Our teammate has a dog that is sometimes around for testing. We’re using some of the old rangefinders in our robot. Do we need to worry about the dog being able to hear the rangefinder’s pulse?
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Good question!
Not that I’ve been able to correlate. Based on my other work around dogs your biggest issue is going to be that they want to “play” with the robot too. OTOH, most “shop” dogs are exceedingly chill.
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It depends on if the dog cares! Will he attack your robot and destroy it if he hears the sound?
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As seen on https://www.vexrobotics.com/276-2155.html, the ultrasonic rangefinder emits a frequency of 40kHz. This is within the hearing range of some dogs, as their hearing range can go to 45kHz. Also found on the information site, the beam pattern mainly extends +/-22° from the front of the sensor. Of course, the beams will reflect and go around the room, but it Is mainly right in front of the sensor. Your dog may not have the capability to hear it, but to be safe I would try to not aim the sensor at your dog. Otherwise they should be fine.
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My point is, unless you speak “dog talk”, we don’t know what the dog thinks about the sound. Dogs might think it sounds like James Galway playing flute with the London symphony, or like third graders playing recorders! 
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