Why is the vacuum an evil usurper sent to do Satan’s bidding? This is what I ask myself every time I try and vacuum when Rupert comes to visit? I have two different vacuum’s, a canister style that I use on the hardwood and a Dyson for my area carpets, doesn’t matter which one I go to use, the barking starts! Rupert, is a Sheltie, the third one to be part of our family. I will admit that none of the former Sheltie’s in our life were huge fans of the vacuum, I will also admit from time to time they would lunge at it or bark a bit. Rupert has taken his dislike of the vacuum to a whole new level, he starts the minute the vacuum comes out of the closet, when I turn on the power he becomes a nut-bar and as soon as I start moving it he begins attacking the power head/brush and the barking gets more shrill the longer it is on. I have far too many pets in my house to decide that when he is visiting I am going to let the floors slide, as it is, my socks resemble some kind of bizarre creature at the end of day. So this evening, when I decided to clean up a mess from one of the toys that Rupert had shredded, he started his tirade. Well, I have had enough of his herding and to be honest, so has Lucas, my old guy, who felt that somehow the vacuum he had pretty much avoided for the past four years was now some subversive monster that was endangering my life because Rupert was acting crazy. Having my dog become a nightmare with the vacuum isn’t something I want to deal with on a continuous basis. I decided to take a stand, every time Rupert would lunge, I would tell him to “Stop”, this went on and on for a good fifteen minutes, but by the end, Rupert calmed down and my ears got a much deserved rest. I am sure when I plug in the vacuum the next time he will sound the alarm all over again, but I figure with patience, he is going to get that the vacuum isn’t so scary after all.
No Time To Paws 