# About those weak nerves & fear & that darn vacuum cleaner



## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

Many posts on both weak nerves & fear/fear agression. So that leads me to my question... if a puppy is afraid of a vacuum cleaner, is that a sign of something? (other than fear of the sucking machine! LOL) Knuckles is scared of it, so bad that he will obsess over where it is after it's turned off & unplugged. He is getting better, he used to SCREAM when I'd run it and it would take him a good hour or two to go into the room that I was vacuuming afterwards. Now once its turned off, he'll peek his head in the room as if to say "is the coast clear?" and come in, but he still won't go near the actual machine. 
So along the lines of nerves, fear, temperament... what does that say about him? Anything? He does have a few other milder fears, all seem to circle around loud noise.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I don't know. . . . The fear/hatred of the vacuum is so common it makes me think that maybe it makes a sound that they really don't like that we can't hear.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

Emoore said:


> I don't know. . . . The fear/hatred of the vacuum is so common it makes me think that maybe it makes a sound that they really don't like that we can't hear.


Yeah, thats kinda why I brought up the topic, being it's so common.. but yet there are incidents that I read about (dogs, people, cars, etc) that the fear/temperament gets brought up.


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## Sigurd's Mom (May 12, 2009)

I think it's just the noise of it all. Sigurd used to be fine, but recently he's been odd around the vacuum. I think it started at my neighbours house lol, she said she was vacuuming and Sigurd flipped the vacuum while she was using it... hers is a different brand/model so maybe the tone was different. Now when I vacuum Sigurd follows me around eyeing it.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

when my dog was a pup i use to crate him
when the vaccum was in use. i use to vacuum
near his crate to get him use to it. when he was 
out of his crate and i vacuumed he would charge
the vauum and bark. i would tell him "no" and move him
away from the vacuum. once he learned "stay", "go to
your crate" it was easy to vacuum. for training purposes
we turned on the vacuum a lot. my dog went after the broom
and dust mop. like anything else you have to train them
how to act when usuing the vacuum, broom or dust mop.


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## hattifattener (Oct 7, 2011)

poor boy! 
but i think he will get accustomed to it over time.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

He will, he's getting better everyday. From where he started until now, it's night & day! 

As I said, this topic was more on the "peek inside the future" kind of topic... if this fear somehow defines, even a small bit, of how he would be as an adult. Being the vacuum is a common thing. 



> I think it's just the noise of it all. Sigurd used to be fine, but recently he's been odd around the vacuum. I think it started at my neighbours house lol, she said she was vacuuming and Sigurd flipped the vacuum while she was using it... hers is a different brand/model so maybe the tone was different. Now when I vacuum Sigurd follows me around eyeing it.


Thats interesting. I wonder how many dogs have a different reaction to a new vacuum. That would really suck (no pun intended) if I could get Knuckles used to this one and then a new one starts it all over again! 
Anyone else remember if a new vacuum had a different reaction from your dogs?


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## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

I have 2 different vacuums. I have central vac at home and a canister vac at the beach house. They are completely different and have a different sound. Wolfie reacts to both the same way. He tries to attack the vacuum when I am using the beater brush attachment, though now he just does that until I tell him no and then he walks away. If I am using the hose without the attachment, he tries to shove his tongue in there. I guess he likes it because he will go over and turn the central vac on by himself if I leave the hose unguarded for a minute, and shove his tongue in there.


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## hattifattener (Oct 7, 2011)

Kittilicious said:


> Yeah, thats kinda why I brought up the topic, being it's so common.. but yet there are incidents that I read about (dogs, people, cars, etc) that the fear/temperament gets brought up.



dogs are very individual - some are nervous,others aren't.that's inherited. 

this is third female GSD i own. 

first dog was rock solid,second was nervous (but very sweet) and now i have solid pup again.
she even loves to play with vacuum cleaner. sometimes i suck all breath out of her - when she sticks nose to the hose.


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## Mrs.K (Jul 14, 2009)

Mine always "attacked" it. They loved to play with the vacuum when they were pups, just like they did with the mop. Judge is right next to the vacuum playing with his ball nowadays, hoping that I kick it away for him to chase it. He doesn't care about the vacuum cleaner noise at all.


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## robk (Jun 16, 2011)

Ruger would bark at it as well when I first brought him home (8 weeks old). With in two weeks he was completely oblivious to it. However, my previous shepherds never did get use to it. They would get their hackles up around it until the day the passed away.


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## k_sep (Jun 21, 2011)

I don't know, I wouldn't think so necessarily. Luna has weak nerves, I know that, but she loves the vacuum cleaner. I didn't think about introducing it to her slowly when I first got her. She was sleeping on a pile of blankets when I first turned it on and she thought it was something to play with. As I would move the vacuum cleaner forward, she'd play boy and bark at it, when I pulled it toward me, she'd think it was retreating and would touch the vacuum with the edge of her nose, play boy again, and wag her tail enthusiastically. I generally have to gate her elsewhere or put her in another room because she makes vacuuming such a chore since she wants to chase it around and play with it.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

Mine too. I don't think he's afraid of it, his tail is wagging and he pounces on it. He barks and makes this funny "Rouufff" whine sound. He tries to bite it if I don't make him "leave it". After about 5-10 mins, he just lays down and watches it. If we take the end off the hose attachment, he will actually bite it. While it's on, and trying to suck his tongue, I'd imagine. LOL We can actually put that end on his fur and he doesn't really react, other than when we take it off he tries to "eat it" again.

ETA: apparently I missed the whole second page, ha ha. This was in response to Mrs. K's post.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

k_sep said:


> I don't know, I wouldn't think so necessarily. Luna has weak nerves, I know that, but she loves the vacuum cleaner. I didn't think about introducing it to her slowly when I first got her.


