Hi,
Please can you advise the best way to stop my 7 month terrier trying to rip my hoover to pieces each time I turn it on. I know I could shut her out but this is avoiding the issue and I would prefer to face the problem and sort it if possible. I use click and treat for all her other training and that is going very well however I am not sure when to c and t with the hoover. When I turn it off she sits staring at it ready to pounce and almost daring it to start again. Surely if I c and t at this point when she is quiet then she may think I am rewarding her for having stopped the hoover and that I am pleased with her barking and behaviour that caused the hoover to be switched off. The minute I switch it on again off she goes, switch it off and she sits staring.....please when do I c and t or should I be doing something else......I have considered boot up the backside ( only joking of course)

Hi sillysue,

ooh this brings back memories! My lot have all tried kill the vacume as puppies, I tried all sorts including what I call my lion tamer act! (rolled up newspaper in one hand vac in the other whilst saying back I say,get back!) till I just collapsed with laughter lol, but really you have to teach a good leave it command. Mine are all grown up now but still try to pounce on it, to them it's a brilliant game but I can keep them at bay now with a stern leave command.

Same with the lawn mower!  Mine is nervous really - so she 'attacks' the hoover.  I never laugh at her or react.  I just send her out of the way calmly and tell her to leave - usually she will stay out of the way - however if she feels trapped in a room with the hoover she will get really worked up.  As long as she has plenty of space I can send her away.  Obviously more care needed with the lawn mower - I don't move it until she is well back - once again giving her plenty of space to move around - otherwise I remove her completely.  

Can't be of much help all the hounds I have ever owned seem to think a vacuum cleaner is an invention of the devil and make their way out of the room asap so I have never had to work out a method for dealing with this. Think best way would be to remove the dog from the area being cleaned, that is what I do when I am mopping as that is a very different story as every single dog thinks their standing on it will be of help, even have a few grumbles as to who should be allowed to play with Mum.

The more you use it the sooner she will get over it............
My 2yr old is just getting better (sorry its a long time), my 4yr old is now fine.
The trouble terriers (mine are too) by nature, are reluctant to give up on anything......................
Suggest you execise loads of patience, it would be difficult to click and treat this.
Karen

> that is what I do when I am mopping as that is a very different story as every single dog thinks their standing on it will be of help,

ROFL!!  :-)

I have to admit that most dogs I've ever owned have been vacuum killers.  I just remove them from the room, as they get overwrought, and they are better out of the way for the time it takes to do a much hated task.

> Obviously more care needed with the lawn mower

My BC and my mower have several rows over the years, I had to keep  the garden shed firmly locked, or the mower would "get it" !!

I have a terrier who also attacks and kills the hoover - or one of them at least. I have two hoovers - the upright doesn't seem to be a problem for him but the cylinder one is very chaseable. If I put him out of the room he barks incessantly so I have started to leave him in the room where I am using the hoover and throw treats past him to divert his attention from the hoover. Once he has eaten the treat he is given a leave it command as soon as he starts towards the hoover and then reward the leave with another thrown treat.

The treats are miniscule - I break up small treats into tiny. tiny pieces - so he has to search for them. I am making slow progress with him but it is progress.

good luck! I 've gone through two vacuum cleaners and both times the dogs have managed to find themselves alone with the hose for long enough to kill it...our fault for not being more careful.

> or the mower would "get it"

Goodness what focus!  Mine completely forgets the thing once I have walked away from it.

Sorry, not read all posts so apologies for that (very remiss of me). Why on earth is shutting your dog out 'avoiding the issue'?  Apologies, but I just don't know where you're coming from with this.  Have you any idea of the frequencies that motors operate at? As a physicist I am somewhat aware of the frequency of motors and the frequency of the hearing of dogs ... dogs can hear much more than we can. Why then would you enforce your dog to endure something that is obviously unpleasant to it, and possibly downright painful?
This is not meant as a 'go' at you, honestly, just try thinking of it from a different perspective. If your dog does not like the hoover then put her somewhere safe where she does not have to put up with it, in a crate elsewhwere or in another room. Forget the click and treat (and yes I love clicker training), just put her somewhere where she is not forced to put up with it!

