My pup is afraid of the vacuum cleaner, and I'd like to use markers to help her get over it.
Even though she is out of the room when we have vacuumed, she is fearful to come back into the room when we are done and the vacuum is put away. She spends the next day or so nervous and checking the room constantly to see if the machine has magically re-appeared
I'm going to start with simply having the machine in the living room (or maybe even just in the doorway), My question is should I mark and treat her for ignoring the vacuum, so eventually she'll learn not to care that it is there or for approaching the vacuum, to confront her fear of it and see that it is harmless?
Tracy Collins Webboard User Reg: 10-09-2008
Posts: 1917
Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
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With mine, I set the vaccium in the middle of the floor and just left it there for days--until it became just another ordinary object in their world. Then we'd have treat parties near the vacuum. Then work up to taking a treat off the vaccuum.
Then, I'd turn the vaccuum on and just let it run--not using it--just running, and let it run for a half an hour and go about my business, as though the sound of it were the most normal thing in the world, not paying any attention to it or the dogs (and never acknowledging any reaction from them towards the vaccuum one way or the other.) You wouldn't want to try to soothe the fear ("it's okay, don't be afraid, etc."--that just reinforces to them that there is something to be anxious about--you noticed it too!
After several sessions of the vaccuum just being "background noise" in the house, which I didn't seem to even notice, the dogs realized that it must not be anything they should notice either.
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Marking for vacuum fear . . .
#298923 - 10/09/2010 09:02 AM 
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Re: Marking for vacuum fear . . .
[Re: Tracy Collins ]
#298986 - 10/09/2010 11:15 PM 
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