The Great Purple Hoover Monster

[ingsay2000]

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Hi folks,

Just after a bit of advice please.

Stanley who is just under a year old has always gone to bed with his sisters whenever I was hoovering.

Then about 3 weeks ago I noticed that he was edgy when the hoover was produced and would watch me round the corner of the doors.

This fear has escalated into him running flat out from room to room, jumping the hoover each time he passes me. He even leaps at the front door in desperation.

I have tried to ignore him so as not to reinforce the fear and tried putting him in the bedroom with the girls but he just wets himself!

Ive thought about putting him in the car but this is not solving the problem.

The hoover is used 2 or 3 times a week (sometimes more depending on the toilet roll theivage!)

I leave the hoover lying about but it only bothers him when its turned on.

Interestingly, he is not so bad if my lodger is the one who is hoovering.

I havent run him down or scared him with it so Im just unsure where this has come from.

Today I went into a cupboard under the sink and he instantly thought I was going to start cleaning (I was nowhere near the hoover!) and he started to panic in advance.

As I mentioned, he was absolutley fine until 3 weeks ago so I have no idea what has brought this on.

Im sure this topic will have been covered on here in the past but I cant seem to find anything.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

 

[kilmousk]

No huge pearls of wisdom. Mouse developed a ridulous fear of wheelie bins a few years back ... was fine one week and then collapsing the next. He would see them down the street and refuse to walk that way and would shake, hyperventilate and then collapse if forced. He then refused to leave the house from the night before (if one was out early) till the evening after bin day. He got so bad that he wouldnt go to the toilet for 2-3 days.

I didnt reinforce his fear ... pulled his lead high and walked confidently and didnt pander to the fear apart from avoiding them and changing route if i could see one out. As suddenly as the fear started it left ... one week paranoia, the next cocking his leg on one. If i ask where the daleks are he still reacts!

All i can suggest is keeping him "safe" from the purple hoover monster and to act confident and assertive. Maybe move it around without turning it on. Not reacting to his fear when the lodger hoovers or maybe trying to change the use of hoover to pleasure ... move the hoover and appear with toy or treat?

 

[BeeJay]

Is the purple hoover monster a Dyson by any chance? It's just that some of my whippets are very scared of my Dyson. Unfortunately one of them won't leave me alone with the vaccum cleaner. He just keeps rushing up to me and asking me to turn it off instead of going into another room. Which was very pleasant when he had a full bladder and bascially ran around weeing. A friend never had any problems with her other vaccum cleaner and then she got a Dyson and now some of her whippets are afraid of it. I've never had any problems any other type of vaccum.

 

[Tesa]

My two aren't overly rapt in the vacuum cleaner They either leave the room or sit and watch me work. Personally I don't think the brand of cleaner matters, it is just a loud irritation noisy machine that causes an odd swinging behaviour in us humans.

Poor Stanley being so very frightened of yours that he goes into a fully panic. Both your lives would be so much easier if he could be settled like my two.

For the time being I would be removing Stanley while you are vacuuming.

You then need to work on desensitizing Stanley to the vacuum cleaner. Start very quitely sitting on the floor (cleaner is turned OFF) with some very high value food rewards. Stanley gets rewarded for coming over to investiage. Keep your tone light and happy. Moving on to the next stages, he then only gets rewarded for sniffing the cleaner.

For me the next stage would be to get Stanely use to the idea of the movement of the cleaner (which is still turned OFF). You would reward him for sitting quietly watching the cleaning action. Once you are confident Stanely is comfortable around the cleaner, again sitting on the floor with the absoulute best of treats (eg cooked chicken) quitely turn the cleaner on just for a few seconds. Keep the treats coming, as long as Stanley is calm, keep rewarding him.

If you keep building on this daily, it shouldn't take Stanley long to see the cleaner as a friend not an enemy.

Good luck, hope this helps

Karen

 

[beaker]

poor Stan the man,

very good posts above,gentle de-sensitizing is the best option, :thumbsup: not much i can say to add to it really,

it's possibly it has been knocked over while they have been romping about playing and scareded wee Stanley. if it helps him feel better, tell him his great granny Rosa has an irrational fear of lampshades, particularly ones with tassles :wacko:

and if that fails to cheer him up, his dad, uncle Otis and great uncle Oto are all confimed dyson killers, attacking en mass when it goes past their sofa, dragging it accross the room

(which annoys my mum no end when she is tidying but is very funny to watch :lol: )

or.....

get the lodger to hoover from now on

becka

 

[Tesa]

  Start very quitely sitting on the floor (cleaner is turned OFF) with some very high value food rewards. 

