[TrinaJ]

Hi Shonda,

Fear of the vacuume is quite common in dogs and cats. The way i overcame it with my dogs was to pretend to vacuum - vacuum the floor without it being switched on - and pet my dog at the same time.

Once he was no longer afraid of the actual vacuum stick moving along the floor, i put a leash on him and had my DH switch it on and vacuum. While he was vacuuming I was praising my dog in a soothing voice and at the same time patting him. Eventually I was the one vacuuming the floor and holding my dog at the same time.

After a while it got to the stage where he would just look up when he heard the vacuum coming and then go back to sleep.