The idea for doing an article on the best dog deterrent spray actually comes from an experience I had back in late September of last year. This was mentioned in a past blog post about how to survive animal attacks I wrote last year, when a dog actually stalked me for several blocks before aggressively confronting me. While a can of dog spray, bear spray, or even a decent knife would have been nice in case that situation escalated, being one block form 1st Avenue in a major city had me unprepared.
Fortunately, memory and training was enough for me to take the best course of action and get away from that situation without being physically attacked (though it is a weird primal feeling when you realize you’re actually being stalked). I absolutely love animals and have always been a dog person, but it’s easy to see why I wasn’t a big fan on that particular day.
So this is a topic that is long overdue. The right dog deterrent spray can help protect you from stray dog attacks and keep you safe in a hairy situation, so read on to find out what our top picks are and make sure you’re prepared in case that unexpected and serious situation ever occurs.
Table of Contents
Two Types of Dog Spay
Generally speaking there are two main types of dog deterrent sprays, and they are separated by their exact purpose.
Those two are:
- Spray to discourage dogs from an area, working in a preventative measure ahead of time
- Like pepper spray or bear spray to act in self defense against an aggressive animal
The second one is obviously the one I would have preferred back during the last confrontation, but both obviously have their place in pet training or deterring aggressive animals, so we want to go over both for you.
In this article we will be reviewing:
Dog spray (for self defense purposes)
- HALT Dog Repellent Spray
- Hoont Electronic Handheld Dog Repellent Dog Whistle
- SABRE Dog Spray Dog Deterrent
- Dog Dazer II Ultrasonic Dog Deterrent
- Frontiersman Bear Spray
Dog deterrent (for training / boundary purposes)
- Grannick’s Bitter Apple Dog Spray
- Company of Animals Pet Corrector
- Sentry Good Behavior Noise & Pheromone Dog Deterrent
One important point: in some states actual dog spray or pepper spray is considered a weapon and thus has very specific rules about when you can or can’t have it, how to carry out, and even in some cases licenses. Make sure you know your state and local laws when it comes to
Our Top Dog Spray Picks
HALT Dog Repellent Spray
Designed specifically as a way to cut off a dog attack as an aggressive dog comes up to attack. There aren’t very many “dog pepper sprays” out in the market, but HALT is one of the major ones that is designed and mass produced to offer a specific way to defend yourself in these situations and help prevent dog bites.
There are several things to like about HALT’s dog repellent spray right off the bat. Weighing only four ounces, these cans are extremely light weight, can be easily attached to a belt and carried with a simple leather carrying case. This spray is accurate and effective in a solid spray up to 12 feet of distance. HALT brags that this is the dog spray that has been used by the United States Postal Service (USPS) for over three decades.
This dog spray is manufactured in the United States, and can be shipped to most U.S. states although it is really important to note that this dog spray can not be shipped to the state of California due to state laws there.
This is one of the best available options when it comes to protecting yourself from a potential dog attack, and comes in at the top of our specific list.
Hoont Electronic Handheld Dog Repellent
The Hoont Electronic Dog Deterrent is what many people would refer to as a dog whistle. This is an ultrasonic deterrent that makes a piercing sound at such a high frequency that people won’t hear it, but dogs who are nearby will.
Hoont is one of the top names in the business when it comes to making a sonic dog repellent that can help protect individuals from overly aggressive dogs who will not want to approach someone emitting his high pitched sound.
Imagine someone sneaking up right behind you with a bullhorn and then shouting through it right behind your ear. That’s the equivalent of what these Hoont handheld devices do to overly aggressive dogs, often making them an effective deterrent without having to bother with using the equivalent of animal pepper spray.
This device was considered arguably the best of its kind even before recent work by the company in order to upgrade it and make it even better. The focus was on making the sound even more refined and effective.
This device has also been used to stop annoying barking through proper dog training, and even comes with a small flashlight.
SABRE Dog Spray
SABRE dog spray is another highly respected model of dog deterrent that is offered to the general public. This is the maximum strength allowed by current EPA standards, and is considered a relatively safe and environmentally friendly way to fight off aggressive dog attacks.
While not quite as well known as HALT, this is an equally excellent anti-dog spray that can definitely get the job done.
This dog spray works with a concentrated one second burst. While some individuals absolutely love this versus the straight spray that many other types of animal deterrent sprays use (such as the long steady stream of anti bear spray), there are some people who are equally as vocal about not liking this particular delivery system.
Getting one of each to practice with and decide which is best for you is a fairly good idea.
This particular dog spray comes in two basic forms:
- Keychain model, connects to your keychain
- Professional model that comes with a belt clip
With a four year shelf life and an impressive money back guarantee, there’s a lot to really like about what SABRE brings to the table. There’s a reason it’s one of only two specific dog sprays that makes this list.