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Meant to type "very quietly sitting on the floor"

 

[Janimal]

Ive already put this video on here before...I only have trouble with Kobi here who positively attacks the hoover each and every time it comes out... (w00t)

Ive tried everything he just does not like it at all. :- "

 

[05whippet]

Ive already put this video on here before...I only have trouble with Kobi here who positively attacks the hoover each and every time it comes out... (w00t)
Ive tried everything he just does not like it at all. :- "

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Hmm...I wonder if it is the color "purple" that they dislike so much!! :lol: :teehee: (w00t)

Joking aside,it must be really difficult dealing with a dog who has a phobia to vacumns....I am very lucky as my dogs dont care about the hoover at all which is just as well because I vacumn every day and it would be a nightmare if they had a problem with itl,but in fact I have to physically move them out of the way to vacumn their beds and the area around them,otherwise my lot would just sit there! I also use the vacumn to hoover in around the whelping box when they are very little,so maybe that helps to desensitise them??

 

[Tesa]

Ive already put this video on here before...I only have trouble with Kobi here who positively attacks the hoover each and every time it comes out... (w00t)
Ive tried everything he just does not like it at all. :- "

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I have seen this before Janis, I love the way Oscar hightails it, he is definitley not going to hang around. :lol: Kobi gives it a right telling off, doesn't he :clown:

 

[dessie]

Joking aside,it must be really difficult dealing with a dog who has a phobia to vacumns....I am very lucky as my dogs dont care about the hoover at all which is just as well because I vacumn every day and it would be a nightmare if they had a problem with itl,but in fact I have to physically move them out of the way to vacumn their beds and the area around them,otherwise my lot would just sit there! I also use the vacumn to hoover in around the whelping box when they are very little,so maybe that helps to desensitise them??

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Mine are the same, some of them will NOT move out of whichever bed they are in until I physically tip them out and others race around as though the thing is going to attack them at any moment, yet they have all been brought up the same and I hoover around the whelping box as well. Some seem to accept it, others don't ...... I just ignore those that don't like it and let them get on with having the abdabs!!!

 

[ingsay2000]

Thankyou all for your kind words of advice.

Kilmousk and Tesa youre right, Im going to have to take it really slow, moving it about more often with no fuss. Its going to take a long time, he's really built himself up into a frenzy. Hes such a soppy wee soul.

Interesting to read that other whippies have a dislike to the purple dyson monster above all others.

Janis, love the video...Kobi the pit bull...what a brave little soldier. Oscars reaction is similar to Stanleys only Stan dosent just jump round it but he has leapt up my back and over my head! Not sure if he is looking for protection from me. Believe me, its quite difficult to ignore his behaviour when hes on your shoulders when your hoovering!

Beckster, youre hilarious girl.

Send daddy dog up here to have a quiet word with his little boy.

I think youve hit the nail on the head.....get the lodger to hoover from now on, after all Im sure its her cat that makes all the mess!! :- "

 

[Seraphina]

I do not remeber having a dog that would not leave the house when I am using vacuum cleaner. That is fine with me; the last thing I need is them in my way .

There may be a perfectly valid reason why dogs do not like vacuum cleners. Dogs can hear sounds that we cannot ,and vacuum is probably emitting some very high noise that some dogs find extremely annoying or even painful. I would not be forcing him to endure it. I would never try to de-sensitize a dog to something unless i am sure it is irrational fear I am dealing with. Why your dog has become more intolerant in the past few weeks is anybody's guess. Maybe some part in the vacuum motor became bit worn and that changed the pitch of the sound a little bit, maybe the dog is not feeling 100%, whatever the case i would just put him as far as I could from the room I am about to vacuum.

The temporally wheelie bin phobia is very puzzling (w00t)

 

[ingsay2000]

vacuum is probably emitting some very high noise that some dogs find extremely annoying or even painful. 

Seraphina your right, I think this is exactly where the problem has come from. I bought a carpet shampooer just after Christmas and as any one who owns one knows, it makes a high pitched sound when it is ready for emptying.

Today my lodger hoovered (with an old hoover not the dyson) in the hall while I concentrated on basic sit/wait/lie down commands (with treats) with all of them in the room next door. He was absolutely fine, even with the door open.

Thankyou for bringing that to my attention. I'll not shampoo when he is around.

Nicky.

 

[kilmousk]

The temporally wheelie bin phobia is very puzzling  (w00t)

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Mouse is a very puzzling dog! Most of his foibles can be worked around but not not leaving the house for 2 days a week. He wont go to the toilet in the back garden ... he's phobic of back doors too. On dysons he just attacks ... he can remove a removable part in a swift one grab and run action so i have to stop! The joys of a rescue dog with an unknown history!

On the purple hoover monster ... i think thats a very good point. There is likely to be a reason he's scared ...so not forcing him is probably best. I hope in time he realises its not a whippet killer and he calms down enough to protect his bed and not leave the room.