# scared of vacuum clener



## rrent (Apr 21, 2011)

Millie (6 months old) is scared of the vacuum, on or off doesn't matter.

Is anyone out there who has cured this problem?


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## spidermilk (Mar 18, 2010)

Mine used to be very scared of the vacuum cleaner as a puppy! He was frightened to approach it when it was off or would approach it and then bark. When it was on he would run at it barking and then run away. 

We started just leaving the vacuum out in a room so that he could see that it was a normal, quiet object when off. It wasn't anywhere that it would bother him (by his bed or anything), but just somewhere that he could see it from the living room and not be scared. We would also feed him treats around and eventually on it (while it was off). Anytime I vacuumed I would put him in his crate, but if I wanted to vacuum in the room his crate was in I would put him in a different room so that he didn't have to be scared. He was okay with this and could be calm and quiet in another room while I vacuumed.

So after a *lot* of that I would vacuum the living room with him in another room but with the door open. He could come out if he wanted, but usually would just lay in the other room. Now he is mostly unafraid of the vacuum and will just stand up and walk to another area if he thinks the vacuum is too close. Is it something that we are still working on- I never vacuum right up next to him, I tell him to move to another area before the vacuum is too close and scary for him. I think that a lot of him getting over his fear was just getting older.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

You can certainly use counter conditioning and desensitization techniques to help her get over her fear, or you can just put her away in another room while you use it.

Keefer likes to bite and bark at the vacuum when I use it. If it's just sitting there turned off he doesn't care about it and if my husband vacuums he doesn't care about it, it's only when *I'M* using it. :thinking: It's not worth it to me to "fix" this, he'll be 6 years old and it's easier to just put him out in the garage while I vacuum.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

When it's on, Abby just goes into another room. When it is off she will sniff it or just lay down beside it. She probably likes the smell of all her hair/fur that's in there.


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## neiltus (Mar 10, 2011)

my dog is scared of white fridge/freezers?!? Just the white ones, not stainless or black. I just call her a snob.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

keep the vaccum out of sight. when you use it
put the dog in another room.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

she's a racist. ROTFL!!!!!



neiltus said:


> my dog is scared of white fridge/freezers?!? Just the white ones, not stainless or black. I just call her a snob.


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## SouthernNdN (Nov 17, 2010)

I would agree with what most has been said here. 

I would not keep the vacuum out of sight and only use it when the dog is put up. By doing that, your only reinforcing the scared nervous behavior, and at some point the issue will have to be dealt with.

My girl was also afraid of the vacumm, and I started to leave the vacuum out as well while not being used, to allow the dog to make the first move. While off she was fine, however with it moving back and fourth she wasn't having it and would run the entire lower floor of the house non stop. I knew that I wasn't going to allow that to happen, because the last thing I needed was a dog 1 yr down the road with tons of confidence issues.

So I started working with her. I would introduce her to the vacuum with food while the vacuum was off, and then moved on to the vacuum being on but not moving. At this point when she would try to back away I wouldn't allow it. Nor would I speak to her out of fear of reinforcing her fears. After some time on doing these things, she can now stand the vacuum, however if it does get to close, she'll try to get up and move to another room. However I did notice that the part she hated was the sound of the brushes and the motor going up and down. It was the up and down sound she didn't like.

I would say work with the dog on reinforcing good behavior. Help the dog to understand that it's ok with loud noises and machines. However remember while doing this, do not touch the dog nor speak to the dog when the dog starts to shake or your going to reinforce bad behavior. 

Good luck, and keep us up to date on the progess!!!


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## JanaeUlva (Feb 5, 2011)

Minka was taught to target/touch pad things with her front paws as a very young pup. I didn't have her out around the valcuum until she was learning basic stuff like sit, down, target. I introduced the vacuum (off) as a touch target. I'd tell her touch and point at the vacuum. Then reward her. Eventually I turned it on and touch. As far a biting it, I consistently redirected her desire to attack it as well as moving it/vacuuming slowly during this process. Yep, a big pain in the butt and slow cleaning but it worked. She's not scared of it and she doesn't attack it. I can tell she wants to chase it but controls herself. I never had to use correction beyond the "nope" or "ah ah" when she just couldnt help herself and made a move to bite the vacuum. This technique might not work for all but maybe it can give you some ideas.


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## neiltus (Mar 10, 2011)

doggiedad said:


> she's a racist. ROTFL!!!!!


Not to hijak the thread, but she is all 4 paws and claws out, ears back, stiff as heck when she sees a white one. Saw this in Home Depot. Also in the vet's office. Even took her to the pet shop so she could see her food coming out of one (she recognizes her food packaging). No luck. Tried clicking and treating, no luck.

I assume she is the fashion police and will grow out of it.


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## APCURLS (Apr 14, 2011)

I wanted to thank all of you for your posts here. You guys helped me out a lot!

Draco attacked the vacuum the first time I turned it on a few weeks. He started to try to get into the turning brushes and I was so freaked that he'd snag a tooth or get hurt in some other way. I quickly turned the vacuum off and yelled a loud "no" which I probably shouldn't have done because I think I scared him pretty badly (we hadn't had him for very long). But I was so shocked and scared that I didn't think. 
Now, we probably should have crated him before turning it on, so we didn't set him up to succeed. After that, we had been putting him outside, but with the heat we've been having, it didn't seem right. 

So, I searched vacuum on the forum and found this thread!  The advice on here was so great! I had to try it! Saturday is cleaning day in our house, so I thought I would give it a go then!

I started out by rolling the vacuum out and leaving it alone in the middle of the living room. He sniffed it, but just like Cassidy's Mom said, he doesn't care if it's off, it's when it's on that it turns into something scary that he must attack. I continued by putting treats on the vacuum and then started moving it slowly without turning it on and correcting him with an "Ah" every time he made a move to attack it. I treated him for being calm and sitting while I moved the vacuum. 
Then came the scary time. Turning on the vacuum. I turned it on, corrected, turned it off. Turned it back on, when he didn't move, I treated and praised him then turned it off. This went on for a while and eventually I was able to move the vacuum around while it was on. Any time he came up to me and he sat I treated him. Any time he looked like he was going to attack it, I corrected and he backed off. I was so proud when he eventually lost all interest and went to find my husband to see what adventures they could have together. 

I think he was most startled when the vacuum turned on - the sudden loud noise made him flinch a couple times when I was turning it on and off and treating him. So I always made sure I had a treat handy when I had to move to a different room and start the vacuum up again. 

But, I really wanted to thank you all for putting such helpful tips up! It's a daily work in progress, but we've only had Draco 3 weeks and he's already really bonded to us, looks to us for things (we are strictly adhering to the NILIF), listens to us when we work with him, and is really a great pup! 

You guys are all really instrumental in helping us make sure Draco's adjustment period is as smooth as possible and become a great member of our family! 
Hopefully rrent has also had great success! Thanks, guys!!


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