Are You Thinking Why My Dog Bark at The Vacuum?
We all understand the necessity of cleaning your house, and we all need to keep our house clean no matter how much we ignore it. In the end, we all give in. Sometimes, unfortunately, a lot of dogs tend to have a problem with vacuums.
Being a pet parent, you might wonder, why does my dog seem to hate it and keeps barking at it, anyway?
While humans seem to understand the need to vacuum and consider them harmless, For many dogs they are loud, terrifying, and threatening. due to this, dogs may react to the vacuum’s loud noises in a way that are overwhelming or frustrating to us, like Barking, lunging, chasing, and sometimes hiding.
The Question is Why Does My Dog Bark at the Vacuum
According to the ASPCA, a dog’s bark depends on the situation. The sound of a greeting bark will be different from a territorial bark. Whenever a dog barks at a vacuum cleaner, the dogs are trying to execute an alarm bark in most cases.
An alarm bark is when a dog barks at sound or sight in any situation. Their body language gets stiff, and they pounce forward a couple of inches with issuance. This body language indicates that they are trying to protect themselves from something they fear and are trying to communicate with you that they are upset.
Now that we have covered the chill parts, here are some reasons why does your dog barks at the vacuum;
1. It Finds It Threatening
To your dog, a vacuum might seem threatening and dangerous, vacuums do not make much sense, and they are not natural ( to your dogs, at least). This would be more likely if it shows signs of threatening body language when barking, such as showing its teeth growling and being stiff.
2. It Has Sensitive Hearing
Dogs tend to have much more sensitive hearing than humans and hence are easily irritated by the noises vacuums make. The cause could be that the loudness of the vacuum is too much for your dog. This scenario is more likely to happen if your vacuum is loud. To remedy this situation, try getting your dog to stay in a different room or maybe let them hang in the yard while you clean.
3. Encouraging The Behavior
The cause can sometimes be that you have been encouraging it to bark at the vacuum. If you tend to give your dog’s things they want when they start barking, such as toys, treats, or extra attention, Your dog is more likely to do it more in order to get more rewards. A telltale sign can be that your dog’s seem to show excitement when it barks.
It will help you if you avoid rewarding it when it barks, to wait for it to stop barking before rewarding it, and to give positive reinforcement training.
4. It Feels the Vibrations
Dogs are also sensitive to the vibration they feel from the ground. The reason why it does it could be that it feels the vibration from your vacuum. If you have a more powerful vacuum, it’s more likely to happen.
Things You Should Consider
Here is something you should consider when figuring out the main reason why it has been doing it.
- Pay attention to the slightest details of when your dogs started barking at the vacuum the first time.
- If your dog didn’t always bark at the vacuum, it would help to consider what else happened when he started.
- If he started doing it recently, it could be the reason that you have bought a louder and powerful vacuum that scares him, or maybe he is doing it for rewards.
What Is Different When Your Dog Starts to Bark at The Vacuum
It would also help you if you paid a little more attention to see if anything is different when it barks at the vacuum.
For example, if it only barks when you are in a certain room or if it feels trapped and threatened by the vacuum cleaner.
What to Do About Your Dog’s Barking
- Practice training him using positive reinforcement
- Get a quieter room
- take your dog to stay in another room, or maybe let him play outside or in the garden while you do your cleaning.
- Avoid encouraging the behavior. Giving your dog treats and toys to shut him up is going to give it the wrong signal, and your dog might do it more to get rewards.
Bottom Line
Well, whoever wins at the vacuum vs. your pet’s situation, make sure your puppy is always the one taken care of since pet owners need to make them healthy and happy. Therefore, while cleaning, ensure your pup is somewhere far from the vacuum.
