An Easy Way to Help When Your Dog Fears Vacuum Cleaners

For this Manhattan Beach dog training session we worked with 2 year old Terrier mix Charlie, sharing tips on how to help when a dog fears vacuum cleaners.

My heart bled for this little guy. Charlie may be the cutest dog I have worked with, but he had a tough go at life before he landed in this loving home. He was found after being injured (likely hit by a car) with a shattered pelvis and some other broken bones as a young pup.

Being a street dog who was injured ayt a yong age, it goes without saying that Charlie is anxious and fearful at times. His guardians reported he is only comfortable outside if he is near him home or already met the people a few times.

Charlie lives near the beach but because he has some mobility issues, they often transport him in a carrier. While they mean to do this to help him, it’s possible the environments are too busy. For fearful dogs, busy or active environments can be stressful or more than the dog can take. This causes most dogs to fight, flight or freeze.

But in a carrier, Charlie can’t flight or flight. This means it’s up to his amazing guardians to recognize that some situations may be more than he can handle. Many people confuse a dog freezing as consent and my worry in the carrier is they may not be able to see this happen. Im not saying the carrier isnt a good idea, I love his guardians doing tings like this to help. But I also wanted to make sure the guardians were aware so they can be discriminating as to what situations they bring him to in a carrier.

Gradual exposure therapy can be an effective way to help a dog get over a fear, but in order for the socialization to work, the experience has to be positive for the dog. Being able to clearly observe the dog and monitoring them when in situations that may cause issues is super important.

This is why I always advise people to go at their dog’s pace and to look for ways to break things down into smaller steps. Its also important to be aware of our surroundings. There are so many things we are desensitized to; horns barking, kids yelling when playing together, a hovering helicopter, the sound a trash truck makes, etc. These things that we filter out may be amplifying Charlies feelings of fear or discomfort. So being mindful of them and avoiding those situations or moving away from them can be significantly beneficial for Charlie.

Taking Charlie to the beach boardwalk on slower days and times may not be as much fun for the humans, but may be the thing Charlie needs to gain confidence and build a positive association. Fortunately for Charlie, his humans are dedicated and the bead boardwalk is always only a few footsteps away.

After discussing those boardwalk tips, we got started with the fundamentals I often go over with my clients. We went over marker words, then I tried to walk his guardians though a hand targeting exercise to perfect their timing. However, Charlie wasn’t as engaged as we would like, probably because of the stranger (me) who invaded his home and won’t stop talking. Hopefully his guardians can watch the video of the exercise and practice later when no visitors are around.

I went over how celebrating desired behaviors can be an easy way to build a dog’s confidence, some enrichment games like Cookie in the corner as well as how to recognize dog cut off signals, signs of consent and reading dog body language. These things may not seem related, but when you have a fearful dog, small changes can make a big difference.

While most of Charlie’s anxiety resulted from being outside the home, there was something that happened inside the home that he didnt appreciate. Like many dogs, Charlie hates the vacuum. Many dogs fear the vacuum, but not for the reasons most people think.

How to Help When a Dog Fears Vacuum Cleaners

Dogs are scent animals, and when humans vacuum their home, it releases all the smells for the whole house into one small area. This confuses the dog and like humans, many dogs act out when confused or frustrated. It certainly doesn’t help that the vacuum makes a terrible noise and moves in a way that dogs can find aggressive.  Its no wonder why dogs are afraid of the vacuum.

Fortunately it’s possible to help dogs who are scared of the vacuum with the right approach. If your dog fears vacuum cleaners, you should check out the free positive dog training video below.

This is an easy way to help if your dog fears vacuum cleaners, but only if you go at your dog’s pace. Watching for cut off signals like refusing to look at the vacuum, stopping participation, lip licking, yawning or refusing to eat treats can help the guardians stop practice before it goes too far to be helpful. So slow and stead progress is the best when dogs are afraid of the vacuum.

Id love to see the guardians practice this vacuum training exercise once a day in short, 1 minute practice sessions. But they need to carefully monitor Charlie. Some dogs can practice more often, but for some, once a day is too much. Remember, the only way this exercise will help is if Charlie sees it as a positive. So slow and steady, with regular practice is the way to go.

By the end of the session, Charlie was pooped. When I saw him struggling to keep his eyes open, I started to wrap things up. My only regret is I didnt get a chance to pet and cuddle this cute dog. But knowing I helped him people help him get over his fear of the vacuum was a good consolation prize.

I covered so much in this Manhattan Beach in home dog training session that I recorded a roadmap to success summary video to help his awesome people remember it all.

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