Why is it that our dogs are scared of the vacuum, but think they can take down the mailman, ~and~ his delivery truck?
I recently bought a nerf gun and a blowgun, both of which use squishy darts. The nerf gun shoots up to 90’ and is pretty loud, whereas I’m lucky if the blow darts even make it one foot ahead of me. I opened both the same day, and my dog Olive decided she was terrified of one, and loved the other.
The one she was scared of? The blow gun. If we so much as take it off the shelf, she runs to a corner and starts shaking like crazy, looking for anyone she can hide behind. The louder and more intense toy gun? She loves it! She jumps up to play as soon as we pick it up, she chases the darts, and she’ll stare right down the front of it.
Similarly, I bought her one of those trending floppy fish toys that (supposedly) all dogs love. Nope, not Olive! Except, of course, when I let my sister’s cats play with it; then it was her favorite toy. So, where do these seemingly irrational fears come from? I was curious, and set out to learn more.
Vacuums
Let’s start with the most obvious: why are dogs scared of vacuums? Most people accredit this to the loud noises our vacuums make. Dogs’ hearing is around 3x more sensitive than ours, so it’s likely that the vacuum noises just make them feel uncomfortable and threatened. How would you feel if a stranger came into your house unannounced and started yelling at the top of their lungs for no obvious reason? Okay, that makes sense. But, it still doesn’t explain Olive being more afraid of the squishy blow darts than a Nerf gun.
Top Fears and Phobias
What about dogs’ top fears and phobias? Some of the most common are thunder, fireworks, strangers, children, stairs, and random objects. The causes of these fears vary, but they seem to arise again from loud noises, bad past experiences, or just a general fear of the unknown. But, what about fears of certain objects? Dogs tend to be afraid of certain objects for those same three reasons, but they also become afraid of the unexpected noises objects make.
Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. So, I went down a rabbit hole and finally found this article: “7 Reasons Why Your Dog Is Acting Scared All of a Sudden.” The article lists 1) phobias, 2) illness, 3) separation anxiety, 4) past abuse, 5) something in the vicinity (like other predators), 6) age-related problems, and 7) lack of socialization.
I ruled out numbers 1 and 3-7. That left illness. Huh. I had noticed Olive’s belly was getting kind of red and irritated. I tried not to worry too much, but she ended up getting a little sore spot, so I decided to investigate further. I found out she was allergic to beef, so she had lost some weight and the irritation had led to skin and ear infections! She never once acted sick or like her ears were bothering her. She wasn’t even paying attention to her belly; I only noticed when I would give her belly rubs. But for some reason, her feeling unwell instead manifested in her hating the sound of the blow-gun. I’m still not sure why she loves the other toy so much. Probably because it makes a game of fetch much easier for me.
Well, this has been a long and winding journey, but we finally (kind of) solved the mystery. For me, doing so was important because I hate seeing my baby sad or afraid, but there are so many other reasons to get to the bottom of your dog’s fears. It strengthens your relationship with them, keeps you from going crazy when they overreact, and curbs potential aggression stemming from that fear.
Once you solve your mystery, how should you help your four-legged family member overcome their fear? I’m not an expert, but I ended up just giving Olive the blow gun. She carried it around for a week then looked very satisfied when she brought it to her bed one day and chewed off all the soft parts.
Regardless of the root of her fear, I’m glad we figured it out together. Olive is much happier with the toy in her hands vs. ours, and is feeling much better after discovering her allergy! Maybe I’ll try a bubble gun next…