> Why then would you enforce your dog to endure something that is obviously unpleasant to it,

Cant speak for anyone else but my lot really do think the vac is a brilliant toy! To them it's a huge toy and they go through all the plays bows  and yaps to get it to "play" with them! Daft dogs ! lol

Out of my 5, one will try to kill, two will make themselves scarce, and the other two will follow me around as though hoovering is the greatest thing out! :-)
However, when I'm organised, everyone is put elsewhere, so no one has to put up with any unpleasantness, and I'm not hindered by 'helpers'!!

Why then would you enforce your dog to endure something that is obviously unpleasant to it, and possibly downright painful?

I don't force her to stay. Today for example I had the door to the garden open while I hoovered the room with this garden door at one end,  my spaniel prefers to sit outside or go to another room when I hoover, my GSD sits centre room and I have to hoover round her (cantankerous !!) and the terrier has the freedom of choice to go into the  garden, kitchen  or bedroom, but she prefers to stay and fight the dreaded machine. Yes I could shut her out, but if I can try as kindly advised earlier throw treats to the other side of the room and train the 'leave' word then this will avoid me having to shut her out.
I could be wrong, but I have a gut feeling this is not fear but is instead a good game for her as her tail is wagging like mad as I take the hoover out of the cupboard and she can't wait for it to be turned on - entertainment of the day !!!!!

I have terriers and the eldest at 11 has always hated the hoover, as soon as he sees me pick it up, he's off and I let him go where he wants to go. The other two are not as bad but also vacate wherever I am hoovering. The pup however,is a diffrent matter, from being frightened of the hoover and the lawnmower, he now tries to attack both. I just stop tell him to go away and then continue. I never make a joke or a game out of it and he has never ben chased by the hoover.

Having 4 dogs I regularly vax the carpets and one of my girls sits and shakes when I do it, even though I let her take herself off and shut the door ( me, not her!) I think the noise is very loud and the vibrations must upset her too.

I think shutting them out is the best way. 

:D the title of the thread made me laugh.

I've had it with both of mine, and with both a tasty kong with a stuck peice of dried tripe worked. They don't get kongs everytime now as they aren't fussed. Well one isn't, the other hides upstairs until I've finished!

my rough collie from pup used to throw his cuddly toy in front of the hoover for me to knock out of the way... stupidly I did he lived for 15  and half years and played the same game all his life...<BG>

Mine thoughtfully runs off when the Hoover is on, but my elderly mother has one of those 'carpet sweepers' and whenever we visit her, it acquires more toothmarks! Apparently it's on a par with skateboards....

> frequencies that motors operate at

That maybe true but that isn't the only reason why dogs go for the hoover.  I have got a central vacuum system now - the motor is in the cupboard in the utility room - but she still goes for the hoovering end!  Admittedly it is making a suction noise - but no motor. 

> >> frequencies that motors operate at

> That maybe true but that isn't the only reason why dogs go for the hoover.

If that were so then why does mine attack the carpet sweeper? No motor on that, just internal wheels (like a skateboard I guess!)

My mother's Cairn loved to 'Kill the Hoover' - a cylinder style one.  We never bothered to try stopping her as she seemed to have so much FUN doing it and it is what Terriers 'Do' :-D  If she hadn't enjoyed herself so much, we might have had a different attitude.

My own dogs behave as if they have never seen a hoover before and make themselves scarce, despite my having used it since they were pups   I think it's because they can see things getting sucked up? :-D  I just make sure they have an escape route from the evil monster :)

My mother's Cairn loved to 'Kill the Hoover' - a cylinder style one.  We never bothered to try stopping her as she seemed to have so much FUN doing it and it is what Terriers 'Do'   If she hadn't enjoyed herself so much, we might have had a different attitude.

The trouble with Cooper attacking the hoover is that I would never complete the job if I let him partake in his mode of guerilla warfare. He grabs hold of the head bit that pushes across the carpet and shakes it to death - he has managed to kill two heads to date and is not being given the chance to dismember the third one :-) Even having had his tongue sucked up and nicked by the brushes he still wants to teach it a lesson - not good for his tongue, the hoover head nor my patience :-)

Ouch!

