# Best laser for entertaining my dog?



## jbrams (Nov 23, 2005)

I'm looking for a smallish laser to keep my roommate's, neighbor's, and landlord's dogs amused (saw someone using her's on the beach at night and her dog loved it!).

Desired characteristics:
(1) bright enough to grab the dog's attention in a well lit room
(2) cheap (less than $10 or 15 shipped would be ideal)
(3) easily replacable batteries (AAA or AA would be best)
(4) smallish, easily pocketable.
(-) a color other than red might be interesting, but not a priority

thanks for any suggestions!
Abe


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## nero_design (Nov 23, 2005)

<5mW green is best.
I understand that dogs can't see a colour spectrum but only see in black and white (anyone else hear of this?). As a result, the red will barely catch his attention. The green should be much brighter to his vision. Anything higher than <5mW might be harmful to his eyes in the event of a minor accident. Try to stick to <5mW or less. I have the same rule at home with my cat.


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## jbrams (Nov 23, 2005)

Thanks for the fast reply! Do you have any specific recommendations? I'm really new to lasers and just want to make an informed purchase with the above characteristics in mind.

thanks again!


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## kushy04 (Nov 23, 2005)

I don't think you'll get a 5mW greenie for $15... maybe 50-60 if you looked around.


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## Kershaw (Nov 23, 2005)

Take a look at these


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## jbrams (Nov 23, 2005)

$50 eh? Well, that's out of my "other people's dog entertainment" budget, so I guess I'm looking at a decent red laser. Any suggestions for less than $15 shipped or should I just go with any old cheapo keychain variety version found at somewhere like a gas station?

Thanks again for all the fast replies!


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## flash99dark (Nov 23, 2005)

Check out Lighthound.com for the best deal for a red one. He ships very fast and has good prices...William


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## 92fs (Nov 24, 2005)

Dogs and horses see about the same amount of the spectrum, and it is not all black and white. With red they are color blind, but they actually see green and yellow, and some blue. There have been some interesting studies done where they can actually measure the discharge from a cone cell in the animals eyes and figure out what it can see. Google up some stuff and you will see that the old urban legend of dogs only seeing black and white is not true.

I bought my dog a new greenie just recently, and it gives us much more of the day to play. It works great in the shade on a sunny day, or everywhere on a cloudy day. <5 mW, you don't want to hurt their eyes. I have a border collie, and they love to chase things and stare it down too. I had to get a less powerfull laser so I could keep it constantly on. Abeland1 fixed me up with a good one. Bright beam, but only draws 200 mA. Soft on batteries.

Reds work fine, that is what I got her started on. They just will not be able to see it as easy in moderate light. It should work fine under the fringe of a street lamp though. It is really amazing how much easier my dog can pick up that tiny green dot in bright sunlight. At night I can see the beam.


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## chargerman (Nov 25, 2005)

Anyone ever hear of an Orange laser? :huh2: CD


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## The_LED_Museum (Nov 26, 2005)

All orange lasers that are at least marginally available will be HeNe plasma lasers emitting laser radiation at 612nm.
They will not be pen-sized units like directly-injected diode or DPSS laser pointers, and most will need to be plugged in, tethering you to the length constraints of an AC cord.


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## kushy04 (Nov 27, 2005)

the best laser to entertain yourself/your dog would have to be a 200mW 532nm (green) laser by far! the only downside is that shortly after, your dog will stop chasing it.... or chase anything really... i can't quite put my finger on why though...



sarcasm by the way...


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## Changots (Nov 27, 2005)

my dog seems to see red more than green, he almost pays no attention to green at all


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## Davidgojr (Nov 27, 2005)

I would suggest anything less than 5mW. For the price range of less than 15 bucks, red will be your only option.


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## BlueStrobe (Nov 28, 2005)

Our 2 year old, 80 lb, Black Lab/Border Collie mix loves to chase the light from a red laser. She goes nuts chasing it around on the livingroom carpet. This key chain type laser is rated at 5mw. We buy them at the local dollar store for one dollar, batteries included. It uses three LR44 "button cell" batteries. The batteries seem to last quite a long time. These lasers are so cheap, that when the batteries die, we throw the laser away and buy a new one.


