Noisy machines

[Esmae]

I have a whippet dog. Had him since last August. He is just a year old. Lovely fellow and great fun and until now, no hangups. Then a few weeks ago hubby was using the hand held vacuum cleaning around the fireplace. Dog went bonkers and attacked and managed to bite hubby's hand. It was a bit startling but we felt he though the machine was attacking hubby and he was defending him. Then a week or so later firing up the lawnmower and he did the same thing (didn't bite but attacked the nasty scary thing) . we turned the mower off and removed dog from the situation and carried on mowing. Since then we have had 2 other vacuum episodes and 1 other mower episode. Can't quite understand why the reaction now. Has been fine with everything ever since he arrived and is generally well adjusted and socialised. Not quite sure how to sort this other than carry on regardless. Has anyone any thoughts. He isn't neutered yet but will be shortly. He won't be going anywhere so nobody panic that his days are numbered or anything. I'll get this sorted but genuinely puzzled by this sudden change of behaviour. Thanks in advance.

 

[CorvusCorax]

It's probably more that he's stressed and venting/wants to make it stop and the human is the closest thing to vent on. Most dogs are protecting themselves, there's very few dogs that will put themselves in harms way to protect a human, the human just happens to be there at the time.
And in the frenzy he's caught the hand.

A year to 18 months is generally when you see genetic sensitivities come to light, although he may grow out of it.
My young one hates the hoover so I pop her outside when I'm going to be using it.
Her father used to attack the yard brush but grew out of it.

If you know it's an issue, remove when these things are likely to be happening. Then begin to desensitise him from a distance as you would with any other thing, using whatever motivates him. This will probably involve one of you operating the machinery and the other training the dog.
Start small, with the equipment turned off.

 

[SAujla]

Could also be him entering his secondary fear stage as well. You could try smearing some doggy peanut butter on the machine whilst it's off to try and build a positive relationship with it

 

[Esmae]

It's probably more that he's stressed and venting/wants to make it stop and the human is the closest thing to vent on. Most dogs are protecting themselves, there's very few dogs that will put themselves in harms way to protect a human, the human just happens to be there at the time.
And in the frenzy he's caught the hand.

A year to 18 months is generally when you see genetic sensitivities come to light, although he may grow out of it.
My young one hates the hoover so I pop her outside when I'm going to be using it.
Her father used to attack the yard brush but grew out of it.

If you know it's an issue, remove when these things are likely to be happening. Then begin to desensitise him from a distance as you would with any other thing, using whatever motivates him. This will probably involve one of you operating the machinery and the other training the dog.
Start small, with the equipment turned off.

Absolutely I know that he didn't mean to bite. Hand was just in the way. I've been putting him out of the way since but it did come as a big surprise when he did this at all. Clearly this wasn't the first time I'd used the vacuum cleaner since last august!! LOL !! Interesting about the age and sensitivities. Pups are new to me, have always had older rescue dogs before this. He is a fabulous dog. I will sort this little problem. Thanks for your input. Helpful.

 

[Esmae]

Could also be him entering his secondary fear stage as well. You could try smearing some doggy peanut butter on the machine whilst it's off to try and build a positive relationship with it

Secondary fear stage? Never heard of it. Can you expand on that please?

 

[SAujla]

Secondary fear stage? Never heard of it. Can you expand on that please?

"The second fear impact period occurs between 6 to 14 months of age. Generally, this critical age occurs earlier for small dogs and later for larger ones. Development of these fears tends to be more about situations than to specific people."

The first one is around 2-3 months and he might be hitting his second one now, and it tends to last for a couple of weeks. Things that were normal can suddenly become a major issue. Dont make a big deal of things and very slowly build up his comfort and confidence around machines that have triggered him. Interact with them whilst they are switched off and very slowly see if you can progress from there, if he likes his food then use that or a favourite toy if not. You want him to associate the machine with something positive like treats or a tug toy

 

[Esmae]

"The second fear impact period occurs between 6 to 14 months of age. Generally, this critical age occurs earlier for small dogs and later for larger ones. Development of these fears tends to be more about situations than to specific people."

The first one is around 2-3 months and he might be hitting his second one now, and it tends to last for a couple of weeks. Things that were normal can suddenly become a major issue. Dont make a big deal of things and very slowly build up his comfort and confidence around machines that have triggered him. Interact with them whilst they are switched off and very slowly see if you can progress from there, if he likes his food then use that or a favourite toy if not. You want him to associate the machine with something positive like treats or a tug toy

Thanks so much. Pretty much what I thought the logical way forward would be. Lawnmower on the go later so will act accordingly. Was quite a surprise to begin with though. He is very food orientated so had planned to make him sit for treats while mower starts up and see from there how he reacts.

 

[CorvusCorax]

He is very food orientated so had planned to make him sit for treats while mower starts up and see from there how he reacts.

That, for me, would be moving a bit too fast and you're expecting a bit much from him if you've had four incidents in the last couple of weeks.
The stress may override hunger in the beginning (and I wouldn't do any of this sort of training unless he's hungry) and then if you try and 'make' him do a thing rather than just focus on you, you could be just pouring petrol on the fire.
I'd also hang fire on neutering him for a while.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Also...what have you done when this has happened? Removed dog and carried on? Machines off? Would be interesting to know if he's made the link 'I kick off = scary thing stops'. As most of us unwittingly reinforce that link.