Mum's Cairn never actually 'killed' it or got hurt by it, but then she was playing and just having fun ;)

In your situation, I'd work on a strong LEAVE IT! command in different situations and once he was solid, including the hoover, that way you'll be able to save Cooper's poor tongue ;)

Regards
Dill

The moment I read the title, I thought.......... Terrier :-D

The most likely to attack and big up to something they find bothersome. As said it can become a game too and a focus for entertainment, so you stop it by command or removal of the dog, removal to stop the game/aggression and also to show your disapproval of the behaviour just as you would with anything else.

Most dogs who are bothered by the hoover will remove themsleves, my girl will potter about into another room or go outside, though other times she will just sit on the sofa once I have started and watch until finished.

If I had a dog who did not remove themselves and went for the 'kill' I would just remove the dog if a pup or adolescent, to be honest after that age if you've been training your dog consistantly then an OFF! LEAVE! or OUT! of the room really should remove your dog from the hoover, I wouldn't specifically train a dog not to go into hoover attack, just to use the commands already taught.

If your dog is not fully trained yet then just put her out of the room. :-)

If I had a dog who did not remove themselves and went for the 'kill' I would just remove the dog if a pup or adolescent, to be honest after that age if you've been training your dog consistantly then an OFF! LEAVE! or OUT! of the room really should remove your dog from the hoover, I wouldn't specifically train a dog not to go into hoover attack, just to use the commands already taught

Cooper (rescue terrier with an appalling start in life) has been the hardest to train dog that I have ever owned. We have had him for nearly 3 years and he still doesn't have a reliable sit that lasts for more than a nano second - he does sit but if you blink you miss it :-) Putting him out of the room tends to escalate his excitement and guarantees a frenzy of barking ( and barking is the behaviour  I am really working hard at altering and is my number one priority for now) and  he just grabs anything else he can - carpet, any item within reach whatever it happens to be including the other dog - so the problem is just transferred to another object.

The distraction with a thrown treat followed up by a leave command as soon as he turns towards the hoover again is the method that has seen some improvement in his behaviour but is not a method I have ever had to use before with any other dog. Coops has been a huge learning curve for me although his learning has not reached the curve stage yet but has remained a constant flat line :-)

I have learnt to accept that Coops is Coops is Coops and normal is not in his vocabulary and probably never will be - but nevertheless he does have a few redeeming features :-)

Hi,
I had a bit of a breakthrough today when hoovering.
First I put her into another room, and she went mad scratching the door and barking ....so that one to her
Then I threw a treat over the other side of the room, she ran like a loony round the room, but didn't bother to look for it and ran straight back to the hoover...that one to her also.
Lastly, she has an old chair that has her blanket on it and she knows that is her chair ( She is not allowed on my furniture and she accepts this and snuggles in her own chair instead ) so I put her favourite bone on her chair and she jumped up and stayed there chewing her bone while I hoovered around her .....I won !!!
She completely ignored me and the vacuum and concentrated only on the bone, so maybe a treat while I hoover will be similar to a treat for being good in her mind. Whatever - it worked for me today, however tomorrow may be a new day only time will tell.
I have had well trained dogs all my life, but this is my very first terrier and wow am I on a learning curve with this one, I am having to change and make it up as I go along to stay one step ahead, but what fun she is.

Yes Harey, your quite right in having a dog not trained by yourself from puppyhood it is a different kettle of fish all together, the usual taught commands will not be there already, far, far harder for you. :-(

I have to say well done with the distraction/treat method that you have been teaching him, ***thumbs up!*** However, does it just keep him quiet whilst he is eating though which would be a pointless exercise and you'd be better off just putting him in a crate if he becomes disruptive and transfers to other objects whilst you are hoover or is he learning to leave even after the treats have gone? If he is learning to leave it goes to show that the little monkey is coherant to being trained with the treats, so he should learn Off and Leave and Shush for the barking too :-) I've always found terriers to be very treat orientated, they are so clever and learn fast, sometimes even foreward thinking what your going to ask.

It is always so much harder trying to train a breed with strong traits and already an adult with a moulded character. But looks as though he will hopefully learn to comply..............eventually if he is learning leave! :-) Good luck with him, you know he likes his treats. :-)

To our OP, keep going with consistant and fun training, very important it pays off in the end, terriers love fun.

so he should learn Off and Leave and Shush for the barking too  I've always found terriers to be very treat orientated, they are so clever and learn fast, sometimes even foreward thinking what your going to ask.

