# Simply, why do dogs hate vacuum cleaners (n/t) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093 "2003-11-08T18:33:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smootman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@smootman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smootman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/1 "2003-11-08T18:33:37Z")
n/t ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/2 "2003-11-08T19:47:16Z")
Because nature abhors a vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/3 "2003-11-08T19:53:11Z")
Maybe because the vacuum cleaner sucks up all the stuff that they just spent so much time scattering and smelling up. How would you like it if you had your nice smelly spot all marked out and surrounded with chewed up bits of detritus and someone came and ATE IT ALL? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/4 "2003-11-08T20:05:35Z")
It’s gotta be the noise. It’s very loud and persistent and I don’t believe it’s found in nature 🙂 My dog hates all things that sound like vaccuums - blow dryers, oven fans, hydrolic mechanisms. It scares the bejeezus out of her. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/5 "2003-11-08T20:41:02Z")
Can’t remember who said this but… “Some people thing that language is what separates humans from animals. But I don’t think that’s it at all. It’s the fact that we’re not afraid of vacuum cleaners.” As to why they don’t like them, I think it’s a combination of the noise _and_ the fact that the darn thing rolls back and forth on the floor, alternating between “attack” and “retreat”. To a dog, the darn thing looks, alternately, like threat and prey. ---
**Author:** ![Bromley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Bromley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bromley)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/6 "2003-11-08T20:51:05Z")
I’ll go with the sound option too. Our black lab bitch used to go crazy when someone was using a R/C car near her. The car didn’t have to move, so it appeared to be the servo noises when using the left-right control. She actually got quite distressed, so we never used it near her again. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/7 "2003-11-08T21:06:31Z")
Definatly the noise - there also could be some high pitched sound produced by the vacuum that the dog can hear and you can’t, making it even more irrating to you canine. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/8 "2003-11-08T22:35:26Z")
maybe vacuum cleaners give off an ultra sonic noise that drives dogs mental? I had a cat years ago who use to climb the walls if he heard someone taking the cleaner out of the cupboard, and the cat I have now gets very grumpy if I bring the cleaner into the same room she’s in … I wonder does it affect other animals? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/9 "2003-11-08T23:26:06Z")
Don’t know much about dogs, but cats don’t necessarily dislike vacuums. You can vacuum all around the furniture the cats in this house are sleeping on and they probably won’t budge an inch. They only run away if they’re on the floor and you’re vacuuming in their direction. And no, they’re not deaf, either. True, some cats run away when they hear the noise, but I suspect they were traumatized by someone with a vacuum when they were kittens or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/10 "2003-11-08T23:40:05Z")
It’s because we chased our dog with the vacuum when she was little. Yes, I know I’m going to hell. 😉 For some reason, the dog doesn’t mind hair driers. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/11 "2003-11-09T02:46:33Z")
One of my dogs used to LOVE the vacuum, following me around as I hunted down stray dust bunnies. However, he’d persistently get in the way, so I would scold him. Now, when the vacuum comes on, he takes a seat on the couch and watches all the action from a distance. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_In\_Anger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ab097/32.png) [@Not\_In\_Anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_In_Anger)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/12 "2003-11-09T04:31:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phase42 \* > \*\*Can’t remember who said this but… > > “Some people thing that language is what separates humans from animals. But I don’t think that’s it at all. It’s the fact that we’re not afraid of vacuum cleaners.” > > As to why they don’t like them, I think it’s a combination of the noise _and_ the fact that the darn thing rolls back and forth on the floor, alternating between “attack” and “retreat”. To a dog, the darn thing looks, alternately, like threat and prey. \*\* Well, I’m certainly afraid of vacuum cleaners. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/13 "2003-11-09T07:37:58Z")
My dog loves the vaccuum cleaner. Actually, she loves to be \*vaccuumed. \* I discovered this when I came home from vacation a few years ago. My grandmother had agreed to dog-sit while I was gone. I came though the door to find my grandmother humming cheerfully, using the vaccuum cleaner hose to sweep the dog. “What are you doing?” I asked her, surveying this bizzarre scene. “She’s shedding,” grandma explained. “I always do this when I’m babysitting her.” As I stared, she said “Okay, turn around,” to the dog. To my amazement, the dog did so, presenting her other side, and standing perfectly still. She even lifted her front legs so grandma could sweep under them. Now, when I vaccuum, she follows me around, butting the hose with her snout until I stop and sweep her with the hose. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simply-why-do-dogs-hate-vacuum-cleaners-n-t/212093/14 "2003-11-09T07:55:33Z")
My **Cockatiel** actually seems to _enjoy_ the vacuum cleaner.😕 He becomes quiet and attentive when I clean under his cage (home - the door is _always_ open.)