Got called back to a house in Gilbert because the homeowner's dog kept setting off the motion sensor

Honestly, it was a standard install, a PIR-8 in the living room. The homeowner swore the dog was a small breed and wouldn't trigger it. Tbh, I got the call two days later that the alarm kept going off at night. Went back and the dog, a little terrier, was jumping on the couch right into the sensor's path. I had to re-mount the unit about a foot higher on the wall and adjust the angle down. Now I always ask for the dog's name and where it sleeps. Anyone else have a go-to question to avoid pet false alarms?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabethwhite21d ago

Reminds me of what @miles992 said about cats on bookshelves.

miles9921mo ago

Always ask where the pet's favorite sleeping spot is. That terrier story is classic. I learned the hard way too, with a cat that loved the top of a bookshelf right in the detection zone. Now I also check for any furniture the animal might climb on near a sensor. Moving the unit higher and tilting it down is usually the fix, but you have to find the problem area first.

finley_wells661mo ago

Exactly, mapping out the whole vertical space is key. People forget pets can jump onto counters or the back of a couch. A quick walk-through looking up high saves a ton of false alarms later.