It is always so much harder trying to train a breed with strong traits and already an adult with a moulded character. But looks as though he will hopefully learn to comply..............eventually if he is learning leave!  Good luck with him, you know he likes his treats.

The training for not barking has been going on ever since we had him - it is consistent training and he is better than he was but still has a long way to go. Putting him in a crate is not an option for him - he spent the first 5 months of his life shut in a cupboard :-( and any form of restraint terrifies him and he becomes totally stressed and I don't want to do that to him as it just doesn't help him .... and he will bark non stop if shut away which then has to be stopped as it is my main training priority at the moment -which means I can't hoover anyway so again defeats the object.

Once he has found the treat a leave it command ( which he always obeys when playing tuggy ) will stop him for a very short while and then I reward that stop with another thrown treat. The times between command/treat and his next assault on the hoover are slowly  increasing so progress is being made albeit very slowly. I do agility with my other dog ( who is a pleasure to train and a very quick learner) and tried it with Cooper. He loved it and was really really fast but the excitement always proved to be too much in the end and so I stopped the training at our club and now just do it at home with him.

Anyone who knows him and has met him soon realise what an odd little dog he is - very loveable, a real character but also very odd and far, far different than any other dog I have ever had. We just accept him for what he is and have no high expectations for him - just low ones that we are hoping to achieve over the next 15 years :-)

Mine hates the wheelie bin.
It's quite difficult trying to move a full bin whilst a 40 kilo dog is throwing itself at it!!

Please can you advise the best way to stop my 7 month terrier trying to rip my hoover to pieces each time I turn it on. I know I could shut her out but this is avoiding the issue and I would prefer to face the problem and sort it if possible.

Is shutting her out realluy avoiding the issue? :)
I only ask as often it's easier to put the dog out of the room, due to room size and hoover maneuverability! (sp

I use click and treat for all her other training and that is going very well however I am not sure when to c and t with the hoover. When I turn it off she sits staring at it ready to pounce and almost daring it to start again. Surely if I c and t at this point when she is quiet then she may think I am rewarding her for having stopped the hoover and that I am pleased with her barking and behaviour that caused the hoover to be switched off. The minute I switch it on again off she goes, switch it off and she sits staring.....please when do I c and t or should I be doing something else......I have considered boot up the backside ( only joking of course)

I have a BSD, now 9, who as an adolescent was a terror for the hoover (it's not just terriers ;) ).
Her reactions were a mix of herding, anxiety and excitement plus visual stimulation. I do use the clicker a lot, but in this situation I used to move the hoover very slowly at first, and at each movement, I'd give her her toy and throw it for her. She soon learnt to wait whilst I hoovered a bit, then threw her toy and had a few moment's playing with her e.g. throw toy, she brought it back, quick tuggie and then throw again :)

This helped so much that she got better over the years, and now will lie on the sofa (or play with toy) whilst I vacuum. But, I do put her out when I'm rushing around, as I find it simpler.

best wishes
Lindsay
x

I have a rough collie who is now three years old, and I had this problem with him when he was a pup.

I trained him to leave the hoover alone by using the method shown in one of the Cesar Millan programmes, if you look on his website you may be able to find it.
He recommended getting the dog to sit with a treat the other side of the room while using the hoover.  It takes some perseverence but it does work, honestly!  If the dog stays you must give lots of praise and fuss, my dog is great now with it, he just wanders off and it doesn't bother him.  If he forgets and tries to chase it, a firm 'NO, LEAVE' soon gets him to behave.

My bitch is trying to play with the hoover it for a bit, trying to kick a ball to it and expect it to kick it back to her but i keep ignoring her while i get on with hoovering. She calms down after about 5 mins and lies down on her bed. My dog is fine with it. He's by far the most chilled out border collie i've ever seen... :-)

My OH hoovers the dead hair out of our collie, he lies down on the carpet for his hoover!!!!

I'd love to get my dogs to love the hoover so much that i could just hoover out all their loose hair... that would be great :-)

My two hate the hoover and will go and sit outside until it's put away, they really are big push overs!!