I watched this 14 weeks old GSD female puppy, bark and bite the Vaccuum cleaner and Wet Vac, while its on and moving. She will halt if asked but she comes back pouncing and circling the cleaner. Its kinda cute but it might cost her a Vaccuum cleaner bag holder.

Once you stop pushing the cleaner she loses interest in it and ignores it. Is this an example of a good prey drive or just puppy play?

My opinion abot this (and usually a unpopular one) is that this is veyr typically a fear-based response.


The reason for my opinion. I have (multiple times) used clicker and food to calm a dog around these types of issues (vaccum, lawn mower, steam cleaner, etc). Once I introduced food, and counter-conditioned the apprehensive bahavior, the barking, lunging, nipping stopped. After that, they were simply watchful.. but nothing near the antics before.

-Matt

With my terriers and my GSD it was nothing more than a high prey drive. My Border terrier would hit the bag with an all out attack. My wife thought it was cute till the he tore the bag with the contents exploding all over the room. My GSD just seemed to enjoy barking at the moving vaccuum. Tail wagging and having a great time. I have no doubt it could be fear with some dogs. With my Border it was rage. With my GSD it was just a fun thing to do.

Matt I'm more incline to agree with Bob, because weather its a moving mop or broom (which are quite) she will attack anything moving, even flies. I've seen her leave her bowl of food to come tackle the vaccumm cleaner. I think she just having fun because she ignores it after it stop moving.

Matt I've seen dogs like you mention that were afraid of the Vaccuum cleaner and Lawn mower. My Rottie/Pitt bitch was like that, She'd leave the room, while it was on and moving. But when she got it by itself she'd tear it up, bit the spark plug wire on the mower into, torn the bag off the VC.

Now at 3 years old these things if they are not too close don't startle her, she will stay in down with me mowing 5-6 feet away any closer with LM and she gets antsy. The VC she will walk right by it, while its on.

So they can grow out of it, sorta.

I think body language and barking distingushes the difference in fear and fun/mock aggression, to a strange and new experince. If the dogs eyes are focus, tail and ears up and the body erect almost prancing, with a strong confident bark, and actively engages in the assault/attack from the front or side its probably just fun or aggression. In the assault stays close to the device to finsih it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> , it probably just fun.

If the dog tail is tucked or down dog's body is in a couch, eyes wide,looking side ways or wild/glassy, hair on the back hackled, body shivering, if its bark is high picthed or near a sherk and the attack is only when the machine is close, before or afterwards it tries to escape then it is probably fear based. Any or all of these traits would indicate fear, all would be extreme case of bad nerves and poor handling, if noticed more then once.

And the dog should be slowly brought around these devices until he/she are use to them. Or taken to her/his crate.

people, please.....if your vacuum is an upright with beater bars or a canister that has a head with beater bars, don't be letting your dogs grab the thing. those beater bars can cause serious injury. same goes for children. dogs getting worked up over vacuum cleaners does not build drive or any other constructive thing. all it does is make for a neurotic dog. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Patrica, nobodies saying it builds drive or that its a good thing. I'm just saying if it does happen it doesn't have to be fear based or bad nerves. Its just an reaction to a new and strange device thats moving so the puppy (14 week old puppy) attacked the VC and once the wet vaccumm. Her body reaction was that of confidence and what is this thing, doing on my triff.

I don't think its a good thing or a training idea, its just something that happens when a puppy sees something new loud and moving.

As a training tip, its just something that puppy owner should know and don't freak out about it. Like you said don't encourage it, but at the moment its something to smile about. And say "Look at her who does she think she is".

i am dead serious about the beater bars. i know of a young girl who got her hair caught in grandma's dirt devil and it yanked out a good sized patch by the roots. she will not grow more hair back in that spot. those same bars could be just as devastating to little puppy teeth or lower jaw. i understand the value of character that is not intimidated by the vacuum, but i still say it is not worth the risk of injury. if the pup won't leave the vacuum alone, then crate it.

Its understood that this could be a possible health problem if the puppy made contact with the beaters. But it didn't happen and the situation is being dealt with by keeping the Vc and the puppy separate.

Eventually she will get uses to it and this issue will be resoloved. Thanks for pullin our coat.

I'm going to agree with Bob and Don. My 10 month old GSD does the same thing. She tries to chase and get anything that's moving, whether it's making noise or not (vaccuum, broom, mop). She ignores them when they're not moving. It's very playful behavior (her tail is up and wagging the whole time). As cute and funny as this can be the first time, I don't want any injuries to either the pup or the vaccuum, so I put her in a down, stay when I'm using one of these items.

Anyway, I know that it's not fearful behavior, because I've seen fearful behavior in her ONCE. I guess I got a Jolly Ball that was too big for her as a small pup (4 months old). The thing scared the crap out of her! She would run at it with a tucked tail, bite it quickly and run like hell if it moved. I tried to show her that all was okay, but she just didn't believe me. Obviously, I removed the ball from the house as soon as I saw that. I reintroduced it to her a few weeks ago and now she loves it.