See, now that puts a spin on this!  You know she has weak nerves, but she's ok with the vacuum. So my thinking that Knuckles will be a fearful adult may not be right if I go by that. 
I never had a problem with vacuums until Knuckles. Didn't even think of him being scared of it when I first started it, but the holy shrieks he let out! You would have thought I stepped on him or something (he was far away from it). He hid under the bed the first few times I vacuumed, which now he can't fit under.



> dogs are very individual - some are nervous,others aren't.that's inherited.


then every puppy in a litter would be fearful if the mother and/or father is?


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

Interesting topic! I have quite the assortment of reactions in my house!

Oldest dog - doesn't care, but doesn't want to be around it. She'll just go lay down somewhere else.

Middle dog - ATTACK IT! Bark! (And she's not much of a barker at all)

Bailey, pup - scared! He will find the spot the farthest away from the vaccuum and remain there for a good half an hour after the vacuum has stopped. Strange! I think this is so odd, because in the mornings when I'm getting ready for work, I blow dry my hair, usually upside down and he's just right there, feet away, just watching. He doesn't care about the noise of the blow dryer, which I think is similar? but man oh man the vacuum.....


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

chelle said:


> I blow dry my hair, usually upside down and he's just right there, feet away, just watching. He doesn't care about the noise of the blow dryer, which I think is similar? but man oh man the vacuum.....


Funny! Knuckles bites at my hair when I'm drying it the same way!


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

hattifattener said:


> dogs are very individual - some are nervous,others aren't.that's inherited.
> 
> this is third female GSD i own.
> 
> ...


That is amazing.
Mine still avoids the vacuum at 2+. She just goes into the next room and watches from there.


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

Bunny actually likes to be vacuumed, lol. It doesn't suck up as much of her as I would like though.

Jazz is alright around it. I won't let me vacuum him but at least he's alright around it. 

No advice but so many dogs don't like vacuums that I don't necessarily believe it's a sign of weak nerves. Plus your dog is still a pup.


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## tropicalsun (Jun 7, 2011)

We have the opposite problem. Our two (GSD and Lab) LOVE to be vacuumed!
Markus helping with housework - YouTube


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## hattifattener (Oct 7, 2011)

Kittilicious said:


> then every puppy in a litter would be fearful if the mother and/or father is?


i don't think so. there may be exceptions,but they are exceptions.
i am no expert at all,so do not take me seriously!
just telling my experience with my 3 dogs.

actually i do not know much about parents of my dogs.

i only knew mother of my first dog well - she was rather nervous,dog aggressive.

but her daughter had very good temperament. i think it was influence of dad.he was border patrol service dog.


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

Mine were all afraid of the vacuum when they were younger. I use to turn it on, lay it down, and walk away from it. I would dust or whatever why it was running. After a few minutes, I would pick it up and start vacuuming. Now they are all fine with it.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

speaking of this topic... while vacuuming the living room today Knuckles stayed IN the room, behind the chair!!!


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## Stella's Mom (Mar 8, 2011)

LOL...Stella is the first dog I have owned that is not afraid of the vacuum and wants to paw at I am using it.


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## Greydusk (Mar 26, 2010)

I'm not really sure, sometimes when I'm using the hose attachment Blitz will deliberately walk in front of it to get vacuumed (it's not as goof of a de-shedding tool as I would have hoped). 

But he is afraid of thunder so I have no idea if it's a nerve thing or not.


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## mrudderman24 (Sep 5, 2011)

My guy is a little scared of the vacuum. It's nothing crazy, he just tries to avoid it. No barking or aggression. I have been putting his treats on the vacuum cleaner, while running, and he has been eating them on them. He also sits and downs for me next to the vacuum, to get a treat. I don't think it's so much a nerve thing.


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## LukasGSD (May 18, 2011)

You know. Jaxon barks at it a lot, kinda circles it. Started out vacuuming while he was in his kennel. He's not afraid. Infact I discovered he enjoyed getting his furr hosed off this weekend.


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## RMF (Oct 1, 2011)

Deezul thinks it's a play toy at first, then he'll calm down & be fine with it. He's starting to let us vacuum him off now.


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## ChristenHolden (Jan 16, 2010)

Bella don't mind it at all and will let me run the hose all over her she don't flinch or pull away at all.


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## spidermilk (Mar 18, 2010)

When Dax was younger he hated the vacuum- he would run at it barking and then run away. He has gotten over it now, he just lays there while I vacuum right up to him and I have to tell him to get up and move...


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

Zisso wants away from the vacuum no matter what. He is also afraid of fireworks. We don't get thunder here often so I am not sure about that, but it seems the few thunder noises we have had don't bother him. The vacuum and fireworks are his enemies. I have always thought of him as having weak nerves. 

Nadia will try to bite at the vacuum. Then she will back away from it and wait for it to come her way again and bite at it again. I think it is more of a game for her. She could care less about fireworks, or any noises for that matter. Her nerves are pretty solid.


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## BlackJack (Jun 23, 2011)

4 Month old Immo doesn't even react to noise, I even took the hose to him today, only reaction was him giving it a lick and laid back down.


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## Oskar der Drachen (Oct 28, 2011)

12 week old Bear doesn't react at all to the vacuum cleaner. Actually I was prepared for a lot of anti-fear training, but I have yet to find anything he is afraid of!

Actually I lie. I'm remembering the first puppy class I tried to introduce him to. He was about half the age of the pack, and new to me as well so he couldn't share my courage.

I got into the room and put him down and there were 12 pups running at him in a wave, tongues lolling, teeth bared, happy to see him.

He freaked, piddled himself and tried to hide under my feet. :lol: You just can't laugh at them though can you? They know...


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