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## Changots (Nov 28, 2005)

if you shove another battery in them, you can get more power out of it. btw i wish i had a dollar store where i live, i do, but it's like 20min away....too much gas!!!!! heck i'm only 16 and work part time retail


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## Athoul (Nov 28, 2005)

I would suggest using a laser that is less then <5mW, my personal view is to use a <1mW 650-680nm red laser pointer sold in those dollar stores.

The reason is, <5mW has been tested to be basically safe for human eyes(however a new report did show some damage done by <5mW).

Cats see MUCH better then humans, if our eyes act like a magnifying glass, cats eyes are a telescope! I have not read any reports saying that 5mW is not harmful to cats or dogs..so I would suggest those 1mW red units.


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## AJ_Dual (Nov 28, 2005)

My dog loves the basic red diode cheap pointers.

My greens freaks him out. Although the wierdest stuff spooks him. You can point a bagel at him "with serious intent" and he'll shy away like it's a can of mace. So I don't think my dog's a very representitive sample.

My cats liked the red better too. Although one cat was more interested in the green than the other. That cat also would bat at the beam in mid-air occasionaly.


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## 92fs (Nov 29, 2005)

I think that the exercise the dog gets outweighs any damage from a less than 5 mw green. All our eyes are conditioned by the same sun. I'm sure there is lots of room for debate here. My border collie is mostly never facing me when we get out the laser.

We have a sheltie, lab, husky, border collie, and some kinda boxer. Except for the lab they all came to us as strays. Good thing we got a really big back yard. We rescue puppies.

The border collie is the only one interested in hearding the dot. All the others ignore it. The border collie will chase it into a corner, and keep it there. Sure, that is me, but I try to make it real. I try to sneak out of the boundries she has set, and get chased back into them. Then she lies down and just holds me there. If I move to the left she follows and holds. The only time she chases the dot is when I break and run. The dot that is. Then she tries to get me back into the containment area. I would call this dog that was a stray a ranch dog that somebody dropped off here cause they had too many puppies. This dog is not a home dog, and needs runs about three times a day. We have no sheep. The laser keeps her happy. She is very much a working dog.

Last year I read an article about border collies, and the use the same strategy of wolves moving in on the kill. They corner it, circle it, and eat it as a pack. 

The cats used to chase the red beam. The green one scares them I think. Or they are just getting lazy. The last option stikes me as the truth.

Lasers and animals are just fun. Be kind to them.


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## MacTech (Nov 29, 2005)

Our dog doesn't care what color it is, she'll chase the "bug" (c'mon Hannah, go get the bug, go get the bug....) for minutes on end

the problem is, she's a smart dog, she doesn't fall for the "invisible ball" trick, she watches your hands to see if the ball leaves them (or in fact, even exists), whenever she sees a laser pointer, she looks at the pointer, then the floor, then the pointer, as if to say "when you gonna' turn that thing on?"

problem is, she can see the *beam* of the greenie when i have her chase the dot outside at night, and she's now taken to try to bite the beam in midair, so i have to be quick to power the laser pointer down as not to ding her eyes....

sometimes she's too smart for her own good.....


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## Nabors (Dec 1, 2005)

My cats will not chase a green laser they both will sit and bite at the beam in the air. But they will chase a red laser all over the house to the point that you have to be carefull not to run them into a wall.


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## jbrams (Dec 15, 2005)

flash99dark said:


> Check out Lighthound.com for the best deal for a red one. He ships very fast and has good prices...William


Thanks for all the replies, but I finally ordered a few from lighthound.com ($5/each with cheap shipping and they use AAA batteries). Would have gotten 15 from the dollar store for the same price but couldn't find a dollar store that had them (and there are maybe 10 dollar stores nearby).

Thanks a million!


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## lite brite (Dec 15, 2005)

try this one http://www.lvflashlight.com/product.php?productid=181 just got mine great deal for $13.95, not the fastest shipping thougfh...Steve


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## Changots (Dec 18, 2005)

lite brite said:


> try this one http://www.lvflashlight.com/product.php?productid=181 just got mine great deal for $13.95, not the fastest shipping thougfh...Steve




that is an LED passed as a laser


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## lite brite (Dec 18, 2005)

No it is a laser...I can put the "dot" on houses a block away...I emailed them to be sure before I ordered it...Steve


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## jkaiser3000 (Dec 19, 2005)

as far as I understand, laser diodes are specially fabricated leds (mirrors on both sides to produce the lasing, among other things), so in essence, you're both right. It's a laser, but it's also a LED.:naughty:


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