My personal preference is that the dog learns, 'kicking off makes no difference, nothing happens, the noise continues, it's a waste of my time and energy, the good stuff happens when I pay attention to her'. Rather than 'I Am Big Boi Who Defeat Scary Monster'.
But again you have to build up to that, especially if there's been accidental reinforcement in the beginning.

 

[skinnydipper]

Not quite sure how to sort this other than carry on regardless.

Your dog is afraid of the vacuum cleaner and the mower.

If you continue as you are this is likely to become a learned behaviour and harder to extinguish.

Forcing him to confront his fears is called flooding and will very likely backfire and your dog will be even more frightened.

Whether it started in the 2nd fear period or not, you need to desensitise him starting now.

You need to do two things.

Get him used to the vacuum. Start by leaving it standing in the room where he spends a lot of time, leave it there for a few days or as long as necessary, do not switch it on. When he shows no interest in it then move to the next stage.

Pick up the handheld or move the upright a very short distance without turning it on. Practice this for a few days and when you can do this without any reaction whatsoever then you can move to the next step.

Switch the machine on then off again. Don't make a big thing of it. Don't do too much too soon. Go back to it later and switch it on and then off again. Do this several times over the day, for as many days as necessary. If there is no reaction then move on to the next step.

Switch the machine on, move it slightly, switch it off. If the dog is comfortable then next time push the vacuum a little further. Never towards the dog. As above, do not overdo it. Practice a few times each day over several days.

Do not reward or encourage him to go near the vacuum or to touch it. The vacuum should be of no interest to him and you do not want to teach him to get under your feet when you are vacuuming.

If your dog does not already know to go to his bed and settle when you ask him, then train this too.

You are aiming to be able to vacuum without the dog getting upset or get under your feet and to go and lie in his bed out of the way.

I have adopted 3 dogs who were afraid of the vacuum cleaner and would either bark at it or try to attack it. This method worked for them.

 

[Clodagh]

I’d just pop him in another room or out the way. A couple of ours worry about the hoover so just get shut outside.
I think smearing it in peanut butter would be very messy ?

 

[Esmae]

Thank you for all the thoughts and comments. Thing that is the puzzling bit is that he never was bothered by either of these things. We've had him from a pup since last August and I have done what is needed to be done and he has never been bothered by any of it. Fast forward and all of a sudden noisy things are an issue. Hearing????? Will get it checked in case there is an issue there. We mowed the lawns today. got the mower out didn't start it, and I worked with him and some treats. Left lawn mower asleep and let him carry on playing in the garden round it for a bit. He took no notice of that. Took himself to bed then so I shut the door and we mowed the lawn and he didn't hear or see it anyway. Job done, relaxed hound. He's pretty good at going to bed when asked. Pretty good recall now. Waits to come through the door until he's allowed to come in, Sits before he's fed etc. Gets nothing until he does something for me first. He's a good boy, just this sudden, out of the blue reaction to these things. I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and tips. I will sort it out with him. Am just puzzled by it. Picture of fabulous chap.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

That does sound as if he might have an ear infection or something that has made the noises more troubling to him. I hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[CorvusCorax]

It's already been explained though, it's very likely to be either his second fear period or it is something that is 'in' the dog that is being presented now and will have to be trained/managed.

I have seen it a lot (things presenting at 12-24 months, everything from behaviour to allergies), 'she's/he's never done that before' is a bit of a catchphrase among some groups of trainers, to the extent that it's a meme and gets printed on t-shirts, etc.
As a generalisation, you don't know what sort of dog you really have until early adulthood.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

It's already been explained though, it's very likely to be either his second fear period or it is something that is 'in' the dog that is being presented now and will have to be trained/managed.

I have seen it a lot (things presenting at 12-24 months, everything from behaviour to allergies), 'she's/he's never done that before' is a bit of a catchphrase among some groups of trainers, to the extent that it's a meme and gets printed on t-shirts, etc.
As a generalisation, you don't know what sort of dog you really have until early adulthood.

Well yes, the Lab with epilepsy that I had ,had her first seizure at 18 months.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

He is a stunning looking dog.

 

[skinnydipper]

It's already been explained though, it's very likely to be either his second fear period or it is something that is 'in' the dog that is being presented now and will have to be trained/managed.

^This^

Whatever the cause, enabling the dog to practice his current response to vacuum cleaner/mower will strengthen the behaviour and make it harder to change.

You need to prevent him from practicing the unwanted behaviour, start desensitisation and train the behaviour you do want.

 

[Esmae]

Thank you everyone. I do "get it" Very good explanations of possible reasons why. I will work on this quietly with him along with a hearing check etc. He is a cracking dog. Enormous for a whippet but wonderful.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Thing is, sometimes things coincide, so even though I agree with those saying that considering his age, and behaviour, it most likely is a classical case of second fear stage showing up, I at the same think there's a possibility that Pearlsasinger could be right about that it could be a sign of a physical ailment, which just happened to coincide with the second fear stage.

So, to be on the safe side, maybe consider a check up at the vets, so that you know for certain that you're working on the right problem.

ETA: He looks gorgeous.