Dog Dazer II Ultrasonic Dog Deterrent
The Dog Dazer II is another ultrasonic dog deterrent that is extremely popular with many consumers, as this has over 1900 reviews on Amazon.com as of this particular writing. Using the same ultrasonic technology that has been shown to often help stop dog attacks or deter aggressive actions, making it less likely to escalate.
These devices are hand held, making them easy to keep at the ready and use quickly, and are built with a low battery indicator to let you know when you need to change them out to get back to full power.
The range of 20 feet also allows these to work at a much larger distance than most sprays that are capped at 10-12 feet, not to mention the fact that the sound works as a radius while spray can only be pointed one direction at a time.
A belt clip makes it easy to carry outside of your pocket while keeping it within easy grasping distance while allowing you to keep your hands free.
The design is simple, sleek, and functional. While it’s not going to win any beauty contests, it is a piece of defensive equipment well designed to do its proper job.
Frontiersman Bear Spray
Available in packs of multiple cans, as individual cans, or as a package deal with a hip holster that is easily attached to your side. One obvious point to make right off the bat: this is bear spray and specifically designed for being able to stop aggressive actions from brown and black bears in their tracks – even charging grizzlies in most situations. This shouldn’t be used on a dog (or person or any animal) unless absolutely necessary but if it is strong enough for bears, it is a good option to discourage an aggressive dog.
Frontiersman is one of the most popular bear deterrent sprays out there and with a serious range at 30-25 feet, this becomes a potential dog deterrent that can work at a considerably larger distance than your conventional dog pepper spray options.
This spray offers a 3 year shelf life for each can, and gives the absolute maximum in protection against overly aggressive canines. There’s a reason Frontiersman gets so many high ratings and while it might not be made for deterring dogs, it is a viable option in many situations.
Training Deterrents:
Grannick’s Bitter Apple for Dogs Spray
The best selling dog repellent spray for training currently being sold online, this particular spray has just short of 2500 reviews as of this writing, leaving a treasure trove of information about where it shines and how to use it to get the most out of your training sessions with your indoor dogs!
Grannick’s dog deterrent spray comes in both an 8 ounce or a 16 ounce bottle. This is a non-toxic natural spray that discourages the chewing or clawing of furniture, bandages, or other items that you don’t want your dogs gnawing on. The ingredients include natural alcohol, bitters, and special extracts. They’re not toxic or harmful.
The spray bottle allows for a larger area of coverage, making it easier to spray a general area without having to spend a large amount of time hitting every angle.
While this isn’t designed to deal with an aggressive dog, it is a great spray deterrent that can be an incredibly useful tool for preventing chewing on wood, furniture, cloth, or whatever else. This is a great way to help train a dog and when used properly it is extremely effective.
The Company of Animals Pet Corrector
This is one of the highest rated training tools for dogs on all of Amazon and is designed to help with correcting a dog during training. The compressed gas in this can is used to make a loud hiss that along with the gas itself (which is completely safe) helps to train a dog to not like that sound, and to affiliate it with a negative action, helping to correct that behavior to prevent it from happening again.
This is a good way to encourage good behavior without using chemicals or other irritants.
These cans come individually, or they can also be bought in packs of 2, 4, and 9 in order to make sure you have more than enough to train multiple animals if need be. Whatever amount you need, it’s easily available online.
What does the dog deterrent (aka pet correcter) from the Company of Animals help with? Just a short list of the habits this product can help break include:
- Barking
- Jumping
- Chasing
- Growling
- Keeping away from an area (help prevent chewing or destructive nature)
This isn’t comprehensive by any stretch and the spray needs to be used properly with a good training plan, but when put together you can get some outstanding positive results.
Sentry Good Behavior Stop That! Pheromone Spray
The Sentry line of training spray under the “Good Behavior Stop That” brand takes a very interesting approach to helping with training by not going with strong irritant smells that are along the lines of pepper spray like most dog deterrent sprays, but going with noise and pheromones to hit the bad dog behavior on two fronts.
The smell isn’t bad. There is a lavender chamomile fragrance which helps cover the pheromone smell for people, but is going to react strongly with individual dogs, discouraging them from doing the same action that made that occurrence take place to begin with.
The hiss of air is distinctive, so it is not like blowing an air horn through your home, but it is enough to discourage the behavior you want to discourage.
Many pet owners and trainers have been extremely happy with the results of this product for training dogs, as it has over 775 reviews currently on Amazon and an enormous positive rating.
In Conclusion
Whichever type of dog spray you decide you need, there are several great options available to help you train a new indoor dog or to help keep you safe. No matter what type of dog deterrent you are looking for, whether spray based or sound based, this article gives you plenty of great options so you can find something that truly works for you.