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Chihuahua scared of the vacuum
Hi Katrina,
Bubba, my 2-year old Chihuahua, is extremely scared of the vacuum. My husband says it's a natural because the hose of the vacuum is like a snake. He hides in another room or sits shaking in a corner, and won't go near any toys that are by the vacuum. We vacuum a lot, so I wish he wouldn't be so afraid. His little sister, BonBon, doesn't have this problem. Do you have any advice on how he can get better? Thank you!
Answer by Katrina*:
My guess is that the first time your dog reacted to the vacuum by barking or lunging at it, she was punished in some way. Someone yelled “No! ” or she was chased her away, or banished her to another room. Inadvertently your dog was made to feel even more anxious about this scary, noisy, moving, vacuum cleaner. Her behavior then got worse and worse.
In order to change your dog’s behavior you need to counter-condition her to the presence of the vacuum. That means that you will need to re-train your dog to think that the vacuum brings good things and therefore there is no reason to get aroused and anxious when it is turned on and moved around. Since your dog has lot of practice reacting to the vacuum and because vacuums trigger such a strong emotional response, it will take quite a bit of time and training to counter-condition your dog to the vacuum.
While counter-conditioning your dog the vacuum, you never want your dog to become so aroused and anxious that she responds by excessively barking, lunging, or chasing the vacuum. In order to be successful, you will need to break down the presence of the vacuum into tiny steps. Before moving up to the next step, your dog needs to be completely comfortable with the step you are working on. There are many different ways to break things down for your dog, but here is an example of how you might do it.
Begin by having someone bring the vacuum out, but don’t turn it on. As soon as your dog sees the vacuum give her several some treats like turkey, hotdog, cheese, or anything else she loves. Then put the vacuum away. Repeat this several times in the next few days. Next, with plenty of distance between the vacuum and your dog, have someone else turn on the vacuum and at the same time you should drop several delicious treats. Turn the vacuum off and repeat several times. Gradually increase the amount of time the vacuum is left on while you give treats. Then have someone else move the vacuum around while you give treats. Then work on moving dog closer and closer to the vacuum. With enough repetition your dog will learn to really like it the vacuum is turned on and you’ll gradually give less and less treats while vacuuming. You know you have succeeded in associating the vacuum with treats when you turn on the vacuum and your dog immediately looks at you to see if she’s getting a treat.
Then you might also want to teach your dog a replacement behavior of laying down in her bed or in a crate while you’re vacuuming and reward that, so she know what is acceptable to do when you’re vacuuming.
During the time you are counter-conditioning your dog, when you need to vacuum, put your dog in another room. That will prevent your dog from practicing many of the behaviors you are trying to change.
* NOTE: Answer provided by dog trainer Katrina Krings, not currently affiliated with Pikapet.com
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