factor when your neighbors learn about it. I don't know of anything else quite like it on the market.