Hello again,

I have just noticed that our puppy is scared of the noise of vacuum cleaner and hair dryer. Today, I tried to desensitize her by putting the vacuum cleaner out and put treats close by and on it. She was okay with it at first. But, when I turn it on while she was about 8 feet away, she looked at it and walked away from it (and from her beloved knee-bone). Then, I turned it off and put treats around. She didn't even want to come to get it. As for hair-dryer, I was trying to blow-dry her after her bath 3 weeks ago. And, she was sure very scared and scratched the heck out of me to get away. In both cases, I did not force it and just stopped.

I wonder if I should try to desensitize (again) her or just don't use it when she is around and hope she would grow out of it. As always, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Pat

She won't grow out of it.

For the vacuum cleaner, what I have done with my dogs is give them something to do while I'm vacuuming.

I will fill a Kong with yummy goodies, then vacuum as usual. I carry on exactly like vacuuming is something normal and fun. I pretend like I am ignoring the dog, but I am really watching for signs of stress.

The first time, you should give the dog her treats/Kong and then vacuum IN ANOTHER ROOM. After you can move gradually closer. If you vacuum a different area for just 5-10 minutes a day she will soon get used to it.

I have four, nervy rescue dogs and none of them are afraid of my vacuum. I just make sure that the first time they hear it, it is very low stress (i.e. they are not trapped in a crate or the same room, are distracted by something nice, and I am far away). With a little work she should be just fine.

As for the hair dryer, hopefully someone else will have ideas - my dogs all have short fur and it hasn't come up.

We had a dog that hated the hair dryer. I'd bathe her myself and then blow dry her due to how much hair she had. It was probably too hot on her and so I started using cold air rather than hot. I know it's probably bad form, but I just made her deal with it. She was a small dog and I could. After the ordeal (both bath and blow dry) was over, I'd give her a lot of treats. Eventually she learned to deal with it. In fact, whenever my wife would blow dry her hair, our dog would come running and sit at her feet.

Addressing the hair-dryer... most hairdryers have a low setting and high setting. Hairdryer like vacuums make a loud echoing noise inside the house. Puppies dogs do not like this. (I don't like this!)

I am not a big fan of forcing a dog to learn to like things and I tend to have a lot of time, so maybe taking the hairdryer outside with puppy -- hair dryer plugged into an extension cord -- turned on low and HANGING on something away from puppy. Puppy can get used to the sound. Bring puppy closer and closer. Then turn up to high, and start over -- distance then closer and closer.

( Although Hambone (NOT a puppy) got used to a dryer by going to a groomer. He doesn't bat an eye at the tiny hairdryer of mine. :smile: )

Less traumatic is probably better; but my point was that they can acclimate to the noise.

I would vacuum regularly for awhile and see how she does.

I never forced anything, but Luc was terrified of the vacuum for a long time, especially when we moved and I got the shop vac. I just ignored him, never paid a bit of attention (except when Teagan would go find wherever he'd deemed fit to escape to and start barking at him and trying to get into this spot, I'd make her leave him alone). Now - does he love the vacuum? No, but it doesn't upset him either.

Since this is fairly new, I'd see if she adjusts, and then if she doesn't, start an active program of desensitization. But I could be lazy

Like others said, desensitizing is the answer.

One thing I did that might be worth a try...just turn the vacuum on, place it in the middle of the room and let it run while you and the rest of the family go about your business. Pretend that a running vacuum is the most ordinary thing in the world...not even worthy of notice any more than a running refrigerator.

Clearly you can't let it run all day. But maybe--a half hour? and then do that every day for a week. With this exercise, I wouldn't even attempt to have a treat party near the vacuum or anything. Just pretend it's invisible and you don't hear it.

(do not try this with the hair dryer)

YOu would have to really watch the dog if you did this (for signs of stress). In my own dogs I don't think they would take too kindly to the vacuum running with out pack leader supervision. After all, a poltergeist could be running it. Or worse, it could have a mind all its own!

Edit: I have left the vacuum (off) laying around in a corner in a room the dogs have to walk through often (dining or living room). A few hesitations and they soon ignored it. (while off).

When it is on and i'm using it, they seem to consider that I have everything under control.

Along with what Tracy said about leaving it on in the middle of the room, your dog may also be reacting to the vacuum moving. If that is the case, after your dog ignores the vacuum when it is in the middle of the room, make a point of rolling it around throughout the day so she gets used to that. When she's desensitized to that, move to keeping it on, etc.

I did the same thing with the hair dryer. Just left it on in the middle of the room every day. Then, I took the hair dryer (turned off) and rubbed my pup with it while giving her treats until she could care less that it was in her face. At this point, I turned the hair dryer on, and since she did not react, I basically aimed it at the floor around her (not at her). I am sure I looked like an idiot drying the hardwood floors around her, but in time, I got closer and closer until she did not mind it.

This took a good two months or so - everyday, who knows how many times, but my electric bill sure went up.

Has the pup had sensitivities to sound prior to the hair dryer incident? IMO she had a pretty normal reaction for a pup when someone tries to actually use the hairdryer on them is to be uncertain and possibly freak out.

Think of it this way: For one, having air blown at them is strange, having the air be hot is strange, and then they are being held or restrained in some way and a mechanical odd smelling object is producing this hot air while making a horrendous sound.

Vacuums and hair dyrers sound very much alike.

Unfortunately you can't change what happened, but you likely reinforced the behavior with the hair dryer situation. She "freaked out" and scratched you up in a frantic attempt to get away - you turned off the hair dryer and allowed her to get away. Good and bad.

Good because you did not want to make the situation worse and flood or completely over stimulate her by forcing her to endure the hair dryer, and you reduced/eliminated further stress. Bad because she has learned that running/getting away is the best option (the sound goes away/stressors are eliminated)

How old is the puppy? I am assuming it is going to be a pet and not a working dog?

The way I desensitize to objects that make noise is not to turn them on while the dog is around(this startles them), but to have it on when the dog is not, and bring them in. Not forcing them to encounter it, but having it in a room where all the good stuff is (including you, pretending the noice maker does not exist)

Example.. turn on vacuum while the dog is outside or at the far end of the house. Go get the dog if in the house, go outside, play a bit/potty time, come back in and do some training with the sound in the background and gradually move closer until you reach the stress zone (dog begins to stress about the vacuum being too close) and then you put the dog back outside or in its crate in the far end of the house, turn the vacuum off, and you can continue about your day from there and bring the dog back in or let it out, etc.

Sometimes dogs become suspicious of items that are made important by our actions. We can make something more scary by pressing the issue and trying to make a point of getting the dog close to it. It depends on the dog. Some dogs respond well to making the item into something fun and interesting or even a prey item (I have conditioned a few dogs afraid of tarps/plastic bags etc to ignore or become *excited* about the objects by turning them into prey items) but for most dogs we don't want them to eat the vacuum so I don't suggest this lol

One thing to remember also is if you have it move, whether it is on or not, move it away from the dog not towards the dog. This makes it less threatening and often dogs will follow to further check it out.