Why Are Dogs Afraid Of Vacuums?

Ever wonder ‘why are dogs afraid of vacuums?’ Do you ever take out your vacuum cleaner and watch your dog immediately dive under the bed or bolt out of the room? Many dogs have a pretty notorious reputation for being scared and freaked out by vacuum cleaners. Today we are going to explore what it is about these cleaning ground monsters that your pup would most likely not have around.

Why Is My Dog Scared Of The Vacuum Cleaner?

This one is fairly straight-forward. Vacuums are loud, rowdy, and large. This just isn’t a pleasant combination for dogs. And they move all around! This makes it easy to understand why dogs can be so frightened of these household objects.

Not only do they not understand what’s going on, their confusion is coupled with big and noisy movements all around their personal space. And remember, their sense of smell is a lot stronger than humans, so they may be confused of all the weird odors. Same with their hearing – they have the ability to hear clearer than we do so that sound is extremely amplified to them.

How Can I Help Calm My Dog’s Vacuum Fear?

There are a few things you can do to make this a more tolerable experience for your pup.

If you are able to have them go into another room or outside, that may be an easy solution to calm their fear since they will not have to experience this right in front of them.
You can also try giving them a toy or treat to help distract them.
Gradually get your dog accustomed to the vacuum cleaner. Leave it in the open while it’s not in use. Switch it on sometimes when you are not using it for short periods of time to help them get used to the noise.
Pull the vacuum out and then put it away, without using it. Have your dog get used to seeing the vacuum around,
Be patient with the training process – it’s going to take time before there is improvement.
Try to create a more positive association with the vacuum cleaner for your pup, like placing treats near it or their favorite toy.