At first, we thought maybe we could mount the dog (a stuffed dog, or light plastic one) on a board in front of the door, and have the motor rotate the dog out of the way if the card is accepted, maybe add a piezo to the circuit and make it bark when the card is not accepted. But there were many things to account for structurally that could make the project fail—such as the fact that the dog would have to be light or small enough that the motor would support its weight, and that would make for a rather un-intimidating looking guardian.
SO. We realized perhaps we didn't need the dog to stand in front of the door at all, that the motor could make the TAIL wag (which is why the shaky motion works perfectly), instead of the dog move out of the way, and that could be a good and clear enough sign of being allowed entrance. Structurally, it would be much easier to build, and we could still have the speaker make barking noises when the card is unaccepted. Perhaps the sensor could be on the collar, or part of the harness.
In the end, this is actually a lot closer to our initial idea of animal instinct, and it fits nicely with the idea of protection and alarm. An alarm system doesn't do anything to stop unauthorized people from entering, it just warns the residents or the police that someone is trying to enter the house and is not allowed to do so.
All in all, we're much happier with this turn of events. The waveshield will be soldered by the end of today, and the code we were using was initially made to work with sound anyway, so that won't be a problem either.
Once we get the materials (which also will be done today), then it's just a matter of building our guard dog.
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